"vitamins" news and stories

Half of all American adults take some kind of dietary supplement, but a number of new studies have failed to show any link between multivitamin pills and better health or longer life among people with already adequate nutrition, reports the New York Times. Researchers at an eight-year-long study from the Women's Health Initiative showed that multivitamins did not reduce risk for heart disease or any kinds of cancer; a decade-long study on men showed that taking vitamins C and E made no differences in cancer or heart disease rates. Selenium was also not shown to have any effect on prostate cancer rates, as was previously believed.

Some studies have even shown potential harmful effects from vitamins, such as an increased risk of lung cancer among those taking high-dose beta carotene supplements.

But no one denies the health benefits of a balanced diet. Many physicians and researchers believe that the protective effects of vitamins may not translate from whole foods to vitamin pills, for reasons not completely understood. "There may not be a single component of broccoli or green leafy vegetables that is responsible for the health benefits," says one researcher. "Why are we taking a reductionist approach and plucking out one or two chemicals given in isolation?"

Do you take vitamin supplements? Do you think they help?

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My friends, I have a serious addiction. I gave up cigarettes almost two years ago. I finally quit chewing that nasty Nicorette gum to get over the cigarettes. I am gently weaning myself off the patch. (It's a long process, but worth it!)

No, no. I am not addicted to nicotine -- anymore, that is. I am addicted to vitamin C.

You know what Emergen-C is, right? It's that somewhat expensive powdered vitamin and mineral super-boost that you add to water (somewhat like Airborne) and drink. The thing is, it's not like I go through true withdrawal symptoms like getting jittery or twitching if I don't have my usual fix of Emergen-C three times a day. It's just that, well, for some reason, I can't stop drinking it. Most people drink it when they are sick, or when they can feel illnes coming on. I drink it everyday. In fact, I don't even "drink" the powder dissolved in the prescribed 8 oz of water. I add a tiny amount of water, stir it up, and shoot it. I am addicted to it, and I have to take it like a shot because it actually does taste pretty horrible. Then again, for a lot of people, this is considered "medicine."

I suppose there are worse things I could be drinking morning, noon, and night, that are far worse than a raspberry flavored fizzy vitamin booster!

What are you addicted to that you eat/drink it at least three times a day?! Come on. Don't make me feel like the only weirdo.

I've done an extensive survey of all of the information about weight loss that you can find on the shelves of Border's and Barnes & Noble, and here are the results.

It seems as if the best way to lose weight and get in shape is a combo of the following: eating a lot of carbs, eating a lot of fat, cutting carbs out completely, drinking a lot of water, not eating any "white" foods at night like bread, rice, and pasta, eating just grapefruit, eating your meals in a mixed-up fashion (lunch for dinner, breakfast for lunch, etc), not eating after 8pm, eating a lot of soups, cutting out all candy, cakes, and processed foods, avoiding diet drinks, eating a Subway sub a couple of times a week, eating foods according to your blood type, eating foods according to color, eating a lot of fiber, training your brain to think like a thin person, eating like they do in France, eating like they do in China, not counting calories, making sure you count calories, taking vitamins and supplements, become a vegan, eating more meat, eat a lot of apples, eating only raw foods, and joining one of the weight loss organizations such as Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig.

If you follow the above rules, you should get in shape very quickly. You're welcome.

So here we start -- prepraing now for the aftermath that will ensue tomorrow. If you're looking for a quick fix, we think we might have found it, but unfortunately for those of us who will be ringing in the New Year in the four time zones from PST to EST, we're out of luck. Berocca, which is actually a multi-vitamin from Bayer, is also "known" as a powerful hangover anitdode by which boozers fom the UK and Australia swear. It's very handy, since it's a single tablet.

Why does it work? The tablets include vitamins B and C, magnesium, zinc, sugars and salts that were sucked out of your body by all that booze. Of course, since we can't get Berocca here, we can simply make sure we drink and eat foods with the same good vitamins and minerals.

I've seen fizzy candies to tickle your mouth, and Alka-Seltzer for your tummy, but now there is another fizzy product that's good for your whole body. FIZZIT fizzy vitamins are a vitamin and mineral supplement to help you stay healthy and energized. They come in several varieties and are made with natural flavors, vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, antioxidants and electrolytes. The nutrients are supposed to support immunity strength, physical and mental energy, heart health, good metabolism, cell defense and healthy joints, bones, hair, skin and nails.

They are sold in boxes that contain 24 individual packets, the main vitamin and mineral formula comes in three flavors- lemon lime, strawberry, green tea; as well as a combo box containing 8 packets of each flavor. They also come in three different "functional formulas," Women's Health Formula in cranberry flavor, Immune Support Formula with orange flavor, and raspberry flavored Joint Formula. Each type contains contains 1000 milligrams of Vitamin C which is equal to the amount in eight glasses of orange juice, and also has 32 mineral complexes and B vitamins.

Directions are that each packet of FIZZIT be mixed with 4-6 ounces of cold water or juice. Adults can take 1-3 packets daily as needed. The suggested retail price is $7.99 per box, $9.99 for the functional formulas, and is available at select pharmacies, supermarkets, and health food stores. You can also order it online at Drugstore.com for a slight mark-up, or slightly discounted in bulk at Amazon.com.