To think we don't need daily vitamins

[user87382294757]

Just been reading about how taking day multivitamins might not be necessary and even cause harms in some - I have taken them for a while, quite expensive and not even sure any use. Had Vitamin D test a while back at the GPs which was a bit low so maybe just take that as is ultra cheap and discard the others.

I don't understand why fish oil would be oxidised - maybe in supplements but not from oily fish surely.

That Simon Dyall article linked to a few posts back... it's basically a selective review of literature. It bothers me that Dyall declares no conflict of interest in many of his articles (including 2015 link) but here is his 2015 study that was paid for by an supplement manufacturer.

As evidence, Dyall's 'expert review' doesn't compare well to a structured (systematic) literature review of experiments (with transparent replicable search and evaluation methods). I don't blame people for being confused. Some recent syst-reviews about omega-3 & dementia type conditions:

2018: Evidence is insufficient to recommend any OTC supplement for cognitive protection in adults with normal cognition or MCI.

2018: ... may be beneficial in disease onset, when there is slight impairment of brain function. Although some studies have shown changes in scales of cognitive function in more severe cases, they are not enough to support omega-3 fatty acids supplementation in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

2017: We found few studies to support or refute the evidence that w3-PUFA supplementation in patients aged 65 or older improves cognitive performance or prevents dementia.

2015: Meta-analyses showed that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids intake didn’t reduce the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

I have impression fish oils are sold in dark bottles b/c of the oxidation problem. Fish oils are increasingly extracted from Artic krill. I don't feel good about humans competing with whales for food.

I avoid krill oil because of concerns about the whale population. I don’t know if over-harvesting algae might have a similar knock-on effect?

I like Paul Clayton’s reviews of what is worth taking. His own supplement range is very high quality.

Fish oil and oily fish are not the same thing. Fish oil pills come as a byproduct of low quality fish farmed for industrial production of animal feeding.

Taking a pill will never be the solution. However I eat a plant based low protein diet to try to control tumour growth and cancer occurrence as I have Nf1. In my case, my omega 3 tested at 3.8. Ideally you want above 8. Anything under 4 is high risk as brain shrinkage starts at 3.5. So I don't take omega 3 to protect me from a random and hypothetical risk, but from a very specific and current issue. And omega 3 deficiency is a strong reality among plant based eaters.
Many diseases have a cascading effects involving several mechanisms. In the case of brain atrophy and dementia, one of these seems to be an omega 3 deficiency .

However, an omega 3 supplement can't overrun a crappy high omega 6 diet if the ration is 1:30 and people eat a diet rich in processed food or unhealthy food such as fries, cakes, .... in that case, of course a pill will not make any difference.

It’s fairly accepted that it’s not possible to get enough vit D from the sun in Northern Europe/ Scandinavia. Unless that’s a myth...

They did a study in Canada and every single person of African descent they tested was deficient in vitamin D, most people of Indian subcontinent descent, and about half of European descent.

I don't worry about omega 3. Anchovies are an oily fish. God bless their little umami souls. I put them in everything.

Redheads can manufacture their own vit d as they are very bad at getting it from sun exposure. Useful fact.

There isn't one rule that fits all.

On subject of fish oil and dementia, the Mind diet found fish once a week was beneficial but doesn't recommend supplements like omega 3. It is a good place to look at for brain health