Question 1
What is your opinion on the use of dietary supplements amongst adolescents? Amongst adults? Did either of these studies change your opinion at all?
posted by Bethany @ 7:02 PM
35 comments
ISU Dietetic Internship Journal Club
Objective: To become familiar with current scientific literature on a variety of nutrition topics and to gain experience in gathering, organizing, critically evaluating, presenting and facilitating group discussion of the literature and the implications to practice.
35 Comments:
I feel that for both adolescents and adults, if you can get the recommended daily allowances of nutrients through food you should as oppose to supplementation, however if you can not meet your needs through food or live in areas that make it more difficult I think that a supplement should be taken to help you get adequate intake of key nutrients especially in the case of vitamin D, there is a lot of new research saying we need more than we thought we did in the past and many people have a hard time getting the needs through their diet or the sunlight especially in winter months of certain areas of the country. After reading, my opinion on supplementation did not change, I still think diet is the best way to get the nutrients we need.
I feel that dietary supplements should be used to "supplement" the diet, not in the place of the foods that contain all the essential vitamins and minerals for either adolescents or adults. I could see how some individuals that take supplements would also consume a healthier diet, however with that said there are also many individuals that abuse the use of supplements so they don't have to eat certain foods. I do think that these studies revealed important findings and are definitely thought provoking.
I completely agree with you Stephanie. I think that if individuals are able to obtain the vitamins and minerals through the actual foods as opposed to supplements then they should. Often when people take supplements, they excrete much of the original amount that was in the pills through their urine, they do not absorb all of the amounts, or they develop toxicities. It is safer and more nutritionally beneficial to get these nutrients from the actual food.
I grew up taking Flintstones vitamins and have to admit to sneaking extras from time to time because they tasted like candy. I'm sure I'm not the only one! Now they have Flintstones for adults and I bet there's more than one adult taking extras. I think supplements can be dangerous in that way. They may also send the message to kids and adults that it doesn't matter what they eat so long as they take their vitamin. In agreement with previous posts, I think the emphasis needs to be more on whole foods than supplements. This study didn't change my opinion, but I think its an important research topic.
I believe that dietary supplement usage is common in younger individuals, especially in those that engage in sports. The results did not change my opinion on the subject. I believe often high school students are pressured by peers, coaches or parents to excel at sports and they might turn to supplements to increase their performance. I also feel that many individuals take a vitamin to compensate for unhealthy diets.
I feel that it is best for both adolescents and adults to obtain all of the RDAs for nutrients from food. However, I have seen instances where supplementation is a good idea because someone will not eat/drink certain foods/beverages that are high in important nutrients (i.e. Calcium and dairy products). I do believe that supplements have their place and they are not suitable/necessary for everyone. This study did not change my opinion but it is interesting that adolescents that were already consuming what they thought was a healthy diet took supplements more often than those that did not think they were eating healthy.
Liz, you bring up an interesting point that adolescents may be feeling pressure to excel at sports and they may believe that taking a supplement would help with performance and also that some may be taking them to compensate for poor diet. It would be interesting to determine reasoning as to why participants were taking supplements since those are two very different reasons.
I think that supplementation use is a tricky subject with both adolescents and adults. I consider a multivitamin and mineral to be essential for most Americans, because oftentimes diet lacks in essential vitamins and minerals. This research supports that adolescent supplement use is associated with healthier diet and lifestyle. I believe that supplements should be used as they were intended, to supplement where the diet may be lacking; certainly not in place of whole foods, whose bioavailability is much higher.
Kathy, I agree that taking Flinstone vitamins or the new 'gummy vitamins,' can be a dangerous way to introduce vitamins. I babysit for two young boys who try to get me to let them take an extra vitamin. Not only does it associate vitamins with candy, but if they could get into them and take too many, it can be dangerous and unhealthy.
I believe that supplements should be used when a person is unable to meet their nutritional needs with foods or when someone has increased nutrient needs due to a disease state. I think that supplements usage is common among adolescents, particularly those involved in sports. I don’t believe this is necessarily healthy or warranted. I believe that some individuals use supplements in place of a healthy diet. There are obviously individuals who use supplements in a safe manner, but there are also those who exceed RDAs and are not consuming a healthful diet. These studies did not change my opinion on supplement usage. I still believe they should only be used when needed as a supplement to the diet.
I think supplements are good when nutrients are unable to be consumed in adequate amounts from the diet. I think the first route should be to obtain nutrients from food rather than relying on supplements if possible. I used to work in a store that sold supplements and it is unbelievable how many supplements people (adolescents & adults) take. It is also somewhat scary knowing that untrained professionals are making recommendations about supplements to the public. The results of this study did not change my opinion. I think there is a place for supplements but they should be recommended from a doctor (especially for adolescents) and monitored closely depending on the type of supplement. I still think the best way is to consume a healthy diet and obtain nutrients from food sources. Also, most of the time, it is much cheaper to buy and eat the food than it is to purchase a supplement!
Liz- I agree with you about adolescents in sports using more supplements than those who do not participate in sports. There is a lot of pressure to succeed and often times young adults will hear that some type of supplement improves performance and are willing to try it without knowing the facts. I think it would be interesting to do a study on high school athletes and supplement use to figure out why they choose to use different supplements and what types of supplements are common among that age group.
If the dietary supplements only include what the authors considered as dietary supplements (i.e. multivitamins and not amino acid and herbal supplements), then I believe it is okay for both adolescents and adults to take them. I think getting our recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals on a daily basis is very important and though I would ideally like for people to get those from their food, I realize that is not realistic in most cases. My opinion on this did not change at all after reading this study. I actually think it makes a lot of sense that people who already engage in more healthy behaviors like eating breakfast, eating healthier foods, getting more physical activity, and watching less television would be more inclined to take a multivitamin likely to enhance their diet.
Stephanie, I completely agree with you about people trying to get vitamins and minerals through their diet first but using a multivitamin if they are not able to do so. I also think you bring up a good point about vitamin D. As all these studies are suggesting increased levels of vitamin D in our diet and we may not be able to consume that much on a daily basis that using a vitamin D supplement may be beneficial.
No these studies did not change my opinion about dietary supplements. I found the results interesting but the best way to go will always be food. The one thing that always scared me away from supplements has been the fact that they aren't always regulated. I feel that leaves the consumer vulnerable.
Many of you are making good points about vitamin D and calcium. For me I view a supplement as a last resort. There are plenty of foods that are fortfied with those and every other vitamin and mineral the body needs, like total.
Sarah has good point; multivitamin and mineral supplementation may be necessary for some Americans due to lack of an adequate diet. I still believe that supplementation should only be used when needs cannot be met with food. I think for a lot of Americans, making dietary changes would reduce the need for a supplement.
Whatever the reason an individual is choosing to supplement their diet, assumed health benefits are probably driving their decision in some way. I believed that dietary supplement use (as far as vitamins and minerals go) would be less prevalent among adolescents than adults. I think that as a person matures with age, they are more likely forced to be more conscious about their health and therefore may make more decisions such as supplementing their diet. I was a little surprised to that almost one fourth of the participants, as adolescents, were using supplements. I definitely believe that specific reasons for supplementation may differ between adolescents and adults.
I agree with all of the previous posts about trying to meet the vitamin and mineral requirements through diet first. It made me think about all of the fortified foods that are available now such as children's snack foods like fruit-snacks with 100% of vitamin C, cereals like Total, and grain/cereal bars. This is a whole other category in which individuals can abuse and use to reach their daily requirements without consuming the variety of healthful foods that would normally be necessary to achieve the appropriate amounts.
I believe taking a multivitamin should be typically encouraged in the child population. Nutrition during this growth phase is particularly important, and barriers to nutrition such as picky eaters, eating disorders, and a lack of nutrition education is much more common in this population. Taking a multivitamin designed for the age-group (child/teen) is a good idea. However, if the family has a high level of nutrition education, has appropriate, healthy foods available to them, and the children in the household will eat these foods, then a MVI may not be necessary. In adult populations, I believe the same sort of stipulations hold true. In a perfect world, every person, regardless of age, would be able to get complete nutrition from their diet, not a pill; however, this is just not realistic all the time. Of particular interest is the new recommendations for vitamin D coming out (which would be extremely difficult to reach through diet and sun exposure alone), as well as possible benefits of other nutrients such as omega-3 (where there is a risk to increased mercury exposure if the person is not educated and careful with fish selection). These studies suggested that kids who are already eating healthier foods are the ones taking the supplements, not the other way around. Perhaps the role of MVI should be discussed in school newsletters to increase awareness on this topic.
Melanie, Sarah G, and Kevin, I agree that supplements are often used not to "supplement" but to "substitute," and that we need to get away from this trend and talk to parents/families about the importance of eating whole foods, not just vitamin cocktails, for maximize health.
It depends on what the mechanism of the dietary supplement is. Many bariatric patients must utilize supplements for successful procedures and avoidance of post op complications. Other instances where a dietary supplement may be necessary are for thoughs who do not obtain enough nutrients from a balanced diet. Dietarty supplements can include a broad range of forms that may not be adequately absorbed and therefore, pointless to consume.
Great point Melanie, they should definitely be used to "supplement the diet" and not replace the food and beverage intake that can do that for us.
My opinion on dietary supplementation among any age group, is that it is unnecessary, unless advised by a health professional. As a future health professional, in the case of pregnancy, deficiency, malnutrition, a restrictive diet or the lack of access to a variety of foods, I would deem supplementation appropriate. For an average, healthy adolescent or adult, one should be able to obtain all of the necessary vitamins and minerals through the foods they eat.
Brooke, it's great that you bring up fortified foods. It makes me think about the hypothesis that children and men may be getting too much folic acid now, and that there may be a link to increasing cancer risk. I think supplementation (through multivitamins or food) can be beneficial, but it may also be detrimental. I think many consumers are unaware of this and believe it can only be a postive thing.
My opinion on supplements just in general is in agreement with many of the people on this board, it should only be used if there is a specific need for supplements. It is always better to try to get all of the vitamin and minerals your body needs through your food intake. I am very surprised that there is such a high prevalence of adolescents who are taking supplements, mostly because when I was in middle school/high school it would never have occurred to me to take any supplements and I do not think that it was very common then, or if it was I did not know it. I would not say that this study changed my opinion at all, just made me aware that adolescents commonly take supplements which is good to know when working with this population as a dietitian.
I agree with Kathy's comment about taking Flintstones gummy vitamines that they could be a bad way to advertise to children. Vitamins should not be advertised as a "candy", although this may help parents get children to take a multivitamin. I also agree with the comments about children feeling pressure to excel at sports and therefore they believe supplementation may help with this. I think in general the public has a misconception about vitamin and mineral intakes and believe that a multi vitamin is a good way to just "magically get all my needs".
Brooke-
Great point about fortification of foods. Just think of the people that take a multivitamin and consume fortified foods each day!
I generally believe that dietary supplements are not necessarily needed for a healthy individual that consumes a well balanced diet. I feel that food will be adequate enough to receive the nutrients one needs. However, I do think that some individuals might need supplementation if they cannot reach their requirements. This article didn't really change my opinion on supplementation. It appears in this study that more health conscious kids are taking supplements.
I feel that the aim should be to meet the recommended daily allowances through food using supplementation when needed. They should not be used to replace eating certain foods. This study did not change my opinion on supplementation. I found it interesting that the people consuming a healthy diet are more likely to take a vitamin/mineral supplement then those who might need it more as they are possibly not meeting the RDA.
Kathy and Sarah- you bring up a great point about taking too many vitamins with children. We often don't think of someone getting too many vitamins and minerals with most american diets lacking in these but you are right it can be dangerous to introduce vitamins this way to children. On the other hand, would we take them as children if they weren't gummy and candy like? is education the answer? :)
I believe that when used correctly, dietary supplements can be beneficial when there is an absence of nutritional adequacy. However, in the instance of adolescents anything more than a multi-vitamin seems to be a bit worrisome indicating their diet may be lacking or their have inaccurate perceptions on nutrition.
Melanie,
I agree with you that individuals may be abusing supplements in order to avoid eating certain foods. I believe this is where nutrition education comes in and also shows a general misconception of the effectiveness of dietary supplements.
Meredith, I definitely agree that dietary supplementation is unnecessary unless a health professional believes it is appropriate. Like Rose mentioned, if many Americans made dietary changes it would reduce the need for supplementation.
I agree with Melanie that supplements should be used in addition to a healthy diet. I think they have a definite place in the diet though. I agree that people who consume a healthy diet are more likely to take a supplement but I am curious on how often they take it.
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