assistedlivingconcerns

If one steak dinner is good for you, then two steak dinners must be twice as good for you, or maybe not?
In Tuesday’s NY Times (11/30/10 issue), a front-page story appeared about the wisdom of taking more supplements than one needs. A panel of experts commissioned by the U.S. and Canada concluded after studying reports in over 1000 publications that there is no need to take calcium and vitamin D supplements.
Somewhere along the line, a scientific report was published about how patients in nursing homes that were confined to bed and rarely were subjected to the sun were low in calcium and Vitamin D. Based on that study, which recommended calcium and vitamin D supplements for those specific patients, the announcement was incorrectly interpreted as meaning that all people needed those supplements. Manufacturers jump on the report and started flooding journals with the very latest health improvement discovery – More is Better! Sales of the products then increased in one year by 82%, increasing the maker’s coffers by 430 million dollars.
The report in the Times claimed that too much calcium in older folks can cause kidney stones and too much vitamin D can lead to heart problems. As an example of how misinformation can be used to the detriment of the patient, doctors have been sending their patients to labs to test for calcium and vitamin D levels. The results show a perfectly normal level, but the lab claims the level is too low, recommending supplements. Later, the patient comes back for a follow-up test and is comforted to learn that the supplements raised the patient’s levels to the higher “proper” amount. The patient leaves with the advice to keep buying the supplements.
Good food and a walk outside have kept calcium and vitamin D levels in humans for eons, providing them with good bone structures. Most of us never question a doctor’s advice. Only recently, have my wife and I began to ingest a 1000 mg vitamin D pill daily, having done so upon the advice of our primary care physician. I plan to discuss this matter during our next visit, which fortunately is coming up soon.
History is full of examples of how misinformation has led to wars, family disputes, hard feelings, including failing health from bad medical advice. It is our nature to trust people, especially professionals. At the same time our nature has a wary side that makes us question advice, which enables us to step back and consider that the suggestion is too good to be true, or, is more better?