Healthify your supermarket choices.
Dietitians Recommend – Get Vitamins from Food, Not Supplements
The American Dietetic Association (ADA) recommends we get the vitamins and minerals our bodies need directly from the source – food. This, in a position paper published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. The 70,000 dietitian strong organization says:
the best nutrition-based strategy for promoting optimal health and reducing the risk of chronic disease is to wisely choose a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods.
However, to remain politically correct*, the ADA adds:
Additional nutrients from supplements can help some people meet their nutrition needs.
*The ADA is sponsored by food companies such as Coke and Pepsi, but also by Abbot Nutrition and McNeil Nutritionals (maker of VIACTIV Multi-Vitamins Soft Chews).
What you need to know:
The dietary supplement market is 25 Billion Dollars a year and growing 5% annually. Over half of Americans regularly use a multivitamin or supplement of some kind. Almost two thirds said they used a supplement in the past month. This is not surprising given that more than three-quarters of U.S. physicians (79%) and nurses (82%) recommend dietary supplements to their patients (more stats here).
Thank goodness the ADA is reminding us that the best source of nutrients is real food – plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. While people with certain conditions may need to supplement, the truth is that many of us simply eat poorly. Popping a few pills a day seems like an easy enough solution – no slaving away in the kitchen and no battles over broccoli with the kids.
But beyond the nutrients we are familiar with, such as the A-Z vitamins and minerals, real foods provide thousands of undiscovered and yet to be researched nutrients that help our bodies function and thrive.
What to do at the supermarket:
If you are a healthy person, there’s no reason your body shouldn’t thrive on real food (TV dinners and frozen pizza don’t count, nor do soft drinks). Try to buy a variety of fruits and vegetables. Educate yourself on legumes. Buy them in bulk and learn how to cook them.
If you are unsure of what do regarding your nutrient needs, best bet is to meet with a dietitian and get professional advice.
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I would mention, however, that vitamin D supplementation is wise for those who cannot get it from the sun.
As a nutritionist, the more I learned through my education, the more I became a proponent of food. I like whole food supplements for people who really insist on taking something. I like them too when you gain access to foods that aren’t readily available in your local produce section. I find I’m leaning more and more towards herbals for this reason. Sometimes when patients are on prescription drugs, the drugs deplete them of specific nutrients drastically, which then require clinical dosages to replete the body of those nutrients. Also some clinical conditions can respond to the so called medical foods out there, but when push comes to shove my overarching goal is to retrain diet and cooking habits and get people to get the most of their nutrients from their food. I even recommend food sources for certain nutrients. Selenium for example is high in Brazil Nuts. You can reach your daily needs by just eating 1-3 brazil nuts a day – something I recommend to most of my patients.
As a Registered Dietitian who refuses to be associated with the ADA due to their relationships with companies and organizations that are in the business of making money, instead of supporting what is in the best interest of individual and public health, I do not agree the the ADAs position. Our poor eating habits and poorer food supply have become adulterated to the point of “needing” supplements to make up for the widening gaps in our nutrition. I recommend that you do a little homework of your own and ask a nutrition specialist who is educated in the area of supplementation. You have to analyze the research, consider the reality of our current food supply, and your lifestyle and genetic factors.
I recommend borrowing a copy of one of the following books from your local library: “What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know About Nutritional Medicine” and “Bionutrition: The Medical Evidence that Demands a Verdict—Should You be Taking Nutritional Supplements?” by Ray D. Strand, M.D.
P.S. Not all supplements are created equal, and you don’t have to spend a fortune. Make sure the nutrients are bioavailable and know the source of the nutrients.
If you have further concerns, contact me at urdietitian@gamil.com and I will do my best to point you in the right direction with accurate information.
I am of like mind with URDietitian; I am in school to get my RD, and have a student membership with the ADA. I am continually upset when reading their journal, as many of the studies are funded by their big food sponsors. I also would like to add a question. I am a vegan…a healthy vegan. I love to cook, use only whole foods and hardly anything processed (although I saw that my walnut oil was refined..huh?), and I have been reading up on my vitamins and minerals. Should I be taking B-12? I know that we store B-12 for up to 3 years, but should I begin taking it (I’ve been eating this way for about 2 years) in a supplement form? Also, how about DHA and EPA? I know that a I eat a ton of Omega-3’s but I read that vegans might not convert ALA to EPA or DHA as well. I hate the idea of supplements (mostly because they are ridiculously expensive), but wonder if there’s no better way for my diet? I welcome any comments!
@uRDietitian
As uRDietitian says, and for MOST people, I would say there is a lack of nutrition in the standard American diet, and thus supplements would really help those people. However, there is ALSO much in the supplement department that is lacking. Synthetic vitamins, which comprise a majority of all vitamins supplements out there, should not be considered worthy of one’s dollars. The “good stuff” is unfortunately but understandably very expensive.
This topic was recently on a list serv I am on and one person on the list shared this tidbit: According to Dr. Michael Roizen, at Cleveland Clinic, (co-author of some Dr. Oz books), of 2.5 million Americans in whose diets were examined, he reported that only 1/10th of 1% had such stellar diets that they didn’t need any vitamin and/or mineral supplementation. I agree with URDietitian on this one! Also Jessica, I think you should definitely be taking B vitamins. Also, I am not sure of the reason why you are vegan, but maybe you would consider fish oil/cod liver oil, since there really is no better way to get omega 3 DHA/EPA.
@Jenny, that 0.1% sounds crazily low. How does this compare to other countries? Is our food supply so poor? Or is the supplement industry so strong?
Sounds good but it’s not realistic.
Fact is, even fresh vegetables and other agricultural products don’t have enough nutrients in them anymore to meet the needs of a person any more:
“In 2002, the Globe and Mail and CTV News analyzed the nutritional content of vegetables based on data compiled by government researchers in 1951, 1972 and 1999. In his article, “Today’s fruits, vegetables lack yesterday’s nutrition”, the Globe and Mail’s Andre Picard reported significant drops in the vitamin and mineral content of Canadian vegetables.
Potatoes, a staple of our North American diet lost:
* Nearly 100% of its Vitamin A content (necessary for good eyesight)
* 28% of its calcium (necessary for bone health)
* 57% of its iron and calcium (important for good blood)
* 50% of its riboflavin, and
* 18% of its thiamine
Overall, this analysis revealed that 80% of Canadian vegetables studied showed reductions in calcium, 75% reductions in Vitamin A, 50% in Vitamin C and riboflavin and 30% in thiamine.
In his article, Picard noted, “In the analysis, the biggest loser was broccoli, a food that epitomizes the dictates of healthy eating. All seven of its measurable nutrients declined, notably calcium, which fell 63 per cent, and iron which dropped 34 per cent. Broccoli is often cited as an excellent source of calcium and iron.”
http://snipurl.com/to59e
Please read the entire article.
The ADA is just flat out wrong. They frequently are.