Nutrient vs. Ethical Depletion
In the middle of the “Family Medicine SmartBrief”, which is the newsletter from the AAFP, I saw this mixed right into it. I scanned my email and saw a whole other “faux” newsletter with the Family Medicine Smartbrief title and it was all about nutrient issues. You can see it in a PDF here: Spotlight on Helping Patients Prevent Nutrient Depletion From Medications.
Let’s forget the fact that studies on vitamins and supplements are horrible. How ethical is this for the AAFP to be doing? How much money do they need to slip in Nature Made ads? Where is this money going?
Get our awesome newsletter by signing up here. We don’t give your email out and we don’t spam you.)
NatureMade? Seriously?
They’re whoring themselves like the AMA did with I believe Coke?
It’s simple, B12 deficiency can whack nerves and D3 is needed for bones. I tell everyone to take a little of each and I’ll check it in older folks to see where they’re at. If low, vitamins can be dirt cheap and replenishment with stable levels “might” help in the long run. In reality most people don’t maintain themselves on vitamins with osteoporotic/penic women as an example. I hardly see any of them maintain calcium with D intake over the years it takes to maintain consumption and prevent fractures. I tell’em if they come back with, “I don’t need calcium with D ’cause I’m
taking the shot!” I tell’em they do that and it’s like pissing into the wind! Might as well not take anything then.
I did get one Pellagra case in an elderly alcoholic in 30 years. Had icthymus skin that “just” looked like a vitamin deficiency to me though I didn’t know which one. Looked in a book, saw a picture and Eureka, Pellagra. Only time I ever used 500mg niacin for anything other than cholesterol (though we’re not supposed to do that anymore). That and stopping drinking cleared this guy right up!
Wasn’t this sort of thing-selling snake oil and the like by physicians-supposed to have been stopped by the Flexner report? Plus ca change, plus ca meme chose…
No it didn’t. Read this book: https://www.amazon.com/Charlatan-Americas-Dangerous-Huckster-Flimflam/dp/0307339890