"Vitamins are a complete waste of money."

That's a common refrain among some conventional doctors.

Is it true?

Well, yes!  BUT...

There's more to this story.

The answer is yes IF, and only IF, you eat a diet of wild, fresh, whole, organic, local, non-genetically modified food that's grown in virgin mineral- and nutrient-rich soils and not transported across vast distances and stored for months before eaten.

The answer is yes only IF you work and live outside, breathe only fresh unpolluted air, drink only pure, clean water, sleep 9 hours a night, move your body every day and are free from chronic stressors and exposures to environmental toxins.  

If that sounds like your lifestyle, you don't need vitamins. 

The problem is, hardly ANY of us live this way. In fact, more than 92 percent of Americans are deficient in at least one vitamin or mineral -- and that's in the minimum amounts needed to prevent disease caused by deficiencies!

Surprised? I certainly was!

When I finished my medical training, I thought that a balanced diet, including "fortified" foods like white flour and milk, was enough to protect against deficiency diseases like scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) rickets (vitamin D), beriberi (vitamin B1), and pellagra (vitamin B3). I believed that Supplements did nothing but make expensive urine.

But recent research has proven otherwise.

In one study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, for example, researchers found that 6 percent of people studied were seriously deficient in vitamin C and 30 percent had borderline low levels of this important nutrient. 

A USDA survey was even more alarming: It showed that 37 percent of Americans don't get enough vitamin C, 70 percent don't get enough vitamin E, almost 75 percent don't get enough zinc, and 40 percent don't get enough iron.

To me, studies like these are powerful evidence that virtually everyone is lacking the basic nutrients necessary for good health. I know now that vitamins and minerals are the grease that lubricates the wheels of our metabolism.  Without them, the thousands of chemical reactions that happen every second in our bodies will grind to a halt.

Clearly, vitamins and minerals are crucial for preventing disease. But what about promoting optimal health?

More and more experts now agree that taking individually tailored amounts of nutrients is key to staying healthy and young.

For instance, Bruce Ames, Ph.D., one of the most respected scientists in the world, has recently focused his research on the notion of a "metabolic tune-up"-- the use of optimum amounts of nutrients to boost metabolism, increase energy and prevent disease. It's an idea he calls metabolic harmony.

In his studies, Dr. Ames has even been able to reverse the aging process in cells and in animals -- simply providing more of the nutrients our bodies need as we get older.

And Dr. Robert Heany, one of the world's leading vitamin D researchers, recently wrote in a groundbreaking editorial in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that our government's current vitamin recommendations just aren't high enough to promote optimal health. Instead, he says, the higher amounts of nutrients our ancestors consumed in their pre-agricultural diet should be our goal.

So how can you get the right amounts of vitamins and minerals for optimal health? Take these steps:

1.) Do some research. In Ultrametabolism, I explain how to identify your body's particular nutrients needs, and I show you in detail how to determine your own optimal levels of vitamins and minerals, based on your medical and family history, genetics and specific testing. 

2.) Cover your bases. For most people, a high-quality multivitamin, a calcium-magnesium supplement, and fish oil will take care of basic needs. (See Ultrametabolism for more details on doses and guidelines for choosing the best quality nutrients).

3.) Get personal. You can further individualize your supplement regimen based on the 7 keys in Ultrametabolism, which helps you identify precisely what's holding you back from optimal health and permanent weight loss.

4.) Check it out. Ask your doctor to test you for two of the most important nutrient deficiencies -- folate and vitamin D -- by checking homocysteine (the best test for folate; normal is 6 to 8 micromoles/liter), and 25 hydroxy vitamin D (the best test for vitamin D deficiency; normal is 50 to100 nanograms/milliliter). 

The importance of nutrients is clear: I have tested for vitamin, mineral, and other nutritional deficiencies in thousands of patients and find that people feel better, have more energy and less disease, and even lose weight simply by correcting these deficiencies.

So next time your doctor says that vitamin supplements just make expensive urine, ask him or her if you should stop drinking water, since most of it just ends up in the urine anyway!

Do yourself a favor -- and grease the wheels of your metabolism by getting optimal amounts of the nutrients your body needs to thrive.

What do YOU think?

Believe that supplements are a waste of money and just create expensive urine?

Or have you found that supplementing has helped your health and weight loss goals?

I'd love to hear your thoughts -- just post them as a comment to my blog below...