Part 2: Vitamins - Needs

Why do people take supplements? In Malaysia, the alternative medicine and supplement industry is estimated to be six times the size in monetary terms compared to the pharmaceutical ethical (medicine) market. Across the world the ratio ranges from two to twelve times the size of the ethical market. It is big business.

I am not here to support or decry the food supplement industry, neither is this book written to promote any particular type of product. I know that this section will be controversial, but let’s all throw away any commercial interests we might harbour, and just look at the facts. What I will do in this section is to:

a. Highlight various supplements
b. The marketing claims being made
c. Consider the validity of these claims valid and the opinion of health experts

Firstly, what are some of the reasons health food companies claim that we must take supplements?

a. Loss of vitamins and minerals in our modern food processing
b. Nutritional deficiencies in our diet despite taking adequate calories
c. Stresses of modern living and the need for higher levels of these nutrients than our diets can supply
d. Depletion of vital nutrients such as B-vitamins, vitamin C and antioxidants due to urban factors such as smoking, alcohol and pollution

ODA VS RDA

The wellness industry has mushroomed worldwide over the last three to five years, and Malaysia is no exception. Its advocates propose that the traditional “health care model” is sickness and disease driven. The wellness industry seeks to promote health rather than treat diseases when they strike. It is like looking at the health of a person as being half full (health promoting elements) than being half empty (sickness). Therefore, the focus is on what can promote optimal health and how to fill the glass.

So which nutrients and vitamins do you need and in what amounts? Opinions vary. The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) have been accepted as the standard since the 1940’s. Some researchers are now proposing that the RDAs falls short of what it needs to adequately nourish the body to promote optimal health. The RDA’s were used as the bottomline measure to get by in life and to prevent nutritional deficiencies.

On the other hand, the wellness movement has replaced the RDA’s with Optimum Dietary Allowances, or ODA’s. It is argued that optimal health requires nutrient intakes beyond what the RDA’s advocate and what diet alone can supply. ODA’s are about getting ahead in health, not just getting by (RDA’s).

For instance, the RDA of vitamin E is 30 IU (what you would get from eating 3 balanced meals a day). The ODA for vitamin E is 400-1,600 IU, which means you have to eat 10 meals a day, which is obviously undesirable. Alternatively, to get 400 IU of vitamin E you have to eat 1.5 pounds of sunflower seeds or drink 8 gallons of soymilk daily.