"Simply put, fortification is the process of adding vitamins and minerals to foods that do not contain them. By fortifying our cereal with nutrients like riboflavin, iron, thiamin and folic acid, we can better help you to meet the daily dietary recommendations of these vitamins and minerals."(5)
Will Kellogg Corn Flakes and all the other Food Companies stop fortifying cereals with vitamins and minerals because an editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine funded by Drug Companies says they should stop ? I don't think so, and neither should you.
Ask the Government if We need Vitamins -- B12 and
Folate
Let's go to another place to ask if we don't need our vitamin supplements, ask if we should throw them into the garbage can. Lets go ask the government. Lets take a look at the USDA 2010 dietary guidelines which tell us:
"Because older adults may have a hard time absorbing vitamin B-12 from food, the USDA's 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that people over 50 years-old incorporate B-12 fortified foods or B12 crystalline supplements in their diets. " (6,7)
Folate Prevents Birth Defects- Supplementation with Folate Advised
The government also advises folate to prevent neural tube deformities. "If you're a woman of childbearing age who may become pregnant or is in the first trimester of pregnancy, consume adequate synthetic folic acid daily (from fortified foods or supplements) in addition to food forms of folate from a varied diet." (6.7)
Anti-Vitamin Editorial is More Drug Industry Sponsored Propaganda ?
So now that we know that our food industry believes our food is deficient and needs fortification with vitamin supplements, and even our own government agrees we need vitamin supplements, what can we conclude ?
Perhaps this anti-vitamin editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine is merely sponsored propaganda from the Drug Industry.
Remember that natural supplements represent competition to the drug industry. Why not eliminate the competition creating a sicker population which then requires more drugs, and more health care? This is a simple formula for increasing drug sales and profits, but unfortunately makes for a sicker nation with higher expenditures on health care.
A Skewed Population of Ill People
My most significant criticism of this Anti-Vitamin Editorial is that as physicians, we do not see healthy people. They have no reason to seek medical attention.
We see in our offices every day a skewed population of people who are there because of health issues. They have, among other things, vitamin, mineral and micro nutrient deficiencies. Some of these deficiencies are caused by inadequate dietary intake, some are caused by drug interactions which prevent absorption, some are caused by auto-immune illnesses, some are caused by genetic abnormalities in transport proteins, etc. It is the job of the physician to identify these vitamin, mineral, micronutient deficiencies and rectify them as best as possible. That is what I try to do.
It is not helpful to publish a rant in the medical literature about how there are no micronutient deficiencies in the population, and besides vitamins and minerals are worthless. This is not a valid intellectual exercise, which only benefits the drug industry sponsors. It certainly does not benefit the population.
Toxic Effects of Vitamin Excess
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