Do you believe vitamins work

I rarely wear any suncream because I don't want to pollute the sea or the hotel swimming pool. I do wear a shady hat when walking in the sun, but when I am snorkeling I wear long cotton trousers and a tee shirt. I get some odd looks, but I don't get horribly burned calves and thighs!
I always wear cotton trousers when walking in the mountains - mainly to protect my legs from something in the grass which causes a deep red rash (it doesn't hurt or itch, but looks unsightly) and from scratches from the undergrowth. I have several very light, poplin blouses with long sleeves and hats for both summer and winter with peaks to protect my eyes from sun and snow dazzle. Of course, I don't care how bizarre I look and even my daughter has got used to my strange outfits (mind you, NZ is hardly a hub of sartorial elegance!)
Juragran and I were astounded in Egypt this summer to see people lying in the mid-day sun, actually cooking themselves. Many were fair-skinned Europeans - the message about skin cancer is clearly not getting through.

After listening to a programme about fat and diet, I have decided to stop buying any low fat options and simply to eat 'normal food' in slightly less quantity. There is no substitute for butter on a baked potato! I worry about my UK family as they drink copious amounts of Diet Coke, which is very, very bad for your health. It should be banned! Apparently, large quantities can cause paranoia - my daughter drinks up to eight tins a day.

I take a variety of vitamin tablets, but not sure if they work?? However darent stop taking them in case they do!!!!

What is in diet coke that causes paranoia? I've never heard that before.

Pamela, just stop. Eat a reasonable diet. You will be fine.

Would not advocate drinking that much from an acid point of view.

JO8 Greatnan I would suggest it might be too much caffeine?

Yes, it could be the caffeine - or their 'secret' ingredient? I had a friend in Monaco who was having problems with a racing heart - it improved dramatically once she cut down on the 40 cups of strong, black Turkish coffee she was drinking!

The 'secret' ingredient of Coke was cocaine, long since gone. Caffeine is the only addictive element of Coke now.

Interesting take on the vitamin question in today's Guardian:

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/07/vitamins-stop-taking-the-pills?INTCMP=SRCH

Thanks Hummingbird - fascinating article.

Worked as a pharmacist for over 50 yrs -have taken very few vitamins or supplements even during 30 years as a vegetarian.I eat plenty of fruit and veg.and have a healthy life style
Have very few colds -hay fever in June/July- Arthritic knee after fall 4 yrs ago. Otherwise at 82 I'm very healthy.

Good for you, Maniac ......I am sure you have many more healthy years ahead of you.
I have never taken any kind of supplement and I consider them to be a vast con trick, playing on the fears of people.

I take a calcium and vitamin D supplement, on the advice of my doctor. I trust her judgement on this.

That dreaded school milk must have been some good after all. I had a bone density scan a few years ago and was told I have a very healthy skeleton! I get all the Vt.D I need by walking almost every day at high altitude and this probably helps my bones as well.
There could possibly be a placebo effect at work - when people spend money they expect it will make them feel better, so it does.

Of course vitamins work, but unless you have a medical conditiion that requires you to take them in supplement form, you get them from your food. In this country, there isn't really any excuse for not eating a wide enough range of foods. You don't actually need a wide range to cover all the essentials.

You must be off for your walk soon I expect. I'd better get my dogs out too for their daily constitutional before it gets too hot. Doubt the altitude is very high here though, but exercise does make you feel better I agree.

As you get older you tend to eat less, I certainly eat considerably less than I used to, so it is less easy to get ones full requirement of micronutrients from what one eats, however healthy and balanced ones diet is. I take multivitamin and multi mineral supplements. Do they do me any good, don't know, although my logic says they should. Either way it is belt and braces and a very inexpensive belt (or braces) so I will continue to take them

The only extra vitamin supplement I take is D; it helps the absorption of calcium which I am prescribed because I have been taking steroids for two years and this puts me at risk of osteoporosis.

I haven't noticed much decrease in my appetite - nothing like a three hour walk in the mountains to make you enjoy your food.

A decrease in appetite shouldn't make any difference. It will depend on how you reduce your calory intake. If you cut down on nutrient-rich foods, then you might need supplements, but if you cut down on nutrient-low foods (sugary stuff, high carbs) you shouldn't have a problem.

It is not just what you eat, but how well it is absorbed that matters.
I worked at one time with a consultant who prescribed multivitamins for all the elderly patients (mainly women) who presented with sore mouths, on the grounds that they were probably not absorbing nutrients all that well.
A diet of tea and toast isn't that great either

That makes sense, jane, under medical conditions that I mentioned earlier. It isn't an argument for taking vitamin supplements without a medical recommendation though. In some cases, the poor absorption may be due to a lack of some mineral and could be improved by a slight change in dietary habits.

Devil's advocate? Who, me?

I most certainly do , Cod liver oil is great for joints , IMO

I think jess has answered the OP entirely to my satisfaction. A tin of sardines and a portion of salmon or trout a week should give you all the fish oil you need and tastes a darned sight nicer than codliver oil!
Obviously, if for any reason you are found to be deficient in an essential vitamin which you cannot get through your diet, your doctor will prescribe what you need, but I would be very wary of popping lots of different over-the-counter pills.
I would be less concerned if the manufacturers were not making such huge profits, and if every supplement were subjected to the same standards as food and drink.

I had a big vitamin D deficiency diagnosed last year, UK weather UK latitude and being a veggie probably.
I also had a hyper parathyroid problem which has caused a borderline degree of osteoporosis. So I am taking calcium and Vitamin D. When I remember. Otherwise I don't think high doses of any vitamins for the sake of it can possibly be helpful.

But Bags not all of us have, or have ever had a diet full of sugary stuff and high carbs. I have never had a sweet tooth so all the sweets, biscuits, cakes, puddings, chocolates, white bread etc etc that we are all told we eat all the time don't figure in my diet and never have because I do not like them, come to that I don't really like fatty foods either. I just eat smaller portions of everything all round and that means I am likely to be not eating the full range of micro nutrients that are required for a healthy diet, especially as one gets older. I do not take mega doses of any vitamin or mineral, just low top up doses.