Vitamin supplements can be helpful — and harmful
By Kathryn Reitler
Of the Emerald
Many health enthusiasts
would have one believe that
vitamins prevent the common
cold, protect against heart
disease and cancer, delay old
age and even offset the ill effects
of stress.
Hut many health experts are
warning consumers to be aware
that their daily multivitamin
supplements could endanger
their health.
Excess vitamins
"I was sick all the time so I
took vitamins, hut I only
became sicker.” said |odi
Styles, a part-time University
student. “It's a vicious circle,
but what t;an you do?"
A later physician's exam
revealed that Styles’ sickness
was caused by a vitamin A
overdose.
Americans are finding
themselves bombarded with
messages to stay fit; everywhere
one looks, people are running,
-biking, exercising.
And as health and fitness
have become more popular, so
have vitamin supplements.
"There is a reason for this,"
said Kay Gladstone, a Pay I .ess
Drug Store pharmacist. "I see
many kinds of people in this
business, especially those who
look at health magazines and
then come to me for vitamin
supplements. Most vitamins are
marginally effective; many of
them are worthless."
Iluth nutritionists and doctors
insist that a balanced diet sup
plies all the nutrients needed
for good health
"Nearly 40 percent of all
Americans self-dose with one or
more nutrients in multiple and
single doses, in natural and syn
thetic formulations, and in
amounts to or more times
higher than what is re< uni
ntended,” Gladstone said
According to a recent edition
of the Reader's Digest, pur
chases of vitamin supplements
add up to more than $3 billion a
year.
People who doubt their diets
am balanced often turn to
vitamin supplements as in
surance. And selective sup
plementation does have its
place. For example, vitamins
can assure dieters who get by on
1,500 calories or less per day
that their systems am receiving
enough nutrition.
Vitamins* effects
Vitamins can be divided into
two categories: fat-soluble and
water-soluble Vitamins A. D. F.
and K am fat-soluble, and C and
H-complex vitamins are water
soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins
don't pass through the urinary
tract as quickly as water-soluble
vitamins do. And in large doses
they c:an crowd the body’s
storehouses and become poten
tial toxins.
Vitamin A is for develop
ment. growth and maintenance
of normal skin, mucous mem
branes and bones. It is found in
liver, butter, fortified milk pro
ducts. potatoes, green leafy
vegetables and yellow-orange
fruits.
People deficient in Vitamin A
am prone to infection and a
variety of skin disorders. Tox
icity. or too much Vitamin A.
can cause anorexia, headaches,
blurred vision, irritability,
cracked and bleeding lips,
nosebleeds and flaking skin.
Two large carrots contain
about 22.000 International
Units (Il ls). The recommended
maximum is Ills per
day.
Vitamin I) absorbs calcium
and helps build strong, healthy
bone*. It is easily obtained in
milk and by exposure to the
sun. A lack of vitamin I) results
in rickets, which is characteriz
ed by a softening of the bones.
Children are particularly
(•raphii by |ohn Bock
susceptible to the disease.
Excess intake of vitamin I)
causes nausea, headache,
weakness, fatigue and even in
jury to artery walls. About one
(|uart of milk supplies a person
with the U.S. Recommended
Daily Allowance of 300-400
Vitamin E has lawn called a
"vitamin in search of a
disease." Gladstone said,
Imm ause then1 is no known adult
disorder that can !m traced to
vitamin E deficiency. Ap
propriate dosage is alanil 30 H is
for adults.
Vitamin K aids blood clot
ting. An excess causes jaundice,
yellowing of the skin, in
newborns.
Vitamin B works to make and
repair tissue, and to replenish
hormones. Vitamin B deficien
cy causes l»eril>eri. a condition
rarely seen in the United States,
characterized by partial
paralysis of the extremities,
emaciation and anemia. The
Recommended Daily Allowance
of vitamin It is 20 milligrams.
Vitamin C helps heal
wounds, build red blood cells,
and maintain bones, teeth, skin.
tendons and certain hormones.
Deficiency causes scurvy, a
disease marked by weakness
and anemia. This disease also is
rare in the United States
because vitamin C is widely
available.
Eight ounces of orange juice
contain 60 milligrams of
vitamin C. which is enough for
most adults. More can cause ab
dominal cramps and nausea.
Avoiding trouble
“Alcoholics are a great ma
jority of those who have defi
ciencies," said Dr. jackson.
director of the University Stu
dent Health Center. “They lack
thiamin and folic acid."
Athletes also are prone to
deficiency and toxicity, |ackson
said. ‘‘They live off the notion
that as far as supplements go. a
lot is good, more is better,” he
said.
One former athlete. Bob
Wilks, recalled what too much
vitamin D did to him. ‘‘I
developed kidney stones," he
said. "It was like an alien in
vading my body, and in fact it
was. I could have died.
"It all boils down to the buyer
beware,” Gladstone said. He
advises people to ask
themselves if they really need
vitamin supplements; and to
know what they're taking off
the shelves.
People taking supplements
should follow these guidelines:
•The safest and most prac
tical insurance against vitamin
deficiency and toxicity is to eat
a good, balanced diet through
the foods you eat, not pills.
•If your diet is haphazard and
unbalanced, a multivitamin can
lx; used in moderation.
•Never take vitamins in doses
higher than the Recommended
Daily Allowance.
•Promptly see a doctor if a
deficiency is suspected.
Stnke
Continued from Pago 1
president sot the pattern tor cor
porate handling of major
strikes. . . during the first half of
this decade," wrote University
sociology Professor David
Milton in his recent article.
"Late Capitalism and the
Decline of Trade Union Power
in the United States.”
Professor Jim Gallagher of the
University’s education
and Research ('enter, echoes
Milton, "The crushing of the
(Professional Air Traffic Con
trollers Organization) strike was
so blatant and harsh, it sent an
encouraging message to anti
union employers, and en
outraged those on the fence to
lake a harder position."
Two other factors have added
woes to latter unions in their
battle to stay healthy. Gallagher
said.
The deep recession at the
beginning of the de< ade com
promised labor because
unemployment tends to weaken
laltor by making it more readily
replaceable And the labor
movement also was hurt by the
hundreds of thousands of jobs
lost in its most highly organised
sector, manufacturing, he said
Trends nationwide have
shown a steady slip in the
labor's popularity rating.
Gallagher said.
"There has been a growing
misconception as to labor's
power. It's a not Infrequently
held view that lalxir has too
much power." he said.
Milton's article cited a recent
poll in California, "a tradi
tionally strong labor state,
(which) revealed that 44 percent
oi Californians believe unions
do more harm than good."
Gallagher said he is unaware
of any polls of public attitudes
toward unions in Oregon or in
areas where Weyerhaeuser
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workers are striking. but he
believes attitudes in these areas
may Im* more supportive of
unions.
"If wage rollbacks come
about and the profit-sharing
plan doesn't make up the dif
ference. it will have an impor
tant. maybe devastating effect
on the local economies." he
sail! "Absent any profit
sharing. we’re talking about the
effect on local businesses of los
ing 2()-2.r> percent of all timber
related jobs.
"Economically. Eugene. Spr
ingfield and Cottage drove have
a terribly important stake in
these negotiations. That is not
passing judgment on the equity
of Weyerhaeuser's demands,
but simply speaking to the
economic effect,” Gallagher
said.
tabor unions on the national
and local levels, realizing the
importance of public opinion,
have been attempting to
brighten thoir images through
media advertisements and
public relations campaigns.
Ux:al television has been car
rying union-sponsored instruc
tions by Vicky tawrence and
"Mama." who advocates sup
port for unions and boycotts
The July 3 New York Times
carried a full-page ad from the
Independent Federation of
Flight Attendants calling for a
boycott of Trans World
Airlines. The airline fired near
ly ti.000 1FFA strikers and hired
younger, i n e x p e r i e n c e d
workers to fill their jobs.
"The unions should use TV
— they legitimize themselves."
said University political science
Professor |im Klonoski.
Professors do not identify
with the working class and tend
to believe they don't need
unions but (.an make better liv
ings on their own. klonoski
said. Portlund State University
is the only major state universi
ty with an organized faculty
union.
Nevertheless, "most pro
fessors still would not walk
through picket lines, and some
are even more radical than most
people," klonoski said.
Students' attitudes tend to be
more similar to "the yuppies
who've come into lieing in the
'60s and '70s,” klonoski said.
''Tektronix Inc., (a
Beaverton-based high-tech
firm), is laying off thousands of
workers, and yet they won't
unionize." klonoski said.