why do people with zero training think theyre qualified to give medical/nutrition advice... youre speaking in half truths and generalisations. stop giving bad advice and accusations when you dont even understand the words you say.

Everything I say has been backed up by scientific research. BTW, it's also been found that people who take vitamins tend to make less healthy food choices; it's the perversity of human nature, we tend to think that since we're taking a vitamin, we're OK and can eat junk. (Kinda like how people pig out on high-calorie food and "balance" it with a diet soda.) But the FDA has found that vitamin supplements in general are pretty much useless, unless it's in prescription strength and monitored by a professional. Even a "nutritionist" MUST agree that a healthy diet is most important, and MUST agree that vitamins aren't the cure for everything, and MUST agree that pushing fliers is ethically questionable, and MUST agree that going barefoot in the office isn't sanitary. Sorry, dude, I'm not doing half-truths and generalizations, I'm dealing in FACTS. (BTW, the bit about pills vs. food was information given to me by a board-certified nutritionist, who does recommend a healthy diet over pills.)

I'm pretty sure your argument falls apart when you say a healthy diet is enough to get all your nutrition... and ended up so deficient you need a megadose of vitamins. Like the nutritionist said, you overgeneralized!

Diet isn't the only factor in deficiencies.

"vitamin supplements by and large are useless and most of what's in them passes right through" wrong, vitamin D supplements and folate are essential these days. supplementation is responsible for a reduction in disease on a population level, and only water soluble vitamins pass through, the rest remain in body stores. not to mention, youre speaking about HEALTHY people, and those who have access to food sources of all dietary requirements. "You're better off eating a healthy diet because vitamins are better absorbed by food than in pill form." wrong, again ref vit D and folate, folate is absorbed better as a supplement, and vitamin D in the food is in such small doses that unless you go outside regularly or take a pill youre probably deficient. telling people theyll get everything they need from their diet is ridiculous, as in most instances people dont understand the interplay between food components and the digestive system, and that intake does not equal absorption. "remember...the "doc" DID say he didn't believe in them" actually the "patient" said that. patients often misquote doctors, and i can almost guarantee he was referring to this particular instance of a sore throat that is not a serious issue. "For the doc to push a certain company's products is ethically questionable." why, because its a supplement? how do you think doctors operate in this world? they ALL push a certain companies products on almost every single patient they prescribe something to. why do you think GP sales reps exist? for show? "that's not sanitary and makes infections more easily spread in the office" yeah...if the guy has a major case of nail infections and tinea sure...being barefoot =/= spreading infection. "Everything I say has been backed up by scientific research." sounds like you did some poor research. "BTW, it's also been found that people who take vitamins tend to make less healthy food choices" oh right, and therefore theyre useless? yeah think again. just because you were stupid enough to dose up on multivitamins and then eat doughnuts all day doesnt make this the standard. its been found that SOME people do as you say. "But the FDA has found that vitamin supplements in general are pretty much useless" id like to see that report that claims supplementation is useless when theres been several public health movements based around food fortification, which guess what, is a form of supplementation. your section on what i "must" agree with is pretty useless given youre not directly quoting your original comment, unlike say, myself. nutritionists recommend favouring a healthy diet as opposed to pills for several reasons, they dont however reject the merits of supplementation AT ALL.

yeah thats what i thought youd say.