James Dillard

There’s some psychology here. If you think you have great insurance, maybe you’ll drive a bit faster than you might otherwise. Maybe you’ll order the burger and fries more often than the organic field greens and the Arctic char.

In addition, my normally suspicious nature prevents me from totally trusting

You can easily cook this same way in your own home with a little thoughtfulness, and some good, simple recipes. You don’t have to be confused by all those pills.

As a Chinese medicine practitioner, I was taught that we should seek balance in all things — balance based upon good science and good sense. Don’t

Finally, unless there is a demonstrated deficiency, taking supplements comes from the notion that we are not getting enough. This is a fear-based notion. I believe that, of all people in the world, we Americans have plenty and enough – and often too much. Most of us have enough food to live comfo

What about all the unknown interactions between supplements and any necessary medications?

There may be situations in which a specific vitamin pill might be necessary for a little while. As in many parts of life, there are few absolute rules. The federal government has documented a massive, dangerous

There’s some psychology here. If you think you have great insurance, maybe you’ll drive a bit faster than you might otherwise. Maybe you’ll order the burger and fries more often than the organic field greens and the Arctic char.

In addition, my normally suspicious nature prevents me from totally trusting

- you can spend the rest of the day eating junk food with no nutrients at all and you’d be just fine.

Well, I don’t believe that. Yes, there are deficiency diseases like scurvy, beriberi, and pellagra. But vitamins and minerals in supplement form are medicines, not foods. Real food contains many

Their use is based on the idea that if a little is good (in the food), then more is better (extracted, concentrated, and augmented).

Supplements are manufactured by human hands, under the direction and influence of human brains, as opposed to regular foods, which are grown naturally following the plant

I like real food, not all those pills. And so does the federal government — supposedly. Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, all these vitamins, minerals, herbs, concentrates, and supplements are defined as foods, and not regulated by the F.D.A.

But they’re not really whole foods, are they? Even

“One pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small,” sang Grace Slick in the Jefferson Airplane’s 1967 hit “White Rabbit.” She was singing about the hallucinogenic drugs of the day, but it seems we have many more pills around today to make you larger or smaller than even in
the late 1960s.

Much