Saturday, December 21, 2013

Vitamins or Medicine?

Why so many people are willing to take supplements instead of their medication is hard for me to understand. Sometimes I have patients taking as many (or more) vitamins and supplements as they are medications. You get everything you need from a good and balanced diet. Vitamins can help plug a few holes, but do not replace good dietary habits. And vitamins don't fix Diabetes or Hypertension.  Diseases like Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and Diabetes and Hypertension require medication, not vitamins and supplements. Medication plays a primary role in their management, while vitamins have a very limited/tertiary and unproven role in their management. I don't understand the general distrust of the pharmaceutical industry that the average consumer seems to have. Statins in particular have been villified by the media and lay people as causing more problems than solutions in the management of CAD, but several well designed and well controlled studies consistently show that lower Total Cholesterol, and LDL Cholesterol in particular, leads to less morbidity and mortality in adults. Controlling Hypertension with Betablockers, ACE Inhibitors and Diuretics leads to longevity, but people are still more willing to pop a vitamin C tablet in their mouths than take their Blood Pressure Medication. People are living longer than ever due to Vaccination programs, antibiotics and better medication for Diabetes and Heart Disease.  Vitamins are an unproven commodity, but we spend billions of dollars on then annually...buy more fruits and vegetables, Olive Oil, lean protein and drink more water.

Live well.
- Dr.Ronan

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