Nutritional fallacies

Chapter 12 write-up

Author

Institution

Introduction

The importance of nutrition in the health and wellbeing of an individual cannot be gainsaid. Recent times have seen an increase in the interest that people have about their nutrition. This is especially due to the intense marketing, as well as the thought that fast foods are harmful to individual’s health. It is noteworthy that quite a large number of people who consume supplements do not need them. In fact, most herbal products and dietary supplements have no rational foundation and may be dangerous to one’s health. The unnecessary consumption of these supplements may be blamed on marketers, most of whom would not offer trustworthy advice as it would be detrimental to their business and profitability. This, therefore, underlines the importance identifying and utilizing reliable informational sources, not only to safeguard one’s health but also to ensure the best value for one’s money.

In my opinion, facts pertaining to vitamin supplements and their functioning have been totally distorted for the benefit of manufacturers and, of course, the marketers. The distortion rides on the ignorance of people as pertaining to their nutrition. In essence, this misinformation first aims at showing them that they have been doing everything the wrong way. The marketers then feed the people with half truths about their nutrition and provide alternatives to the foods that they consume.

One of the most commonly traded fallacies about vitamin and mineral supplements is that, an increase in the dosage would translate in an increase, in the benefits’ speed. This has led to the perception that mineral and vitamin supplements are magic pills (Barrett 1992). People expect these supplements to undo the damage that may have taken decades to create. In addition, they believe that if they have the right pills, they will not need to do anything else so as to regain their health. It is noteworthy that some people have obtained some truly impressive results after correcting a considerable mineral or vitamin deficiency, in which case the supplements have provided these people with the necessary nutrients (Barrett 1992). However, the growth and development of degenerative ailments takes a considerable length of time and will, more often than not be associated with numerous contributing factors. In essence, the isolation of one factor out of a wide range of contributing factors and portending that it would fix the problem is, more often than not, too simplistic (Barrett 1992). In addition, such suggestions tend to eliminate the necessity of changing other contributing factors such as quitting smoking, exercising and even watching one’s weight. It is noteworthy that, mineral and vitamin supplements would be a crucial step towards health improvement, but should only be seen as only one component of the therapy (Barrett 1992).

In addition, marketers expound the fallacy that mineral and vitamin supplements should function directly and quickly on the condition, failure to which they would not be working (Thomas 1996). There are instances where individuals, suffering from osteoarthritis, take mineral and vitamin supplements for one week then stop consuming them and report that they were not effective. It is noteworthy that, mineral and vitamin supplements should be taken over a number of months in order to give one’s body some time to absorb what it needs and start the process of repairing any damage that has taken place. In cases of established ailments, the process of repairing does not take place rapidly (Thomas 1996). In fact, it may take months to establish any improvement. The body takes up the necessary nutrients and utilizes them immediately they are available, seeking to reestablish proper functioning. It is worth noting that, the degeneration and damage that has taken years to occur due to insufficient nutrients would be healed according to the ability of the body. The healing and restoration process mainly occurs in ways that may not be visible (Thomas 1996). This, therefore, undermines the notion expounded by marketers that individuals should quit supplements in case they do not seem to work. It is always imperative that the necessary nutrients are provided to the body for a long period so that it can maintain its functioning and heal itself.

In addition, there is a widely expounded fallacy that everyone requires the same amount since every person is essentially the same (Thomas 1996). The fallacy in this statement by marketers rests in the fact that there are wide ranging differences in individuals’ biochemistry, as well as genetic makeup. As much as some generalizations may be made pertaining to the nutritional requirements of different individuals, the generalization comes with some limitations. If two individuals, for example, do similar things and consume the same amount of nutrients, they would develop varied health problems (Thomas 1996). For one individual, it may be a case of deficiency while, for the other, it may be a case of surplus nutrients. These health problems emanate from the fact that different individuals would require varied amounts of certain nutrients.

However, this does not necessarily mean that mineral and vitamin supplements are not effective. There exist a number of reasons why supplements may, in fact, work faster than dietary remedies. First, it is noteworthy that most of the nutrients that vegetables and fruits contain are heat-susceptible, in which case they would be oxidized and destroyed by boiling and steaming (Stare eta l., 1991). The recommended solution would be consuming them raw, which is not something that many people like. In essence, supplements would come in handy as their nutrients are not destroyed. On the same note, the many are times when food is inefficiently digested even when the intake was adequate. This is especially when the food is not perfectly chewed, in which case the food particles have larger sizes than normal thereby limiting the action of digestive enzymes (Stare eta l., 1991). Food processing also has negative effects of certain nutrients in foods. Having in mind that supplements have not undergone processing, it would be logical to expect that they would act at a faster pace than dietary remedies. In addition, mineral and vitamin supplements have concentrated nutrients, in which case intake would be increasingly enhanced (Stare eta l., 1991). This means that the action or functioning of supplements should be taking place at a faster pace than other remedies since they are already in a perfectly absorbable form. In essence, one would understand the basis of some of the fallacies expounded by marketers and manufacturers.

In conclusion, marketers and manufacturers have been selling numerous fallacies pertaining to food supplements. This is all in an effort to increase their sales. However, it is imperative that one consumes supplements according to the recommendations of a qualified medical practitioner. Marketers insinuate that the higher the amount of supplements consumed, the faster the effectiveness. In addition, they seem to recommend similar amounts of supplements for every person, which may not be logical. However, it is noteworthy that supplements are bound to be more effective than dietary remedies since they have a relatively high nutrient concentration. Moreover, they have not been destroyed by heat or processing, which may support the marketers’ insinuation that they are more effective than dietary remedies.

References

Thomas P.R. (1996). Food for thought about dietary supplements. Nutrition today

Stare FJ, Aaronson V & Barrett S (1991). Your Guide to good Nutrition. New York: Prometheus Books

Barrett S, (1992) Chiropractors and Nutrition: the supplement underground. Nutrition forum