Anton Markov wrote:

James,

Although I know there have been numerous clinical trials done on the advantages of taking vitamin/mineral supplements, I don't have any to quote right now. This is just out of personal experience and that of other people:

After starting to take supplements, people feel less tired. Sometimes I forget to take them for a few weeks, and then I start to feel very tired after 6.5 hours of sleep. When I start taking the supplements again, I start to feel less tired after a few days with the same hectic schedule.

Also, the combination of Vitamin C and Echinacea supplements work very well to guard against the flu and common cold. Again, it's just personal experience and that of others.

Like any other kind of treatment, it may work for some but not others. Mostly it's for people who don't get enough natural vitamins in their diet. If I remember correctly, humans have to eat somewhere around two or three heads of garlic, four oranges, some crazy amount of carrots, cabbage, etc. every day to get the recomended amount of vitamins. How many people actually eat such amounts? Not many. Why? Because we don't have the time, or we don't like to eat that stuff. Supplements are simply meant to *supplement* our daily diet.

We don't have to argue about the importance of vitamins and minerals, do we?

No, but one thing people are often not aware of, is the placebo effect. You take something and feel better, simply because you took something. As for vitamin supplements, yes they can have certain benefits, but there are some who promote excessive use of them, which may prove harmful. So, as with any other medication, you have to be careful. Anything taken to excess, including water and oxygen, can be fatal. I tend to be sceptical of claims put forth by the people selling the product. This is why medication must be studied in a properly conducted trial and the results *PUBLISHED*. -- The Toronto Linux Users Group. Meetings: http://tlug.ss.org TLUG requests: Linux topics, No HTML, wrap text below 80 columns How to UNSUBSCRIBE: http://tlug.ss.org/subscribe.shtml