The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-10
vITAMINS ARE FOOD, NOT
 MEDICINE

Theoretically or ideally we should get all the vitamins we require in our daily food or from exposure to sunshine. Some physicians, in the light of the limited knowledge of nutrition we had a decade ago, as- stunned that most people did get enough vitamins in these ideal or natural ways. Today no well inform ed physician practices on that haz- ardous principle. Since scientific animal experimentation and human observation have taught us in more accurate terms what the physiolog- ical requirements of the body are, it has become impossible to escape the conclusion that, in our present mode, of life, practically every one suffers ill some degree from vitamin deficiency, however liberal and well balanced his diet may be.
 An important principle to keep always in mind, in relation to vita min physiology, pathology and therapy, is that vitamins are pri- marily and essentially FOOD and not medicine. The chief function of vitarnins is to promote normal nu- triton, normal growth, normal function, secondarily vitamins pre- vent those nutritional disorders known as deficiency diseases; final ly, in the hands of the physician, vitamins may sometimes effect the cure of disease.
 A few years ago, when physi- clans first began to recognize the importance of an adequate intake of vitamins for the maintenance of health and the prevention of de- ficiency Arrangements, some doc tors, not yet clearly comprehend ing the nature of vitamins, and re- garding them as medicine, con- ceived the notion that harm might be done by an overdose" or by too much of this or that vitamin.
 This imaginary danger of "over- dose" was associated particularly with the feeding of vitamin D to infants and children for the pre- vention of manifestations of rick cts. There were even few reports published in the medical journals purporting to show toxic" or even fatal effects from enormous quan- titles of concentrated vitamin D, but these reports were subject to equivocal interpretation because of the peculiar circumstances of the cases concerned and were far from convincing to any one at all fa- miliar with vitamin technology. More recently, however, carefully controlled clinical observation has proved beyond question that pro- longed daily feeding of massive quantities of vitamin D - from 100000 to 100000 units daily over periods of many weeks or months, in the treatment of arthritis, pso- riasis, acne, hay fever, etc., pro- duce no serious untoward effects.
 For that matter, it now appears doubtful whether any quantity of any or all known vitamins ever does any harm. After all, vitamins are food.
 Probably some confusion about this arises from the recognition of minimal, adequate and optimal in- take of certain vitamins-say vitat- min c. A small quantity of vitamin c in the daily intake may suffice, for a time and under otherwise fa- vorable circumstances, to prevent definite manifestations of scurvy. A slightly more liberal daily intake will keep the individual in a fair degree of health, as health goes - just tolerable, you know. But an abundant daily intake of vitamin c promotes better than ordinary health, superior state of nutri- tion, fitness, vite. But the last men, tioned condition is, after all, only the most nearly perfect health att tainable.