I drink coffee.  

I take vitamin D because my levels are low. That IMO is the best vitamin to take and one that I suggest to my patients. Multivitamins are ok for some individuals, but there have been studies that they don't seem to make a difference. Try and eat a balanced diet instead and save your money.

Not picking on you, Nevrgivup, but I have seen this silly "save your money" by not taking vitamins argument coming from doctors lately, and it's laughable. My daily multi-vitamin costs maybe 10 cents. If I wanted to save some REAL money, I'd give up my daily cup of coffee that costs me 87 cents. Or I'd skip my next visit to my doctor and save hundreds if not thousands of dollars, if it was really all about saving money.

I get mine from food and I always make sure to get 150% + of vitamin C a day. Sometimes I get as much as 300 - 400%. I hear it boost your immune system and to be honest I don't recall the last time I've been sick aside from the occasional runny nose.

I get mine from food and I always make sure to get 150% + of vitamin C a day. Sometimes I get as much as 300 - 400%. I hear it boost your immune system and to be honest I don't recall the last time I've been sick aside from the occasional runny nose.

Not sure if that is proof of anything since I don't get sick and never take vitamins.

I only take supplements on the advice of my doctor, which has amounted to a total of 3-4 years of iron supplements on and off over the last 25 years.

 

I don't have a fantastic diet, but so long as my blood work is normal, I see no need to add more manufactured "nutrients" than are already in my food, e.g., A&D in milk.

Yes. If an individual has low blood counts than I would recommend Iron supplements. The only time I recommend vitamins to a patient is if they are pregnant or low according to the blood work. Alcoholics need supplements too.  Everyone and every provider will have a different opinion.  It's patient specific.

Could just be a bad ass runner thing then

 

Not sure if that is proof of anything since I don't get sick and never take vitamins.

 

+1

You beat me to it.

 

A healthy, balanced diet should provide everything you need.  If, after consultation with your primary care provider it is determined that you need something extra (e.g. iron supplements because you're anemic despite your balanced diet) then go that way.  Otherwise, you don't need them.  It is a waste of money.

 

Cecil, you may only spend $0.10 on a vitamin pill.  However, you are likely in the minority.  Many people out there buy individual bottles of vitamins: a bottle of vitamin C, a bottle of vitamin B6, a bottle of vitamin B12, a bottle of fish oil, a bottle of vitamin D etc... They aren't buying just one bottle of vitamin C.  They're buying that plus three bottles of vitamin B, another bottle of D, another bottle of E, another bottle of fish oil.  They're spending hundreds of dollars at a time buying this stuff.  This is why the supplement industry is worth millions, if not billions, of dollars.

 

What's more, it's all unregulated.  There is no guarantee that what you're buying is what you're getting.  This goes for content as well as for ingredients.  The NIH has some decent reading on the topic.  Consumer Reports had an interesting report recently about supplement content versus labeling (I don't have a subscription so I can't link it).

 

The medical recommendation is neither silly nor meaningless.  If people have questions about what they're taking talk to their primary care provider.  If people have dietary questions consult with a licensed Registered Dietician (NOT a nutritionist).

 

Save your money.  Eat a balanced diet.  Get what you need without a pill.

 

I've never known a single person that went bankrupt from buying vitamins and supplements.

Meanwhile . . .

"Bankruptcies resulting from unpaid medical bills will affect nearly 2 million people this year—making health care the No. 1 cause of such filings"

And doctors pretend to advise us on how to save our money?

Trust me.  The bankruptcies filed do not relate to medical bills for lack of nutrients in people's lives.  What I see each day are cancer, birth related costs, and surgeries after accidents And the costs there are hospital related rather than doctor related.

 

Your comparison is not even close to be on point.

Precisely.

And we're not talking bankruptcy here.  We're talking savings.  Where every little bit helps.

Doctors aren't pretending to be money managers or financial planners.  They're trying to save their patients a few bucks by convincing them to get rid of a stupid habit that wastes money and provides them no benefit.  It's something I see this every day.  I can't tell you how many patients come in with their grocery bags full of nutritional supplements and multivitamins on which they spent $150 for just this month's supply.  They'll spend close to $2000 a year on these things.  That's not a small chunk of change and it IS worth saving.

So sure.  For you your not quite $40 a year savings may not be that much.  Pocket change for you.  Burn it in your fire place to keep warm if you like.  For many more people out there they money they spend is significant and could be put to much better use.