I've been amused by the brouhaha over this week's report that vitamin and mineral supplements are unnecessary. I don't know who's right or wrong about that; but with dietary imbalances being what they are, Miss D. and I pop a simple multivitamin each day to take care of anything we lack. We don't indulge in mega-overdoses or carefully tailored, balanced supplements, but we see no harm in ensuring that if we don't eat enough of the right things, we still get reasonably balanced nutrition. For the same reason, a couple of jars of multivitamin tablets are part of our emergency supplies. If we ever have to live on rice and beans for an extended period, we're going to need all the help we can get!
Nevertheless, I remind the medical profession that the solution was discovered as early as the 1870's. It was re-popularized in 1968, when The Scaffold brought us 'Lily The Pink'.
So much for multivitamins . . .
Peter
Over time I've come to view the "assured results of modern science" somewhat sceptically. It's a very human enterprise.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that current modern dietary and nutritional advice will eventually be view as utter quackery.
Hey, there's a reason rice and beans are staples in many cultures: you get all the essential amino acids that way! Quinoa is the "perfect protein", however. :D
ReplyDeleteBack when I was in Jr. High, I had a teacher who was a direct linear descendent of Mrs. Pinkham on her husband's side. He kept a bottle of the medicinal compound in his classroom closet. I grew up singing the song (Irish Rovers version) and he was amused when I saw the bottle and began to serenade the class.
ReplyDeleteLittleRed1