Do dietary supplements help or hurt children?

“Do Dietary Supplements Help or Hurt Children?” The Wall Street Journal asked this question on July 2, 2018. They state, “A growing number of children are taking alternative supplements with no demonstrated health benefits. The rate of kids taking herbal and other supplements in the U.S. has nearly doubled, to 6.3%, a new analysis found.”

Is this true?

For 70 years the government and the official health establishment has insisted that no one needs to supplement with vitamins if they eat a "healthy" diet. 70 years of research opposes this proposition.

If we demonstrate a pandemic of deficiency in just one critical vitamin, then the entire JAMA/governmental policy falls to pieces and it does with a huge thud like this student's Jenga structure.

The latest NHANES study (from 2018) covering children from age 8-18 found an astonishing 29% were frankly deficient in vitamin D (at levels immediately endangering their lives) and 49% were insufficient (below ideal levels).

When nearly half of healthy American children are lacking in a critical vitamin that regulates over 1,000 genes, this is a crisis in health care and preventative health policies. Only D supplementation can correct the problem as skin cancer fears mandate kids be covered with sunscreens which prevent natural D production. Kids with low D have elevated BP, diabetes, obesity, etc etc.

To further contradict this WSJ article and the position of the AAP and AMA, the Mayo Clinic itemizes each supplement and outlines the good, bad and ugly. Their interpretation of the literature is almost all supplements are beneficial. https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements

To nail another vitamin into their propaganda theory, think of it this way:

A 1950s nutrition book states, the average American needs 3000 or so calories a day to maintain body weight.

Due to more use of cars and other modern conveniences (I am not deriding them) nutrition books now tell you that many people can maintain their weight with 1500 calories a day.

Go back to the 1920s the calorie count to maintain body weight goes up to 5000 to 10,000 depending upon the work the person is doing.

Consuming 3000-10,000 calories a day, from sources directly from the farm, and not from the food conglomerates such as Archer Daniels Midland like most kids get today, delivered a hell of a lot more vitamins and minerals than our 1500 calories today. There is no way 1500 calories is enough vitamins and minerals to be healthy.

My primary concern with supplements is where do they come from and who sources the raw ingredients. I vet all of this when I manufacture vitamins and minerals for our family of nutritional products under the brand Dr. Thornburg Wellness. Parents place their trust in us because of the years we dedicated to studying, teaching, and practicing nutrition and medicine. Families believe in us because we are committed to their generational wellness.

My best guess is this article was brought to you by the prescription drug industry.

Reference: Wall Street Journal print edition July 3, 2018 and online here.

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