Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 71 posts

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#31

Post by zecg »

seshagiric wrote: post #17
cas wrote: post #11

There is a lot of scientific research that shows that a balanced diet is all that is required to provide all the vitamins the body requires and that supplements at best are a waste of money and at worst in large doses can cause harm. The only exception would be for people that have specific conditions that a doctor suggests supplements for. Edit: I though i would add one example i read recently about Omega 3 that rea…

Isn't the point of taking of supplements that you cannot easily arrange a 'balanced diet'?

Yes, but it's actually easier than people think. You don't have to make a science of it or measure doses, just ditch flavor enhancers and avoid preservatives, read the labels on stuff you buy (yes, time-consuming at first, but you'll have to do it less and less as you gain experience), favor fresh produce over junk food and get lots of sunshine.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#32

Post by jgrahamc »

Luc wrote: post #23
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand why people consider this "nonsense"? I agree with you that suppliments don't come close to doing what a natrually balanced diet would do for me, but why do people who aren't picky eaters think this is something that can just be "snapped out of"? Few people I know like or would willingly consume anything put in front of them. Surely there is something out there you wouldn't eat, don't like, e…

As a rule of thumb, by just repeatedly eating the food you don't like, you will get used to it and learn to like it. This is all it takes - just eat spinach 10 times, and you'll learn to like spinach. It's likely you'll prefer it prepared this way rather than that way, but your tastes will change. I like to make it easier on myself by putting lots of pepper or chilli sauce on the food, until I am used to the taste. B…

Essentially this is how parents should educate children. Children should be made to taste all foods that are presented to them.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#33

Post by dalore »

jgrahamc wrote: post #19
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #15

I'm a terribly picky eater. So terrible in fact, that there is a single green vegetable I'll consume and zero fruits. Sure, I'll eat things comprised of processed vegies (love me some pizza), but I won't sit down and eat a tomato, pees, bananas, etc. Okay, I eat potato's too, but that's a stretch. So while I haven't done any research on the matter, I'd say it's pretty conclusive I don't get a good portion of nutrient…

At the risk of sounding like someone's mother: snap out of that ridiculous picky eater nonsense. Unless you've got an actual medical condition that prevents you from eating certain foods you are likely doing yourself a hell of a lot of harm by only eating processed food. And spending your $ on supplements isn't going to make up for all the complex stuff in vegetables and fruits that you are missing.

It might not be his/her fault. Some people with Aspergers have a problem with certain food textures. It might even be a mild form of Aspergers that hasn't been diagnosed.

I myself have a problem with the "crunchiness" of vegetables and can't eat them. I've tried to overcome it but my throat closes up when I feel the texture and know that I'm eating it.

So I can't eat vegetables. I joke around that I'm a meatarian since I eat everything but vegetables (defined as exclusive, since vegetarians are people who eat anything but meat, also exclusive). But it's not really a joke.

As a consequence I've had to make sure I'm eating healthy with this extra restriction. I used to do what they did and just eat what I like and take a supplement plus 1000mg of vitamin c. But I've changed and now eat lots of fruit and no snack food. And I've decided not to take the supplements anymore.

Supplement also tend not to be absorbed well into the body so their use is questionable. But is it better they take a vitamin supplement vs not taking one on the the same diet?

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#34

Post by jgrahamc »

dalore wrote: post #33
jgrahamc wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the risk of sounding like someone's mother: snap out of that ridiculous picky eater nonsense. Unless you've got an actual medical condition that prevents you from eating certain foods you are likely doing yourself a hell of a lot of harm by only eating processed food. And spending your $ on supplements isn't going to make up for all the complex stuff in vegetables and fruits that you are missing.

It might not be his/her fault. Some people with Aspergers have a problem with certain food textures. It might even be a mild form of Aspergers that hasn't been diagnosed. I myself have a problem with the "crunchiness" of vegetables and can't eat them. I've tried to overcome it but my throat closes up when I feel the texture and know that I'm eating it. So I can't eat vegetables. I joke around that I'm a meatarian sin…

As I said in my post: unless you have a medical problem that prevents you.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#35

Post by dalore »

Luc wrote: post #23
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand why people consider this "nonsense"? I agree with you that suppliments don't come close to doing what a natrually balanced diet would do for me, but why do people who aren't picky eaters think this is something that can just be "snapped out of"? Few people I know like or would willingly consume anything put in front of them. Surely there is something out there you wouldn't eat, don't like, e…

As a rule of thumb, by just repeatedly eating the food you don't like, you will get used to it and learn to like it. This is all it takes - just eat spinach 10 times, and you'll learn to like spinach. It's likely you'll prefer it prepared this way rather than that way, but your tastes will change. I like to make it easier on myself by putting lots of pepper or chilli sauce on the food, until I am used to the taste. B…

You can't generalize like that. I seriously can't eat vegetables. It's the texture and not the taste. I can eat them when they have been puréed and mixed into my food and I don't know about it. But if I try to eat something and I feel the "crunch" of vegetables, my throat will close up.

It's been noted that people with Aspergers sometimes have a problem with certain food textures. So this could be a manifestation of that.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#36

Post by vlado »

My candidate-mother-in-law (as she likes to call herself) says artificial vitamins are bad. Vitamins and minerals in the form of pills get fully absorbed by the body, even if they are not needed in such big quantities at the moment.

Examples: If you bring more calcium in the body it can subside in kydneys in the form of sand-particles.

If you bring more vitamin D into the body, the body starts to pull out calcium from the bones and sends it to the kidneys and to the heart-muscle.

She's a pediatrician and а homoeopath and feeds us (my girlfriend and me) with blue-green-algae additives, because they contain all the stuff in it's natural form, so the organism can take whatever it needs out of it and excrete the rest.

Her supplier of choice is AquaSource (a multi-level-marketing company), but there are many other companies that offer similar stuff.

Sorry for my ("medical") english, had a gard time translating it from my native language.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#37

Post by dalore »

jgrahamc wrote: post #34
dalore wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It might not be his/her fault. Some people with Aspergers have a problem with certain food textures. It might even be a mild form of Aspergers that hasn't been diagnosed. I myself have a problem with the "crunchiness" of vegetables and can't eat them. I've tried to overcome it but my throat closes up when I feel the texture and know that I'm eating it. So I can't eat vegetables. I joke around that I'm a meatarian sin…

As I said in my post: unless you have a medical problem that prevents you.

Yes, but it might not be diagnosed.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#38

Post by dalore »

vlado wrote: post #36

My candidate-mother-in-law (as she likes to call herself) says artificial vitamins are bad. Vitamins and minerals in the form of pills get fully absorbed by the body, even if they are not needed in such big quantities at the moment. Examples: If you bring more calcium in the body it can subside in kydneys in the form of sand-particles. If you bring more vitamin D into the body, the body starts to pull out calcium fro…

I got told me quite the opposite, from people with actual medical degrees. That multivitamin supplements aren't all that useful since the body tends to not absorb much of it and excretes it. It's better to get the vitamins from your food.

If vitamins get fully absorbed why is my piss bright green when I take a multivitamin?

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#39

Post by hga »

seshagiric wrote: post #17
cas wrote: post #11

There is a lot of scientific research that shows that a balanced diet is all that is required to provide all the vitamins the body requires and that supplements at best are a waste of money and at worst in large doses can cause harm. The only exception would be for people that have specific conditions that a doctor suggests supplements for. Edit: I though i would add one example i read recently about Omega 3 that rea…

Isn't the point of taking of supplements that you cannot easily arrange a 'balanced diet'?

Exactly.

Plus you simply don't know if e.g. the oats in that tin of oatmeal you're working through were grown in soil that had adequate (for you) amounts of selenium.

Taking a "One A Day" vitamin just to make sure you hit all the bases is a minimal reasonable precaution.

Re: Ask HN: Which vitamin supplements do you take?

#40

Post by WesleyJohnson »

thejash wrote: post #24
WesleyJohnson wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand why people consider this "nonsense"? I agree with you that suppliments don't come close to doing what a natrually balanced diet would do for me, but why do people who aren't picky eaters think this is something that can just be "snapped out of"? Few people I know like or would willingly consume anything put in front of them. Surely there is something out there you wouldn't eat, don't like, e…

If you force yourself to eat more of something, you will grow to like it. I've heard this before, and I've definitely noticed it with myself, my friends, and my family, but I could not find a scientific article to back it up (though I didn't look that hard) So your picky eating is literally "nonsense" because there is no logical, sensible reason for it--if you would only force yourself to eat other foods (for an exte…

So however outlandish this may come across, but your assesment everyone could learn to love tree bark, tar, asphalt, fecies, freshly sprayed skunk, hair, etc? Yes, there are people society likely considers "weird" that would eat this stuff, but surely not - everyone - could love this stuff if they'd just try it once, twice, 10 times?
Post reply on HN