Should I Take Multivitamins? Part 2 of 2
If I were going to be a sailor on a ship for 6 months with no fruits or vegetables available, would I take a vitamin supplement? Sure I would. To avoid deficiency diseases like scurvy and rickets.
But living in this land of abundance, with fruits and vegetables from all over the world in 5 grocery stores within 5 miles of most of you reading this? Falling into that severe-deficiency range would be a travesty. Like if you were sitting in the middle of a freshwater stream dying of thirst.
We live in the most abundant period of time in the history of the world. Taking a pill to avoid eating highly available, powerhouse whole foods is downright silly. Only those foods come in the perfect, synergistic, complex packages that were designed (by nature and God) to be absolutely perfect for your biology.
Many years ago, I used to log everything I ate into a diet software. My whole-foods menus including daily homemade green drink yielded an A, in the software’s grading system. If I took a multivitamin once a day, my grade fell to a C! If I took it twice a day (as recommended on the box of the high-quality, expensive vitamin supplement), my grade plummeted to an F! Why? Because I was overdosing on lots of nutrients, and some of those overdoses are known to be toxic.
I get lots of email from well meaning readers wanting me to sell Juice Plus or at least tell them if they should take JP supplements. It is a multivitamin supplement that is derived from whole foods. Is it better? Probably.
I don’t sell network marketed or multi-level marketed (MLM) products. That’s because in order to be financially viable, a product needs to be sold for a MINIMUM of 800% of its cost of goods. The prices feel like highway robbery.
I could go into detail about how I know this, having formerly worked as a consultant in the MLM industry, but that would be sliding sideways more than I want to in this discussion. (I would invite you to disprove that, though–it’s an economic reality.)
Juice Plus being better than Centrum is like saying that Costco’s organic toaster pastries are better than Pop Tarts. Sure, but am I going to recommend them to you?
No. I’m going to recommend local apples, split peas, buckwheat, turnip greens, apricots, beets, sunflower sprouts.
If a multivitamin started as carrot juice before it got manufactured and processed and put in a pill form, well, that’s better than the supplement that can’t trace its genealogy back to any fruit or vegetable. But the pill can’t put the fiber back in or come anywhere close to replicating food. Just like baby formula does not come anywhere close to approximating the miraculous substances (colostrums, then breast milk) produced by the mother human for the baby human.
When I start selling multivitamins on this site, please stop reading it and tell your friends GreenSmoothieGirl sold out. (Don’t hold your breath because I won’t do it.)
I agree! Way to go GSG!
What about Catalyn, a Standard Process product sold by some alternative/integrative care practioners?
its not a fair comment on the cost of Juice Plus cuz i am a living proof of it. i have been taking JP for the past 15 years cuz it makes more sense both nutritionally and aconomically.
it may be true for other MLM products but to paint the whole industry with a broad brushstroke is kinda short-sighted.
to compare the cost of JP with the “real thing” is easy…… do visit your local grocery and try to buy fresh fruits and vegetables with $2 in your pocket, you will find out soon enough. thats what i spend on a daily basis , guaranteeing 5-10 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables, enzymes and acidophilus and other grains found in JP.
that said,if given the choice of eating fresh fruits and vege, i would indeed opt for it. but given the current busy lifestyle , one will certainly have the nutritional gaps. thats why JP is marketed as a supplement and never as a replacement.
also, JP is an excellent solution to people who travel often like myself where it’s sometimes hard to find fresh fruits and veges.
so pls do eat your greens , through juicing or your salads as much as u can but consider JP your companion too for those times you can’t.
Thank you for being so honest; and thank you for being someone I can count on to stay balanced……raw or cooked, you have such a balanced approach to healthy eating and living.
Blessings,
Sharon Jean
I’ve learned so much from your blog, thank you Robyn!
Your logic in your latest entries on vitamin supplementation makes complete sense. One question that I still have is…are today’s fruits & veggies nutrient dense enough to give us all that we need when you consider that today’s soil (not soil from your own organic garden) seems to be depleted compared to the soil that our parents and grandparents were raised on? For instance, magnesium is another nutrient that I seem to have a hard time getting enough of from a whole-foods diet, in addition to Vitamin Bs, Vitamin D, iron & EFAs which I do supplement for since I’m pregnant.
Best regards,
Michele
p.s. My husband has recently started calling me “Blender Girl” since I carried my Vitamix with me on the plane this Thanksgiving.
Hey blender girl, we certainly hear a lot of “sky is falling” stuff about depleted soils, etc. However, study after study after study using CONVENTIONAL produce shows us that even those massively help us against deficiency and disease and promote strength and immune function and bone/muscle/tissue regeneration and so much more. That said–eat organic whenever you can!
Though isn’t Vitamineral Green a form of supplementing ones diet? Why are those recommended. Help me to understand the difference.
Cheleen, VitaMineral Green (and Ormus Greens) are food. Actual raw (dehydrated) living food.
I love how direct you were in this, so many great points. However sometimes health food stores and organic produce feel like highway robbery too!
Robyn, you might want to say a little something about vitamin B12. Any of your readers (including me!) who are vegan will almost certainly become B12 deficient over time unless they supplement. If a vegan uses products that include spirulina or chlorella, distributors of those often claim they supply B12. That’s speculative at best. What they contain is a B12 analog, from what I’ve been able to find by researching, and it may or may not satisfy the body’s need for B12. To be safe, why not supplement with B12 if you’re a vegan? B12 is so essential for nerve and brain health. It pays to be safe.
IMHO you are dealing with a society that has subject3ed itself to the SAD. that being said if the one step they take is to take a whole food supplement (because this society like to do things with ease), then so be it. That is definitely an improvement over centrum or whatever sawdust most of these companies are selling. Not everyone is where we are, and some need to take baby steps and learn for themselves.
I eat high raw, and have some health issues that required supplementation. And in my situation, it helped. People look at my diet, and are surprised that I have some issues, but that’s life, and you do whatever it takes to maintain the health you want. I would prefer those to pharmaceuticals any day.
I agree with Aaron… I have taken Juice plus since 2008 and have nothing bad to say about it. And for the record, it is not a multivitamin made from whole food… it IS whole food… it’s just like taking a green smoothie and putting it in a capsule… but without the fiber. THat said, the fiber and healthy calories (since Jp is not for calories) is the reason why I drink my green smoothies. $1.50 a day for nutrition from 15 fruits and veggies is NOT expensive. It costs more than that to eat organic. That said, I am a well-rounded person and obviously I believe in the excellent benefits of drinking green smoothies every day, or I would not be reading your blog. I just hate to see Juice Plus be put in a bad light because it is certainly better than what most people are getting these days which is living on french fries and maybe a synthetic multi.
Robyn,
What would you say a serving of vitamineral green would be equivlent to as far as fruits and vegetables go?
Cheleen, I have not seen them publish that exactly, but it’s a significant amount of greens because dehydrating massively reduces the size of the food, food being mostly water.
Any suggestion on the best brand of Vitamin D, how much you’re going to dose now, and what you consider the maximum safe dose?
I currently use the Blendtec, eat lots of mixed veggies with rice and turkey, and all the high fiber/high omega 3 foods I can find.
My supplements are Daily Sustenex probiotic, 15 grams of Inulin drink powder, and 3 grams of Psyllium capsules.
Gene, most of the recommendations I’ve seen are 1,000 IU daily. I have been taking 700 to 800 IU daily since it got cold here. I don’t have a brand recommendation but will be looking into the best whole-food-derived sources.
Tim, B12 may be another good example. My understanding is that the body needs very little and stores it well, and stores it long. That perhaps eating red meat every few years is enough. This is not something I personally worry about since I’m not strictly vegan and my B levels are good historically. And like you, I am not entirely sure the claims about aloe vera, nutritional yeast, and sea vegetables providing B12 are accurate. Nor, however, am I convinced that red meat is the only way. Garden produce that isn’t well washed, from organic soil, is another idea–if the gut of mammals we eat metabolizes soil organisms to that B vitamin, it follows that we MAY be able to as well. So a B12 supplement may be a good idea for vegans and isn’t likely to hurt anyone.
–Robyn
So what is the difference between taking green superfood and juice plus? Aren’t they both supplements derived from food?
Robyn, cool! Hope you send out in your email. God bless.
Robyn-
You rock! I appreciate your frankness on this subject. As a whole-food vegan I supplement B12, D and iron. (Although interestingly, my enemia improved once I became vegan).
Juice Plus is not a substitute for food, and it is a great safety net to ensure we get the 9-13 servings of raw VINE RIPENED fruits and veggies DAILY. Your comments on MLM are well founded…there are many companies that have given MLM a very bad name. But people are looking for answers to this sickness crisis we are in…and you are selling yourself short if you do not pay attention to the blood research that is published is 18 different peer reviewed medical journals proving what JP+ does in the blood. Personally, I have taken it for 12 years an have not even had a cold. I get stars* and exclamation!! points every time I have to get blood drawn…my doctors all want to know what in the heck I’m doing at age 51 to have such ehalthy bloodwork. Most people cannot eat or even afford 9-13 RAW Organic VARIETY of F&Veggies every day. And now, to make things worse, our produce is being bioengineered. I would rather work for this fabulous nutriceutical company that has figured out a way to get the nutrients from 17 vine ripened f&V in a capsule than work for a big pharmaceutical company that sells drugs. Prevention is key…people are looking for answers…and Juice Plus is BY FAR the best product on the market. You are missing out!
Love that answer! Thank you.
Thank you for the comment on Juice plus. I have a friend who RELENTLESSLY has pressured me to use it/buy it (of course she sells it) because she knows that I focus a lot on eating very healthily. I have said no, not only because it would cost us $40/mo/per person (completely unaffordable for my family of 4) but also because it’s just a pill and there’s no way they can cram 15 servings of veggies into a 1/2 inch pill that they claim. I’ve passed on your thoughts to my husband so we can have a more well rounded answer the next time we (inevitably) get asked to come to anther juice plus seminar.
Supplements usually feel like a ton of bricks in my stomach. I could not take prenatal vitamins while pregnant because they made me so sick to my stomach. I was once told by an herbalist that you can smell whether a vitamin is real or not.
Hi, Robyn
I’m a devotee of green smoothies and have incorporated Himalayan rock salt in my diet. However, I’ve been comparing prices to restock my supply and the local co-op health food store said they used to stock it, but no longer. I was told they organised testing and they found it was toxic. Hmm this is annoying. I didn’t ask which brand they had or what toxic element/material they had found in it. So I’m asking you if you have heard around the traps about toxicity testing of this salt. I love the way it has so many trace elements/minerals but it’s off my diet for me until lI can get some clarity.
Hope you can help
Regards
Margaret
Australia
Margaret, many salt sources are toxic. MANY. And most that claim to be unrefined are only LESS refined. So I recommend only the certified one I trust (and use, myself) as truly crystalline from the Himalayas — the link to get it can be found under Robyn Recommends on GreenSmoothieGirl.com.
You have a good point.
I think the green juice is a good drink
I also think supplementation isn’t always bad and for some it is good depending on their diet…not many people eat all raw or like you do.
If those are following your diet and suggestions the need for suuplementation lessens dramatically.
I agree with Heather.
Thank you, Robin, for your excellent newsletter. I always look forward to reading it. I’ve been a raw vegan for 30 years…and been quite lonely eating this way with my husband when the world around lacks even basic knowledge about wellness. I don’t feel as alone when I read your newsletter. It is great fun for me and gives me encouragement and inspiration to keep it up. I have to drive an hour to an organic food coop. When I live closer, I will buy all of your books and begin to introduce new meals for my husband. We are in a bit of a rut. God bless you and your family…and thank you for your generous heart. By the way, my son, who is now 27, had a beginning much like your son. Doctors destroyed his immune system with drugs when all that was wrong with Dan was the formula I was giving him after my beautiful milk disappeared because I became too tired and stressed with too much that was going on in my life at the time. My son was in the hospital often with pneumonia…all from dairy. Congratulations for your healthy son. There is no joy greater that our thriving children. OX
Here is my experience with vitamins. I bet I have spent thousands of dollars on vitamins and vitamin programs over the last 30 years. If I had it to do again–I would not spend one dime on them.
they are just a stab in the dark. I never really knew what I needed but would hear about a vitamin that seemed like it would help me so I would buy it. I never really felt any different and had no idea how to measure whether it was doing me any good. I, too, feel that you can throw off the balance of your own natural balance.
I have been fully into GSG program now for a year after spending 30 years trying oon my own. I have enery, had my hearing loss restored, incontinence gone, and so many other miracles. Multivitamins? NO WAY–I have everything I need to continue getting better!
Margaret from San Diego
Thanks for the story, Margaret–really interesting. We often go down a path through a lot of convoluted things until we end up at “simple and basic,” huh!
Your blood levels should be tested before you decide how much of any supplement to take. I was told I need 3000 whatever they ares for 3 months and then could drop to 1,000.