Everything in Moderation

In July of 2013, Paul Offit published an article for The Atlantic, titled “The Vitamin Myth: Why We Think We Need Supplements”. In this article, he discusses the discoveries and arguments of Linus Pauling, a major scientist in the 1930s. Pauling contributed to discoveries in chemical bonds, quantum physics, sickle hemoglobin, the alpha helix structure of proteins, the evolutionary linkage of gorillas, monkeys, and chimpanzees, along with the recognition as a world’s peace activist. Pauling had received two Nobel Prizes, the National Medal of Science, the Medal for Merit, along with multiple honorary degrees from several notorious universities and establishments.

Unfortunately, Linus Pauling began his downfall as a world renowned scientist with his proactive support for vitamins. Following a colleague’s advice, Pauling began to take 3,000 milligrams of Vitamin C in hopes to live a longer and healthier life. In 1970, Pauling published an article titled, “Vitamin C and the Common Cold”, encouraging the overdose. Pauling did not stop here. He went on to claim that the increased dosage of Vitamin C could not only cure the common cold, but also the swine flu epidemic, cancer, and then made accusations that along with massive doses of vitamin A, vitamin E, selenium, and beta-carotene, they could treat every disease known to man.

What was one surprising bit included was the support from Ewan Cameron, a Scottish surgeon who agreed with his claim that additional dosages of Vitamin C resulted in the improvement of cancer patients. While in contact with Cameron, Pauling published their discoveries in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, which was later published again in Oncology. Of course, this gave cancer patients hope. At this point, Pauling had created quite a few suspicions with such strong accusations, and other scientists and researchers began to question is proof. While studying his claims on cancer, they noticed the cofounding evidence that the cancer victims treated with vitamin C were healthier at the start of therapy, thus the healthier outcomes.

This truly puzzles me to the publication of these articles: how could such prestigious and accurate representations of the scientific community spread false claims with such obvious incorrect information? Additionally, I call into question major organizations who supported his false claims for perhaps the wrong reasons, such as the National Nutritional Foods Association, a lobbying group for vitamin manufacturers. Of course, when these articles were released, there was a huge increase in the sales of vitamins. Is it possible that huge corporations were willing to overlook incorrect details to see profit?

Another point I found quite fascinating was the research into multivitamins and antioxidants later discussed in Offit’s article. In scientist’s quest to prove Pauling wrong, they actually discovered that taking vitamins and supplements could indeed increase mortality rates. Specifically, in research conducted from the National Cancer Institute, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the University of Copenhagen, the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, along with several other reputable institutes found that people were more likely to die from lung cancer, heart disease, gastrointestinal cancers, and advanced prostate cancer if they were taking supplemental multivitamins and antioxidants.

As a researcher and scientist myself, I wonder why this might be the case, and why it isn’t more commonly known. All my life, my mother told me “take your vitamins!”. Of course, mother knows best…right?

Alex Riley, an author for BBC newsletter Future, published an article in December of 2016 titled, “Why vitamin pills don’t work, and may be bad for you”, answering all my questions. Riley stated how, “…oxygen is the breath of life, but it also holds the potential to make us old, decrepit, and then dead”. He uses this example to explain how too much of anything is not healthy: yes, antioxidants serve their purpose with the right dosages by neutralizing highly charged radicals by accepting their free electrons. However, by accepting an electron, the vitamin becomes a free radical itself, able to damage cell membranes, proteins, and DNA–this is why massive dosages may lead to increased rates of cancer and heart disease.

Henceforth, vitamins are important for healthy lifestyle, just as long as they are taken in the right dosages. While Linus Pauling saw potential in overload, he failed to recognize one of life’s key principles: everything in moderation!

See these additional links for further research on how vitamins work, which vitamins are essential, and natural ways to access them!

• https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20161208-why-vitamin-supplements-could-kill-you
• https://www.readersdigest.ca/health/healthy-living/13-essential-vitamins-your-body-needs-stay-healthy/
• https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-best-foods-for-vitamins-and-minerals
• https://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-s-the-value-of-vitamins-ginnie-trinh-nguyen
• Roumeliotis, Stefanos, Roumeliotis, Athanasios, Gorny, Xenia, & Mertens, Peter. (n.d.). Could antioxidant supplementation delay progression of cardiovascular disease in end-stage renal disease patients? Curr Vasc Pharmacol, Curr Vasc Pharmacol , 2020.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.