Beta carotene is just one example among many.

For instance, isolated Retinol (vitamin A) causes a 1 in 57 chance of creating birth defects when taken by a pregnant woman (7) and increases hip fractures in elderly adults (8).

Vitamin E increases your chance of heart failure (9).

Among diabetics with kidney disease, those given a mix of vitamins had worse kidney function than the control group and twice as many vascular problems (10).

The list goes on and on, and there is a very common and repeated sequence of events.

1. Scientists conclude those who take in a lot of a specific nutrient from fruits and vegetables have improved health.
   
2. The scientists extract that nutrient from its source, isolate it, and stick it in a pill. They design a study around it and see if giving it to people will be effective in fending off some disease or health complaint. 
3. Although there are exceptions, such as folic acid supplements reducing the chance of birth defects (11), the overwhelming majority of these trials have shown little if any health improvement, and, in many cases, an increased risk of disease for those taking supplements. Vitamin overdose is a real threat. Often before anyone has determined what the long-term consequences will be, the public jumps onto the newest vitamin craze and starts supplementing.
   

So why does this cycle go on? It's quite obvious that isolated nutrients are not going to give us long-term solutions. The answer to disease is to eat a diet predominating in fresh produce.

Unfortunately, there is little money to be made in hawking fruits and vegetables. Standard American diet eaters are also well known for their aversion to eating more of them, and so another way around the problem is continuously sought. Pills, on the other hand, are extremely easy to make and profitable. As long as they can be hawked as magic cures, their success will continue. 


Considering that an estimated 39 percent of the US population is deficient in Vitamin B12 (12), and deficiency can lead to serious problems, some suggest B12 should be an exception to the no-supplement rule.

There is no known risk of a B12 vitamin overdose, so those wishing to supplement appear to be safe.

However, B12 deficiency is as much an issue of absorption as intake. Anyone who eats meat is getting plenty of B12 because animals have it in their system. Regardless, plenty of meat eaters are deficient.

Despite not supplementing or eating animal foods in years, I've still got high levels of B12, which would seem to indicate that I'm getting it through my diet of raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, or that the bacteria in my intestines is able to produce it locally.

For a more thorough overview of the B12 issue, see this article.


Vitamin D -actually a hormone - is another critical area where many people are deficient, and so once again we are tempted to supplement.

The problem is that in many cases, despite large-dose D supplements, deficiency problems do not seem to be improved (13). Blood concentrations rise, this doesn't seem to make much difference in our health.

And just as with many other supplements, a D vitamin overdose causes health problems.

Even in concentrations considered medically safe, an increase in prostate cancer, immune system suppression, autoimmune diseases, gastrointestinal symptoms, kidney disease, and calcium stones have been noted resulting from D supplementation (14-20).

The only way to safely take in Vitamin D is by letting the sun's rays fall on your skin. To learn more about the benefits of making sun exposure a part of our routine and ideas for how to do it, see my ebook, The Raw Food Lifestyle.



I certainly support science's quest for solutions, but as of today, we are far from knowing better than the nutritional layout of 400 million years of evolution.

The uncountable but purposeful and effective interactions that occur between man, plants, and the planet have clear reasons for being around. When we meddle with them without understanding the results are often disastrous, as our vitamin supplement use should show us.

Luckily, we have a much better solution to disease. The underlying realizations that vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients cure disease is correct, but we must understand that they only work in conjunction with each other as part of a healthy package.

It's virtually impossible to overdose on a nutrient by eating it through whole fruits and vegetables.

In fact, better than anything medical science can bring to bear, the compounds found in raw fruits and vegetables inhibit cellular aging, fuel cellular repair, induce the detoxification enzymes that keep us clean and healthy, and bind the carcinogens which lead to cancer (21).

The answer is clear: Skip the vitamin overdose and eat a diet of fruits and vegetables, get plenty of sun, and lead a healthy lifestyle.