re: Vitamin B.S.: How people came to believe the myth of nutritional supplements

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Omg so I'm gonna die?

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Yes, you will; we all will.

We get it. You're married to a Dr

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i started taking D

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Hawkeye95

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So you like taking the D?

Just kidding. I knew that was your research self talking

They are overrated but I would not just dismiss them all like that. For example, I read where Calcium and D helps to prevent diabetes. I also had this nonstop nerve twitch that I was able to stop with L-Argynine. That's just 2 examples.

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Yes, I'm aware of that. But, as I've said, the only times I know of that vitamin D deficiency becomes a concern is when someone has osteopenia/osteoporosis (usually older women, who are often correctly advised to take calcium and vitamin D) or has an imminent orthopaedic surgery (when optimal bone healing is essential). Otherwise (i.e., in the vast majority of healthy adults), there's no real reason to check blood levels or to take supplements for vitamin D. Most Americans are probably vitamin D deficient (particularly people who live in urban areas, who tend to have less sun exposure) - and, yes, a supplement can raise a person's vitamin D level; but unless someone has one of the problems mentioned above, the "deficiency" is harmless.

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Actually having low levels of vitamin D is one of the conditions that contributes to bone loss.

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Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, because it helps the body use calcium from the diet. Traditionally, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with rickets, a disease in which the bone tissue doesn't properly mineralize, leading to soft bones and skeletal deformities. But increasingly, research is revealing the importance of vitamin D in protecting against a host of health problems.

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So vitamin D leads to to bone loss and if most Americans are vitamin D deficient, you don't see where a vitamin D supplement would come in handy?

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This is where the evidence largely disagrees with him

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Who is him? The Harvard School of Public Health or NIH whose job it is to review all the stats and research etc and then come to conclusions?

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This is where the evidence largely disagrees with him. Even people with poor diets very rarely have a deficiency of any of the vitamins found in a multivitamin [except D and possibly C, although I'm not even sure if (or why) you can measure C]. As I've said before, I've never even heard of someone in the US having scurvy (from vitamin C deficiency) - not since, say, the 1800s. And the other vitamins found in a multivitamin - A, the Bs, E, K - those are seldom deficient. And if a person is not vitamin deficient - heck, even if they are - a multivitamin isn't going to help much.

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Scurvy, while uncommon, still occurs in developed countries despite the widespread availability of vitamins and fortified foods. A vitamin C deficiency prevalence of 10 to 14% in adults was reported in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 1994.

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Despite dietary and supplemental intakes of vitamin C that exceeded the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) in the test group, (145-210 mg per day), 14% of males and 10% of females were deficient in vitamin C (1). Deficiency was greatest (17%) in 25-64 year old males and 25-44 year old females (12%) (1). Vitamin C depletion reached 23% in 25-44 year old males and 20% in 25-44 year old females (1).

Current smokers had the highest risk of vitamin C deficiency (males OR=3.6; 95% CI=3.2,3.4; females OR=4.2; 95% CI=3.6,4.9) (1). The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences recommends that individuals who smoke consume an additional 35 mg of vitamin C per day (110-125 mg per day total) (1).

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Vitamin A deficiency is rarer thatn D or C but it is still a problem in some ppl in the US, but it is a big problem in developing countries.

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VAD is uncommon in the general population, but subgroups of patients suffering from fat malabsorption, cholestasis, or IBD or who have undergone small-bowel bypass may have subclinical deficiency with dark-adaptation abnormalities in the range of 60%. Vegans, persons with alcoholism, toddlers and preschool children living below the poverty line, and recent immigrants or refugees from developing countries all have increased risk of VAD secondary to decreased ingestion.

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Vitamin A deficiency is common in the United States among low-income groups. Children are especially vulnerable because they are still growing rapidly. People who eat very-low-fat diets and who limit their consumption of liver, dairy foods and dark green vegetables, and those who experience fat malabsorption from conditions like celiac disease or infectious hepatitis can also become deficient in vitamin A. A zinc deficiency can also trigger a vitamin A deficiency by making it difficult to use the body's own stores of the vitamin.

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Again, none of this ever manifests clinically. Like the article in the OP points out, there's no reason why we think we need certain amounts of these nutrients. The recommended daily values are arbitrary; and they were apparently designed, in part, because someone thought vitamins would improve Americans' vitality and help us beat the Nazis in WW2.

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Funny you should mention the article in the OP. I read it and it cited an article in the Annals of Internal Medicine which cited these studies which listed their limitations:
source one:

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Limitations: The analysis included only primary prevention studies in adults without known nutritional deficiencies. Studies were conducted in older individuals and included various supplements and doses under the set upper tolerable limits. Duration of most studies was less than 10 years.

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So it studied men that didn't have a defifciency either do to malabsorption or malnutrition.
Source2:

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Doses of vitamins may be too low or the population may be too well-nourished to benefit from a multivitamin.

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Source3: didn't mention vitamen supplements in the abstract and cover sheet so I am not going to read it and post the article using my medical school's pubmed account. It had to deal with screening for Alzheimers, but if you want to read it, here is the summary.
Feel free to read the rest here
Also like what was stated one of my earlier link, an explanation of why that is because it is extremely complicated and there have been limited RCCT trials because it is extremely expensive, hard to track and takes a long time.

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The risks and benefits are basically equal. . . i.e., nada.

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I don't believe I have ever advocated for healthy ppl who eat well taking a supplement but even the authors of the study you article cite say this:

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While vitamin deficiency is a major source of preventable disease in certain parts of the world, the authors focused on normal, healthy adults in the U.S., where there is little evidence of micronutrient deficiency. The doctors noted that people with celiac disease or other health problems that interfere with absorption of micronutrients can benefit from multivitamin use.

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Interesting. I'm aware of the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular disease, but to my knowledge there is no evidence of causation. I've heard it's an area of ongoing research, though. Are you referring to something else?

Per the latest American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' recommendations:
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At the present time, there is not sufficient evidence to recommend screening individuals who are not at risk for deficiency or to prescribe vitamin D to attain the noncalcemic benefit for cardiovascular protection.

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You shouldn't screen ppl not at risk? Not shite sherlock. However if you read past the summary of that link you see they state who should and should not be screened.

My "whole food" Alive vitamins make noticeable changes in me. I agree artificial supplements are hogwash.

Mine are ground up and dried vegetables basically.