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• Monday, October 22, 2007 10:39 AM

  Response to Jef

  Thank you for taking the time to reply to what I had written. I must first state that I had been under the incorrect belief that there were certain amino acids that had to come from animal sources. I believe I had gotten that confused with vitamin B12, which of course it not an amino acid. I apologize for my error, and I appreciate you pointing that out.

  Second, however, is your operating assumption that everyone should take a multivitamin. It's a stop-gap solution that does not address our lack of diversity in our diet. I know that physicians and nutritionists are currently recommending use of a multivitamin, but I don't think that's a good idea. Let me show you a couple things.

  First, a study that states a very interesting conclusion:

  http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/145/5/372

  The efficacy of multivitamins has never been actually studied. This study is one of the first to show that there aren't exactly any conclusions we can draw about multivitamins, and also to state that, and I am quoting now..."Evidence is insufficient to prove the presence or absence of benefits from use of multivitamin and mineral supplements to prevent cancer and chronic disease."

  On top of that, multivitamins are not regulated. A supplement should typically provide no more than 100% of any given vitamin or mineral, but most do not provide simply that. Studies have shown that certain vitamins should not be taken in excess, and that even harmless old vitamin C can destroy DNA when found in surplus.

  I'm not going to take one because I eat a healthy primarily vegetarian diet with meat maybe once or twice per week. I have not seen any real benefits, and evidence is starting to support me. I am not entirely convinced that fortified and supplemented food is going to cut it for vegans either, although there are no long-term studies I have seen yet. At this point, it has to be a conviction at best. But I will be damned if they're going to tell me that a multivitamin and veggies are all we need as humans to survive, because they simply don't know that any better than I do.

  —satyricaldude Read satyricaldude's other letters
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