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This is a pet topic of mine because when I walk through shopping centres and see how much people spend on vitamins, it makes me weep.
If you are fit and healthy, with a varied diet - i.e. eat fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, then you have no need to take any vitamin supplements at all. It just makes for expensive urine.
Here are a couple of exceptions which are backed up by evidence in the medical literature:
-pregnant women or women planning on pregnancy should take folic acid daily to reduce the risk of neural tube defects (e.g. spina bifida), and iron to reduce the anaemia or iron deficiency of pregnancy.
-people with black or brown skin, or those who cover up completely from the sun, are at risk of Vitamin D deficiency and may need a Vitamin D supplement
- people with specific illnesses might need to take a vitamin, like those with severe liver impairment, alcoholism, needing Vitamin B 12 and folate.
-vegans and some vegetarians, will find it difficult to get sufficient Vitamin B12, B6 and iron without taking a supplement.
There is excellent evidence that taking vitamin C, echinacea etc during a cold has no effect on its severity or duration. Many people swear by them, but thats the placebo effect - in randomised controlled trials, they are no different to placebo.
Things like fish oil are very popular now, and there is emerging evidence that they reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack, but why not eat more fish?
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