Vitamins and Supplements

By Karen McNew
WSLS10 Anchor
Published: May 12, 2008

When you buy a vitamin or supplement, do you really know what you are getting?

Dr. Mark Greenawald:  How do you know? You do some reading do some research.

10 On Your Side has done some of it for you.  Elizabeth Good at Roanoke Valley Natural Foods Co-Op gets a lot of questions, one in particular.

Elizabeth:  This time of year especially people come in and say I have no energy what do I do?

Doctor Greenawald cautions people from relying too much on the pills.

Dr Greenawald:  Nutritional supplements are not meant to be used as medicine.

Nor are they meant to replace good nutrition.  But, they may help with some common ailments like Glucosamine Chondroiton for joint pain from arthritis.  But some people need to be selective.

Elizabeth:  The one that has shellfish can in some cases cause a person’s cholesterol to rise...they want to look for shellfish free or vegetarian to keep that from happening.

Dr. Greenawald:  That’s important also any substance that comes from a shellfish if you have a shellfish allergy you need to be aware of that

If your pain is from a bruise or strained muscles something called Arnaca gel may give you the relief you are looking for.

Dr. Mark Greenawald:  Anything that is being applied externally it’s probably going to be safe.

And fish oils for heart health are hotter than ever.

Dr. Mark Greenawald:  They are being marketed very aggressively.

But they aren’t for everyone.

Elizabeth:  If someone is on prescription blood thinning prescription they should definitely check with their doctor before using fish oils.

Dr. Greenawald:  Just because you can buy something over the counter doesn’t mean it’s necessarily safe in the context of other medicines.

Before you buy ask yourself if you will really benefit. Doctor Greenawald says research shows many people can’t remember to even take one multivitamin a day.

Dr. Greenawald:  I think people want that magic bullet we really want that thing that we can take that we know is going to improve our health ... It is just unfortunately not always that easy.

He also says more expensive does not necessarily mean more effective.