Multivitamins as substitutes for healthy food.
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40192)
Canada
December 13, 2010 9:28pm CST
When my father was alive, he became allergic to vegetables in the cabbage family. Now one knows that eating broccoli and other vegetables of the cabbage family is suggested for diabetics. Dad became one, but only took the insulin in the last couple of years of his life.
Now my daughter-in-law, my first one has diabetes in her family, and she is also allergic to celery, carrots, oregano.
My father-in-law had diabetes2 and was in a strict diet, and got off of it because he did not like to be told no, no, no.
Now getting to me, I am on the borderline, and if I eat too many sweets, I get a yeast infection. Not only that, there is also a history of diabetes and cataracts in my family. So when I do not have a yeast infection (only had two so far in two or three years), I can eat blueberries, but according to the Candida diet, I cannot eat those berries that will protect my eyes.
So I take multivitamins.
Now here comes my question. What happens when you need a certain food so that you do not get a certain condition, and yet if you eat that food, something else goes worse, like my daughter-in-law may not get enough Vitamin and yet she would need it or me having to choose between getting rid of yeast infection or not being able to see as well.
Do you sometimes feel the cure is worse then the disease or condition?
3 people like this
14 responses
@GardenGerty (160949)
• United States
14 Dec 10
Really there are no single foods that cure or prevent single diseases. Blueberries are not the only things that are good for your eyes, and cabbage family foods are not the only veggies that prevent diabetes. Eat a good, balanced diet of the foods you can eat that you know do not give you other problems. Take a multi vitamin. It is really unfortunate that we get the idea that only one food is healthy, it is a combination of healthy foods that keeps us healthy.
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
16 Dec 10
But really you have to consider what are the best foods in that group. For instance, any purple fruit will do, but it depends on what is available. I can eat bilberries, but they do not grow over here and they are much better then blueberries, I can eat cranberries but I cannot buy the cranberry sauce because it has added sugar. Brocolli is the best of the cabbage family, but what happens when one is allergic to all that group like my father was. And what if a group is good for one condition and bad for another and you have both conditions? And what if you are allergic or cannot take that much of a certain food, even though you eat healthy in the rest, you may get the condition in lets say five years, but if you could eat all the foods, you would get the condition in maybe ten years.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160949)
• United States
16 Dec 10
I have friends with allergies, I do not seem to have any. My friend was diagnosed after she was almost fifty as being allergic to corn, wheat, soy, and egg yolks, dairy and although she does not TEST allergic to citrus but she gets allergy symptoms when she has any of it. She is trying to avoid diabetes and has asthma. It is hard for her to find and have foods she can eat, and still feed a growing family.
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@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
17 Dec 10
That is the trouble. Some allergies happen after you grow up. For instance, until my father was in his forties he did not become allergic to cabbage. I would not be surprised that I have an allergy to wheat. And the trouble with some allergies that they make you feel that you have to take a bow and arrow and spear and go live in the country and live by hunting.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
23 Dec 10
That is the problem. I find because I am getting sensitive to certain food, I have to take more supplements and that costs a lot. I could go to my doctor and he will give me one white pill but I heard that after a time, I will have to take a larger dose so I would rather do the healthstore route
@ElicBxn (63643)
• United States
22 Dec 10
isn't aging wonderful?
actually, I blame corn for most of type 2 diabetes
I haven't eaten corn knowingly (and trust me, I know really quick when I have eaten some) for over 30 years.
I am also over 50 lbs over weight, a year and a half ago, I was over 100 lbs.
My mother was borderline, and not over weight. I am not even CLOSE to borderline, in fact, I tend to run a bit low rather than high.
I've know people who were at or even a bit below target weight and had high blood pressure, again, mine is on the low side. The difference? they ate a lot of corn.
Now, living as I do in Texas, there are a lot of Hispanics and, needless to say, a lot of Mexican food (can you say corn?) and there are number of other peoples who eat a lot of corn here, and there is a high incident of type 2 diabetes.
Another fact, Chinese and Japanese have historically had low incidents of type 2, until the last 50 years when corn has become a more important part of the diet...
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
28 Dec 10
It does make sense. I have not been on a scale for since before a week or two ago, and that is because I knew I would eat a lot. And I did go without corn for a while, but after a time, I get the urge to eat some. I did eat a corn tortilla last week, but I felt that cheesecake enchilada was more dangerous. So I find if one goes without a certain food for a long period of time, one then tends to really pig out on it when one introduces it back into one's diet. I never was a great corn eater unless at harvest time. One should be moderate in eating, so one does not pig out on the wrong things.
I am borderline,and moderately obese, obese one they say but I am not fat. Can you be more confusing then that, and I do not have high blood pressure or high chloresteral even though I am supposed to. Why when I told the survey lady that a month ago, she did not believe me.
Yet my late husband had trouble with high choloresteral and high blood pressure and he was of normal weight.
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
15 Dec 10
Sometimes the treatment for something is not good for another condition, and then what can you do but weigh the one condition against the other, and figure out what's more important. Can be very frustrating and confusing though.
1 person likes this
@megamatt (14291)
• United States
10 Jan 11
I think cures can worse for one simple reason. Once you get the cure, there are times where you have to really be taking what is working. If you get off of it, then your body will degenerate much worse. Therefore, you have grown more dependent on the cure in the first well. Plus I think I would rather take chances with the actual disease hitting its worst state, then some of the side effects. So the cure can be bad in some instances.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
29 Jul 11
I would not want to get diabetes. I would rather not get it in the first place then to be told no this, no that, even for a treat. Right now I am not taking multi vitamins but that is because of the cost and trying to get as many vegetables as necessary. Of course when all the multi vitamins that are not natural sourced are not allowed in the States (and Canada will possibly follow) then the only way we can stay healthy besides moving to the country and living on a farm and growing our own is to search through all the stores and buy more vegetables and salad stuff, but then they will also jack up the prices.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
21 Dec 10
I take vegetable and fruits, but the organic are more expensive and so either I have to really wash them or not get as much as I like. Also being on the border of diabetes 2 inspite of loosing weight except where it counts, I take the multivitmins and to herbal medicines but one is being removed from the health food stores and not allowed to be imported into Canada. But it i the most effective one and after a time the blood sugar does go down permanently. If you get a prescription of the officially subscribed prescription, it eventually loses its effectiveness and you then take insulin.
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
14 Dec 10
probably doesn't make sense
but I think anything too much is bad
so if we take everything in moderation it shouldn't harm our health
thing is one food contains more than one vitamin or mineral
banning one food will only be worth it if everything it contains is bad for you
otherwise I don't see a reason to not eating certain food at all
I used to be that fanatic LOL
not eating this and that out of fear or health stuffs
but I don't want to live like that anymore
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
16 Dec 10
I have to be careful about breads, and anything containing yeast. I can eat a small slice, but it id hard as I love raisin bread. The same with milk, I can drink a little but not that much but I can eat yogurt to my heart's content, and eat vegetables until it is coming out my ears. I am all for moderation, but trying to stop this sweet tooth is hurting me. And now there is Christmas coming around and the holidays with all that food.
At least I did not buy a box of chocolates this year.
1 person likes this
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
14 Dec 10
Multivitamins are never a good substitute for the real food but they can be very helpful to those who can't eat those foods. Some people use them because they don't want to eat properly but don't want vitamin deficiencies. I have vitamins but always forget to take them, I hate taking pills.
Yes, sometimes the cure is worse than the condition! Sometimes we're damned if we do and damned if we don't.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
23 Dec 10
With me it is that because of not being able to afford the good food when I was younger, and given the wrong foods like margerine, I now have metabolic syndrome. And diabetes runs in my family so unlike others who eat a lot of the wrong food like junk food and get really obese, I do not need to put in that much weight to get it. In other words, my weight goes on my tummy but I do not have big arms or legs.
And now I have developed a sensitivity to yeast, wheat, and of course only eat things with white flour occasionally. I wish there were a pill that combines evrythkng that aI cannot take naturally, but it would have to be as large as a dinner plate. 
Got over the yeast infection, but I have to rmeember not to use that much vinegar or sugar.
Got over the yeast infection, but I have to rmeember not to use that much vinegar or sugar.
@gitfiddleplayer (10362)
• United States
14 Dec 10
I'm in my 40's so I take vitamins because I know my body cannot produce the chemicals like it used to. I don't think I've slowed down any but its good to know that there are supplements to help me if I have. I haven't changed my diet at all, which is probably not good but I'm active so I can still eat what I want because I'll burn it off anyway.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
17 Dec 10
I take a multivitamin and have to get my sugar down. The trouble is I feel that lot of the reasons I have trouble with weight is what went on when I was young. My parents were not that rich. Oh once I turned 30 the weight started to come on. And having a family that wanted to sit around the table after meals did not help.
@hvedra (1619)
•
14 Dec 10
Do you know what nutrients in particular are in the berries that are so helpful? They might appear in other foods or, as you say, you might be able to get them via supplements.
We get told of "superfoods" all the time. Eating X prevents some disease or other but really it is often the nutrients in the food or a combination of them, together with a lot of other factors that are doing the work.
Anti-candida diets are pretty tough because they are quite restrictive and often very plain. They are effective but if you keep getting recurring infections there might be other factors that are triggering the infection. I know you have been under a lot of stress the last couple of years and that can trigger infections.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
23 Dec 10
It has one of the highest anti-free radicals, but since I do not want to copy the info, there is the link or at least one of them. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=8
The trouble is that there are other fruit who have this help in them, but you have to take more of them. It is in comparisons. For instance you have to eat more carrots to get vitamin A then if you eat sweet potatoes. You have to eat more brocoli to get Vitamin D whereas if you can drink milk and out in the sun, you have no problem.
So it is the quantiy that matters and when you are watching your problem.
And sometimes diet get in the way. I am sensitive to vinegar - too much and I get sick, yet much of the diet salad recipes either in the stores or the ones you can make yourself contain vinegar.
@sanjay91422 (2725)
• India
14 Dec 10
I eat a variety of food to get all the minerals and vitamins. I think you should follow the food routines which is good for your health. If you are allergic to some foods or if you get yeast infection then probably it is wise to not eat those food item which will give you this infection. Don't think much about other foods and concentrate on getting a good health. I wish you a good luck and happy life forever.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
21 Dec 10
I have to take the multivitamins because I would have to eat all day and do not have a garden so cannot take a little bit of thid and a little bit of that each day. I have to watch my sugar and eating things made with yeast or flour. But it seems that mot of the things offered contain a lot of that.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
21 Dec 10
The trouble is that if I do not eat them and if I ran out of multivitamins I will be malnourished. Also I would probably have ot move to a country where it is warm all year round to be able to get the food I need every day. I am introducing the food gradually. But I have to watch my sugar.
@sameer786 (832)
•
14 Dec 10
we cant eat too much food with fuul of vitamins in a day so i think we can use multivitamin to keep our body fit.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
23 Dec 10
Never have that problem, but when you get a yeast infection, you have a problem. And then when you discover that even the good food is not that good for you, you have to get the vitamins and minerals in it another way. I hate having to go to the health food store and get a bottle of this and a bottle of that and a bottle of that.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
23 Dec 10
Next time I will go in more detail, but they only give so much room for the title. It is just when you get candida, you are not allowed to eat that much fruit and they contain what you need, so one has to take the multivitamins plus the other herbal supplements that you need.
I am over it, but now I have to be careful of what I eat. But it is getting frustrating.
