Too late - there already is one. William Campbell Douglas, MD authors a free online subscription for short articles on current events in medical and pharmaceutical field called "the Douglas Report". Strange as it may sound, there are actually some medicinal benefits to tobacco usage. His reports are very informative, and every American should know what the intentions of Big Pharma are. His short reports are one of the only places that the public can find this information. I can't emphasize enough how informative I have found his mailings to be over the last couple years and I would encourage all to google him and sign up. Although, I am curious what he will have to say about the content of this story, as I believe him to be a proponent of the multi.

The key to my longevity I believe lies with having lots and lots of (safe) sex. I also believe that having 'multi'partners will help ward off any future Alzheimer's because it forces you to use your brain functions constantly in order to remember who said what. I also end up having a well rounded diet because I date a wide variety of women who all have unique diets and cooking specialties which are all quite healthy.

I'd also be more than happy to be a test subject for any future study that might be published that would prove my theory.

Health Headline November 4, 2010:

Studies show multivitamins DO prevent disease.

I still remember when caffeine (and more specifically coffee) was demonized. Now apparently, caffeine has some health benefits (according to some study) so the "experts" suggest moderate coffee consumption.

I did read a study once that smokers were less likely to develop cervical cancer. Does anyone take these studies seriously?

This is why I rather take herbs than vitamins. Herbs stimulate your body to do what's right for it by using the vitamins and nutrients already stored in the body. That, and exercise of course.

That quack, so-called "Doctor" Douglas is a ranting lunatic! The only reason to read his articles is if you need a laugh.

Herbs, I like that, smoke some herb too, it's all natural. Now to the Story? One study after another debunks one study after another. Remember the one about the Egg being bad for you? It kind of goes hand in hand with the outlawed plants. When that one about eggs came out years ago, it made me laugh, natures perfect food in the perfect container, and it's bad for you?? The bottom line is that these people don't know what they are talking about. I have an idea, and it's full proof. Everybody reading this, and those that aren't, all have the same chance of dying, and those odds are? Well I'll be dammed, it's a 10 in 10 chance. The moral is: Just be happy. This just in, breathing is bad for you, hold your breath.

This all reminds me of the back and forth with eggs. First they are good, then they are bad, then it was the whites that were good and yolks bad, now they're good again.

That guy is evil. He is deliberately exploiting people by telling them what they want to hear, regardless of whether it kills them.

Funny, here I thougt it was the pharmaceutical companies that were telling you lemmings what you wanted to hear. Have an ailment ... we have a pill for that! And it's very effective ... here, just look at this carefully manipulated report. It's only expensive because we have to set aside a lot of cash to payoff the inevitable lawsuits that will follow from your upcoming drug induced heart attack.

I don't take for granted everything Douglas writes, but his work is backed up by real medical studies - the ones that aren't bought and paid for by Big Pharma.

I thought I was pretty clear that I was not referring to diet when I referred to lemmings, since my whole comment was about ailments and pharmaceuticals. Your disdain is obviously related to your digust of man using animals for nutrition. I don't take issue with someone choosing to be vegan / vegetarian, so long as they don't try and convince the rest of society that we can stop eating eating animals and switch to your plan and the world will be a big happy place. The world would be an unimaginable mess with billions of livestock running wild with no ability to defend or feed themselves. That is a whole other argument. Nobody is saying you need "huge amounts of animal proteins and saturated fats" to be healthy - he is just saying that it is a myth that the fats are unhealthy and should be trimmed and discarded. He also stresses the importance of balancing this diet with plenty of vegetables.

The lemmings I am referring to are those that fall for the statins, blood pressure meds in lieu of diet manipulation, a questionable vaccine for everything that can be imagined, pills for everything from restless legs to seasonal affective disorder, putting children on powerful meds because they are "hyper", etc. If the pharmaceutical industry discovered a natural cure for cancer, how many people would they let die by not divulging this information because they were busy at work attempting to create a synthetic equivalent that can be patented?

I do as well, Jody. My diet is very limited due to a stomach condition, gastroparesis or paralyzed stomach, that limits not only portions but the types of foods that I can tolerate. I read above about "Just eat this and this and this". Not so easy for all of ust to do. I can't eat meat often, and even then it is usually fish, as it causes intense pain. My fat intake is severely limited for the same reason. And my fruit and vegetable choices are down to just a handful that will digest and not cause pain or, eventually, a form a lump in my stomach from the undigested fiber.

Since my diet is so limited, I take a good multi that comes in either a liquid form (hard to find) or a gummie that I can suck on slowly. I know for a fact that by doing this and drinking things like gatorade and propel, my blood levels are stable even with being as limited as I am.

And what if you gain weight easily. One of the most unhealthy things anyone can do is consume excessive calories in any form.

I exercise regularly. More than most people I know, and can gain weight looking at food. I get most of my calories from protein as I feel terrible if I don't eat enough of it. Consequently I back off on the fruits and veggies to reduce calories. I get my needed vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, etc from supplements that are virtually calorie free.

Fruits and veggies generally don't make you fat, unless you consider French Fries and apple pie "fruits and veggies"

The only problem I find with that theory is that I have never heard a doctor recommend a patient eliminate healthy fruits and vegetables from their diets for fear of feeding the cancer cells.

Dr. Ray Strand has some done some amazing research on nutrition and disease management, as has concluded that cancer cells actually absorb nutrition differently from healthy cells ( I believe it has to do with the shape and health of the cells), so that there is no risk of feeding cancerous cells through nutrition. You could visit drraystrand.com to view more of his work.

Hey, thank you for that information. I will check it out!

You would hope that most Americans don't rely on it, but we have become a lazy society. I rely on them only because I CANNOT digest food properly. It causes terrible pain and nausea whenever I eat, so I am limited to what increases the symptoms the least. I never even thought that a multi would prevent disease, just make it easier for me to stay somewhat healthy while dealing with this condition. This is the first time I have even heard of a multi being prescribed to prevent serious disease. I have only ever heard of them being given as a supplement to a healthy diet.

You sound like me. I have gastritis/gerd and am also limited in what I can eat, I am suffering now as a matter of fact. I only take Calcium with magnesium, zinc and D. Vitamins usually upset my stomach anyway so I just don't take them.

I also have ulcerative colitis and it is difficult to maintain a balance of what is generally considered healthy. Salad items, tomato products, milk (lactose) all upset my digestion. So I do take a multivitamin, and others supplements, as I have indicated in a previous post. A little more lean protein seems to help, and I am not talking chicken or turkey. Beef has helped me fight some of the symptoms of a flare-up.

The real test would be if I gave you a sugar pill (placebo) and told you it was a multi-vitamin, would you notice a difference?

There is a psychological component to taking a pill, so is it really doing something or do you believe it's doing something?

Fine, I'll keep taking my multi/placebo or whatever we want to call it. If in fact it causes me to believe my health is better and I am better for taking it then there is no problem. I'll keep deluding myself and ignore these back & forth reports.

Dr. Dave...I've done that. I'm not the type to do something because I read it, or my mom said so. I've had the same thoughts that quite possibly its all in my head. I have stopped taking multi's several times, for quite a long period, and it wasn't just shades of difference. I wonder now if pregnant women will stop taking folic acid and aenemic women should also stop taking iron. Sigh...but we all have tons of money and time to eat and prepare everything organic, which seems to be the holy grail. Wait for it, 7 years from now there will be studies out that say eating organic has no advantage.

Isnt that the truth!

I will wait for the next one.

Rusty Louis and bbtri - you've said it all!

Well, that's the amazing thing about scientific research isn't it. One study may indicate one result and conclusion, and another study may indicate something contrary to the first. That's the way it works when you're trying to figure out an incredibly complex process like human metabolism and health.

I suppose as an alternative, if you don't like the scientific process and it's sometimes contradictory results, you could look in the bible and see if Moses, Isaiah or Jesus said anything about multi-vitamins. I know they had plenty of advice about pigs and fish and milk.

Jesus was a capricorn he ate organic food....

Bible people died at 40.

Even so they had no processed foods and everything they ate was organic. If you had a problem digesting your food and you, therefore, suffered malnutrition, guess what, you died. Comparing eating habits (among other things) of modern people with 2k to 4k year old people from the bronze age is an exercise in complete absent mindedness.

Sure, take a multi if you like but certainly exercise! Include high fiber, home made veggie and fruit juices in your low processed food diet. Don't smoke. Don't drink to excess. Keep your weight down.

Do this and you will be as fine as your genetics will allow.

I try to find the one that works best for me. Unfortunately, it does go over on one vitamin, but it is water soluble, so whatever your body doesn't require it will get rid of naturally. Everything else in it is around 100%, except for a few that are much lower. I use this one whenever I can find it because it goes down as a liquid, which makes it easier for me to digest and absorb. If I was able to eat a regular diet, I would not look for one that had such high percentages, but there are others out there that are much higher.

hear hear!

The FDA does have their load of crap ways, but if you do some research, you will find pharmaceutical grade multis have a much higher standard than those treated like frozen pizzas, and USANA Essentials don't contain artificial ingredients.

I read about this several months ago. I have taken multi-vitamins religiously for years so decided to be my own lab rat. Totally stopped taking them (except for my daily calcium-Vit D supp.). Much to my surprise, there has been NO change in my energy levels, mood, bloodwork, etc. In MY case, it would appear that these reports are true. Multis ain't cheap, so I'm just going to put that money in my wallet.

After taking several different varieties for a couple years, I think the only ones that actually do anything are the ones derived from real food, generally fairly expensive ones.. They seem to have the better ingredients in the proper ratios and capable of being absorbed in the body as real compounds that it can use. The cheaper stuff are mostly filled with sythetic chemicals which often can't even get absorbed or can make you feel sicker.

I agree that big pharma could easily have funded this study. But on the other hand, one of the problems with multis is all the fillers and questionable ingredients. Are polyethylene glycol and titanium dioxide really necessary? I was told that supplements (multis) from other countries are smaller and easier to swallow. The assumption is that the manufacturers load the pills with fillers on purpose, to the point where some of them are horse pill sized, in order to convince the consumer they're getting more product and justify charging more. In the meantime, what are those ingredients doing to us? Food-derived multis would need to be larger, I guess, and in that case would make sense.