Anti-Vitamin Baloney
by Thomas C. Petrie, C.D.N.
Anti-Vitamin articles from the mainstream-media,
explained and refutted in this book:
● The Vitamin Hoax 10 Not to Take ● The Vitamin Myth
● Vitamin Truths and Lies ● The Vitamin Scam
Anti-Vitamin Baloney is a detailed and well documented rebuttal of several “anti-vitamin” articles that have appeared in the mainstream media. Two of them are from the Reader’s Digest. They are The Vitamin Myth, (or a different title for the cover, The Vitamin Hoax 10 Not to Take), from their November, 2007 issue & Vitamin Truths and Lies, (with The Vitamin Scam on the cover), from their April, 2010 edition. They sure wanted to be creative in bashing vitamins, didn’t they? One title for their covers and another for inside their magazine in both cases.
In the 2007 article, we were implored not to take vitamins A, beta-carotene, folic acid, niacin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and the essential minerals selenium, iron and zinc. Wow—some of the most popular supplements out there and we’re…not supposed to take these? What’s going on here! Don’t worry—you’ll receive a detailed answer, in a way that should make sense to you, as to why the Reader’s Digest, and most of the rest of the “corporate-controlled media,” is wrong on this topic. (Although Reader’s Digest also asked its readers to not take lycopene, this topic is not addressed in this book. However, there’s still plenty to keep you busy!)
This book can also serve as a framework or guide with which to understand (or even appreciate) any absurd “anti-vitamin” article—examples that all-too-often populate our mainstream media today. Chapter 11 explains in detail some of the reasons there are so many negative vitamin articles and you’ll probably be shocked by what you learn! When you’re finished reading this book, you’ll have a better understanding as to what’s wrong with these various negative vitamin articles and you’ll also learn why there are so many, not just in the Reader’s Digest. Additionally, perhaps you’ll rest easier if you are one of the millions of Americans who take dietary supplements on a regular basis.
Appendix A discusses in detail, environmental factors in cancer causation mostly ignored by the mainstream media and Appendix B takes issue with an article on alternative medicine in Newsweek from December of 2007. (It’s an original letter sent to them but never published.) Appendix C discusses two recent additions to the anti-vitamin literature from the Archives of Internal Medicine and from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Like other anti-vitamin articles across our landscape, these two studies have caused much angst and dismay across America. This Appendix explains why these articles present NOTHING about which you need to worry and why you should probably not be worried about the vitamins discussed in these articles, if you happen to use them.
While vitamins are not the last word on making you healthy, if you ARE to read something about them in the mainstream media or a scientific journal, at least you have a right to expect some accurate information, don’t you? This book attempts to set things straight on the topic and is referenced throughout.
Anti-Vitamin Baloney
by Thomas C. Petrie, B.S., C.D.N.
(Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist)
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Parts I & II
A critique of The Vitamin MYTH
Cover Story: THE VITAMIN HOAX 10 Not to Take
Reader’s Digest, November, 2007 (by Neena Samuel)
Part I
1. The Myth of Increased Death from Multi-Vitamins
The Myth of "Little Oversight" // 7
2. The Case of the Missing B-Vitamins // 14
Part II
(There were ten we were told “not to take”! Here are nine of these…)
3. Anti-Oxidant Vitamins: an Introduction // 18
4. Vitamin A and Beta Carotene // 26
5. Vitamin C: Should You Bother to Take It? // 41
6. Folic Acid, Niacin, Selenium, Zinc and Iron // 51
Part III
A Critique of the Second Reader’s Digest Article, VITAMIN TRUTHS & LIES
Cover Story: The Vitamin Scam, Reader’s Digest, April, 2010 (by Christie Aschwanden)
7. Myth: A multivitamin can make up for a bad diet // 67
8. Myth: Vitamin C is a cold fighter // 75
9. Myth: Vitamin pills can prevent heart disease // 81
10. Myth: Taking vitamins can protect against cancer // 101
11. Conclusion: Misdirection, Misinformation and Public Relations;
They just go so well together! // 118
Appendix A: Environmental Factors in Cancer Causation // 147
Appendix B: Alternative Medicine Misinformation from Newsweek Magazine // 161
Appendix C: Those ‘Anti-Vitamin’ Articles Just Keep on Coming! // 175
