Why You Shouldn’t Waste Money on Multivitamins

Thomas Campbell’s The Campbell Plan, is one of the best books that I have read on whole foods plant-based diets. The book is straightforward and clear and has become my bible for nutrition. I have read lots about the subject, but there are still some issues that I have been uncertain about, supplements, for one. Based on Campbell’s book and the subsequent article on the Forks Over Knives website,  I have decided to skip supplements, with one exception. My whole foods plant-based diet should take care of my nutrition needs. 

My other nutrition and health guru John McDougall, M.D. also advises against supplements. So, taken together, I am convinced.

Here is what Campbell has to say about supplements:

"Many people view multivitamins as some sort of insurance policy that they use so they’ll feel that they’ve got their bases covered when it comes to nutrition. Unfortunately, it’s an insurance policy that won’t pay out and in some cases may be harmful, but people have been buying and taking multivitamins since the first one was introduced in the 1940s. I never recommend a multivitamin for general health. I think it’s a waste of money, and generally the scientific authorities agree."

Here is what Dr. McDougall has to say: "Nature's foods are complete.  To make a profit, manufacturers isolate out and concentrate nutrients, like vitamins and minerals, and sell them as expensive pills.  The consequence is to create serious imbalances within the workings of your cells, and then diseases follow.....Don't risk your life and waste your money on these gimmicks.  The only supplement I routinely recommend is Vitamin B12." 

Since I don't eat animal foods, the primary source of vitamin B12, I do take this supplement, usually in pure liquid form.  Not only do I not eat animal foods, but I also try to avoid highly processed foods some of which may have been fortified with B12.  So, given the importance of this nutrient, I think it is wise to use this one supplement.

Dr.John McDougall Disputes Major Medical Treatments- Aging Gracefully, Maybe to 100.

This video is priceless.  Dr. John McDougall talks about the powerful impact of lifestyle, especially good nutrition, on our health and our functional longevity.  It is 42 minutes long, but well worth the time.

Better Health Through Good Choices

I am not a big George Will fan.  George is a conservative Republican columnist.  His politics and mine are miles apart. Nevertheless, his op-ed this morning in the Washington  Post titled Better Health Through Good Choices is right on target.  I couldn't agree with him more.  He says that modern medicine is not the solution to our good health.  Rather, our personal lifestyle choices determine whether we remain healthy or not.  Hooray for George.

This article resonated with me for several reasons.  First, Will’s introduction to good health through making wise personal decisions happened in 1964, when the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking arrived.  He says:

“In September 1958, a future columnist, then 17, was unpacking as a college freshman when upperclassmen hired by tobacco companies knocked on his dormitory door, distributing free mini-packs of cigarettes. He and many other aspiring sophisticates became smokers. Nearly six years later — 50 years ago: Jan. 11, 1964 — when the surgeon general published the report declaring tobacco carcinogenic, more than 40 percent of U.S. adults smoked. Today, when smoking is considered declasse rather than sophisticated, fewer than one-fifth do.”

George Will and I must be about the same age, because my journey to make wise health choices also began in January, 1964, when Luther Terry, the then United States Surgeon General, issued the first report on smoking and health.  I immediately gave up smoking.  Since then I have become and avid exerciser and advocate of a plant-based whole foods eating style.  These, I believe, are the keys to my current good health.  My first step was to give up smoking after Terry’s report.  For me, that was the beginning of a journey.

In the early 90s, I served on a panel with Dr. Terry in Philadelphia.  He was an Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania at the time.  After the session, I had the opportunity to chat with Dr. Terry.  I told him that I gave up smoking the day after I read his Surgeon General's report in 1964, the year I graduated from college.  I told him that he probably saved my life.  For sure, he helped keep me healthy.  I will always remember that conversation with Dr. Terry.

The press is full of talk about the successes or failures of Obamacare and what we should do to improve healthcare in the United States.   Of course we need to reduce, hopefully to zero, the number of uninsured in our country.  But, equally important is find ways to help people make better choices about nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction and other health promoting behaviors. These are the keys to good health, much more so than more medical care.

American Urologic Association Changes Stance on PSA Testing

USA Today published an article today headlined

Urology group stops recommending routine PSA test

This is an amazing development. The Urological Association has for many years been one of the more aggressive promoters of the PSA exam.  The new guidelines published by the Association are as follows:

• PSA screening in men under age 40 years is not recommended.
• Routine screening in men between ages 40 to 54 years at average risk is not recommended.
• For men ages 55 to 69 years, the decision to undergo PSA screening involves weighing the benefits of preventing prostate cancer mortality in 1 man for every 1,000 men screened over a decade against the known potential harms associated with screening and treatment. For this reason, shared decision-making is recommended for men age 55 to 69 years that are considering PSA screening, and proceeding based on patients’ values and preferences.
• To reduce the harms of screening, a routine screening interval of two years or more may be preferred over annual screening in those men who have participated in shared decision-making and decided on screening. As compared to annual screening, it is expected that screening intervals of two years preserve the majority of the benefits and reduce over diagnosis and false positives. 
• Routine PSA screening is not recommended in men over age 70 or any man with less than a 10-15 year life expectancy.

 This represents a major departure from the past and, hopefully, signals a much more conservative and sensible use of the PSA exam.