WE'VE all heard the expression, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away." Twentieth-century sophistication, with active encouragement from drug companies and the advertising media, has updated this axiom so that it now comes out, "A multivitamin a day will keep all illness away, and you will live a longer, healthier life."
Did God plan it this way—now or ever?
When God placed man in the Garden of Eden, He said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat" (Gen. 1:29).
The extent of human nutritional needs is indicated in the provisions God made to meet these needs. "Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator." And in these foods "are to be found all the food elements that we need" (Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 310).
What, then, has led to the present situation? Have we come to believe the unfounded assumption that "if it's good for you an extra amount will be better"? Perhaps we follow too easily the suggestion of a friend or a television testimonial that such-and-such a formula cured someone's "whatever." Rather than getting our vitamins in the form God intended, are we placing too much confidence in suggestions such as these?
Take, for example, a young mother. Certainly her best interests are for her infant's welfare. She wants him to be healthy and grow normally. She is apprehensive that he may not be getting everything he needs from the breast feeding or the balanced diet she is providing. She visits a friend whose child, about the same age, seems to have more sparkle and energy. The comment "Oh I give Johnny his vitamin drops every day" seems to our young mother just the thing her boy needs. So it's off to the pediatrician at first opportunity. When told that her child is perfectly normal and doesn't require any vitamin supplements, she either browbeats the doctor into prescribing some, goes to a more "sympathetic" physician where she gets the "magic" in a bottle, or heads for the drugstore for some type of over-the-counter vitamin preparation.
In spite of the suggestion by the American Academy of Pediatrics a few years ago that babies and children should receive little or no vitamin supplementation, the practice continues. Doctors, who should know better, often allow themselves to be influenced into recommending vitamin supplements.
You might want to carefully study the labels of the food and vitamin drops you give your child. How much vitamin A and D, for instance, is the poor, defense less child getting in his "enriched and fortified" formula, milk, cereal, and baby foods, followed by a good measure of multivitamin drops? Each food and vitamin preparation is formulated as if he had no other vitamins in his diet. Almost all provide 100 per cent of his "recommended dietary allowance" of both vitamins A and D. When added together the total is several times the recommended amount. In all likelihood an extra dose of vitamins will be given on those days when baby doesn't seem to have enough "pep" or has a stuffy nose, and he is on his way to a life of unnecessary vitamin usage.
A final touch of irony has been provided by one of the old ethical drug companies, which has found a way out of the dilemma—by producing an infant formula vitamin drop that has very few vitamins in it. Now you can buy for your child a vitamin that has almost no vitamins! This logic seems appropriate in an age that is characterized by calorie-free beverages and foods and moneyless money, and where "hope" and "tranquillity" are dispensed in a pill.
Patterns of childhood continue into adulthood. In fact, it has become almost impossible to convince the average American adult that he does not need some type of vitamin supplement.
There are many arguments used to support the idea of a supplementary vitamin requirement.
1. Our agricultural soils are depleted of necessary plant nutrients.
When a plant grows it obtains what it requires for normal development from the soil. Vitamins are produced by the plant to meet its specific needs. If the soil does not provide the elements the plant requires, no vitamins are produced, plant growth is stunted, and no plant food would be available for man. Thus, plant products contain the vitamins they are expected to have if they grow normally.
2. Foods available in supermarkets are depleted or lacking in vitamins.
This is similar to the previous argument, except that there is some truth to it. Fruits and vegetables harvested too early, kept in storage too long, or improperly processed may have less of several vitamins necessary for human nutrition. However, since we usually eat a variety of foods containing the same vitamins, and these in ample quantities, it would be unlikely that this could cause vitamin insufficiency.
3. Personal experiences.
Some individuals who eat poorly or who may suffer from a disturbance in absorbing or utilizing vitamins in food they eat may experience rather dramatic improvement from vitamin supplements. But one who eats an adequate diet and has normal digestion would receive no such improvement— unless it were imaginary! The testimonies of persons thus helped, because of poor habits, are strong and difficult to refute.
Dangers of Overuse
Are there dangers from using too much of a vitamin? Yes, especially A and D.
Vitamin A used to be commonly prescribed by skin specialists (dermatologists) to help clear up facial blemishes in teen-agers suffering from acne. Perhaps it may even have helped the condition some. However, tolerance to the increased intake varied from individual to individual, so that some of those taking this therapeutic measure actually suffered detrimental effects from excess vitamin A.
Infants and children show symptoms of vitamin excess much more quickly than adults. As is usually true, the symptoms are similar or affect the same structures as a deficiency of the same vitamin. In children an excess of vitamin A may hinder normal bone growth. In adults, hypervitaminosis A (as the condition is called) results in dry and rough skin, loss of hair and baldness, loss of appetite, and headaches. In addition, bone pains, eye problems, tendency to have nose bleeds, and bleeding gums may be encountered.
Symptoms of an excess of vitamin D include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, thirst, constipation, fever, abdominal pains, lack of skin color, tiredness, and diarrhea. There are also signs of kidney damage and hardening (calcification) of various tissues.
While these conditions would normally be seen in only those individuals who have consumed rather large doses of these two vitamins, more subtle effects may occur with a lesser, yet excessive, intake.
In addition to the direct toxic effects of excessive vitamins, it is possible that an excess may interfere with utilization or absorption of another vitamin or chemical.
"Natural" Vitamins
Another of today's fads—organic vitamins—needs to be mentioned. Uncounted millions of unnecessary dollars are spent on "natural" vitamins, which are believed to be the only kind that our bodies can use effectively. By law, if a label says "vitamin X," the vitamin must be chemically identical to all other vitamin "X." They are identical in chemical structure, and both are used effectively by our bodies in the same manner. If there's any difference the vitamin "X" label can't legally be used. But people go on buying the "natural vitamins," at several times the price—their minds are made up; the facts, they say, only confuse them. To be fair about it, however, there may be other components combined with the natural vitamin, that are, of course, not put into the
synthetic one.
God built certain dietary requirements into the human body. The diet He provided for us in the plants and their products that He also created meets these needs. Doesn't it seem in consistent to assume that today our bodies require large doses of a substance that we cannot obtain in a diet derived from the natural products of the earth?
God doesn't make mistakes. He has provided for us an abundance of tasty foods that provide for all our needs—including the necessary vitamins for a strong, healthy body. These come pack aged in combinations He knows are best for us. No needed nutrient will be missing when we intelligently select a variety from the bounties the Creator has provided.
