Torrential Feedback To Reader's Digest Anti-Vitamin Article
No, You Can't Fool All the People All the Time
(OMNS, Apr 8, 2010)

More than half of America now takes nutritional supplements. Here's some of
what the vitamin-taking public had to say to Reader's Digest about their
anti-vitamin scaremongering:

"The more your readers digest the lies presented in "5 Vitamin Truths and
Lies", the sicker they will become. But no need to fear because your
sponsors, the pharmaceutical companies, provide the remedy: drugs and lots
of them, which are readily available within the pages of your magazine.
Seems to me a good return on their investment."

"I'm very disappointed to find out that a reputable publication such as
yours would put out such a slanted and biased article about nutritional
supplements. I grew up reading Reader's Digest, and used to enjoy it
tremendously before it was apparently taken over by pharmaceutical ads.
Then, the articles were pure and touched the heart. Now, it seems that they
are biased and are only written to support Big Pharma."

"Antioxidants did not cause death from cancer among smokers that you
attributed to vitamins. Smoking did."

"So what are you going to follow this with in your next issue Reader's
Digest? 'Bacon and Hot Dogs are Actually Good For You' or '10 Ways to Serve
Gravy as a Beverage'? I mean, could you BE any more of a disservice to
humanity?"

"Can't wait for Reader's Digest's next '5 Truths and Lies' article. Laughter
is the best medicine."

"The research demonstrating that vitamin supplements are beneficial in
thwarting and healing heart disease, inflammatory disease, Alzheimer's
disease, mental illness, diabetes, and more is solid and growing. If the
article were accurate, the author might have stated the astonishing
discrepancy between the number of deaths per year related to the
pharmaceutical industry vs that of the nutraceutical and vitamin industry.
( http://www.doctoryourself.com/deathmed.html ) But then, those facts do not
support the ad on the back cover of the magazine."

"The Reader's Digest article 'Vitamin Truths and Lies' is simply an outright
lie. The only part missing is the TRUTHS."

"I have personally witnessed the healing effects of therapeutic doses of
cheap and common vitamin supplements, such as vitamin C, niacin, and others.
I think you will find many other readers who echo this sentiment."

"Reader's Digest insults its readership with this type of propaganda. Add
another check to the growing list of people who won't be reading any
longer."

"If supplement companies advertised in your magazine instead of Big Pharma,
the article might have read differently. Needless to say, this was the last
Reader's Digest I'll ever read."

"I've been taking vitamins successfully to cure colds and prevent them for
the past year. I also feel much better, lost 30lbs, and have more energy
than ever. My wife used to have seasonal allergies that are no longer an
issue. Vitamins do work when taken in proper doses, with virtually zero side
affects, I might add."

"The pharmaceutical companies are trying to protect their monopoly on
healthcare by bashing supplements. The alternative to boosting your
nutritional intake is to live your life on a large number of prescription
drugs and poor food, while 'enjoying' a debilitated existence."

"The Reader's Digest has joined the Flat Earth Society. Shame on you!"

"For seven years I was a regular clinic/hospital visitor due to either
severe colds or inflamed tonsils. For my tonsillitis, two EENT specialists
had recommended surgical removal. Three years ago, while browsing the
internet I came across websites and articles about orthomolecular medicine
where I have learned the importance of supplements. In my desperation, I
megadoses of vitamin C up to 23,000mg, vitamin E 800 IU, B-complex 300mg,
and niacin 600mg. My tonsil inflammation was gone in 5 days."

"How do sleep well at night after these awful lies, misleading the people
again? Maybe with some pills from the pharmaceutical industry?"

"When health issues are at stake, I would much rather put my trust in
vitamin supplements than have to rely on pharmaceuticals. How many people
have died from vitamins? (
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n04.shtml ) How many have died
from drug complications?" ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/deathmed.html )

"As I read their amazingly biased information regarding vitamins, I realized
Reader's Digest does publish some nice fiction stories."

"Basic biochemistry and a review of the literature support the benefits of
supplementation. Not all supplementation helps. Much supplementation does.
Reader's Digest discussed only science that it chose to discuss.
Cherry-picking science is bad science. "

"Why did you miss reporting on large studies showing vitamin supplements
improve IQ scores in children?" ( http://www.doctoryourself.com/downs.html
and http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v04n15.shtml )

"Having made mistakes in my own health column years ago when a reporter for
a Los Angeles newspaper, I know how easy it is to disseminate false
information. However, with fact checkers and common sense use of the
Internet and PubMed I believe your reporter could have discovered many
thousands of scientific studies on the health benefits of vitamins and
minerals."

"I challenge Reader's Digest to contact the doctors on the Editorial Review
Board of the Orthomolecular Medicine News Service, and submit 'Vitamin
Truths and Lies' for its critical review, and publish their response in its
entirety. "

"I sent a message to the Reader's Digest, lambasting them for the
misinformation they had the gall to publish about vitamins. Their reply said
that the author is a prize-winning writer who is known for thorough research
prior to publication. I asked the Digest for references and citations. I
received none."

"Please see ( http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/v06n12.shtml ) to
read the statements from doctors refuting your article on vitamins. At the
very least I hope to see Reader's Digest interview some of these researchers
and physicians that have been studying and using vitamins/supplements in
their practice for years, and write another article with both sides
represented. You can also go to http://www.clinicalpearls.com/ witch is a
website that summarizes current research in nutrition and integrative
medicine."

"It works for Prevention magazine, so why not Reader's Digest? I once opened
a Prevention magazine and counted 18 drug ads and articles before I came to
one on nutrition. Should we expect more from Reader's Digest?"

"You have got to be kidding. You have ignored a flotilla of articles, peer
reviewed as well, on the benefits of vitamins for a variety of conditions
including macular degeneration. I know this field well as I am an
ophthalmologist. The only explanation I can think of is that you have been
unduly influenced by your pharmaceutical advertisers."

"I am a registered nurse and read many articles on health. I feel that your
recent article on vitamins was very misleading. Please ask the author to
research more thoroughly and write a new article."

"Ignorance may be bliss, but when ignorance is reported as if it were a
truth in this case it is not bliss but close to a crime. Ignorance
accompanied by 15 pages of drug advertisements is closer to a racket."

"For a full and comprehensive research on what vitamins can do you need to
go to http://www.orthomolecular.org and http://www.doctoryourself.com where
you can find real research, not the kindergarten stuff reported in your
April 2010 issue. I have been following the impeccable reporting of the
orthomolecular people for years now and will give them an A+ on their
content, and you a flat F."

"Your slamming of vitamins and minerals is truly tragic. For those who look
to Reader's Digest as a valued resource, you have let them down. You neglect
of the thousands of therapeutic nutritional research studies and articles
from universities and from other research teams worldwide that you can find
easily in Medline, and the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. Bad
journalism (telling half the story) can result in poor health for millions.
I hope your own families weren't reading this article."

To post your comments at the Reader's Digest website, or to read their
original biased article if you missed it:
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/5-v...cle175625.html

To send your thoughts directly to the Reader's Digest editors:


To learn more about how vitamins safely and effectively fight disease:
http://orthomolecular.org/resources/omns/index.shtml