The cost of universal micronutrient supplementation

It’s a great idea. Couple of questions I’d ask are

  1. How do we know that universal fortification would actually result in reduced nutritional deficiencies at a population scale? Fortification and supplementation attempts are historically plagued by a lack of absorption trials and when absorption trials are done, it’s been generally shown that fortified supplements are poorly absorbed by the gut.

  2. Would it be more effective to improve the quality of fertilizers used by farmers and shorten the farm to table distance, thereby improving the nutritional yield of our crops?

Not really. Firstly, I have spoken about supplementation and not fortification.
Secondly, supplementation is mainstream therapy for any child (or adult) with malnutrition. It is ALWAYS superior to food-based interventions for rapid repair.

Short-term fixes like supplementation are vital, but they must be integrated with long-term strategies to tackle the root causes of undernutrition, particularly in vulnerable communities such as tribal populations.

1 Like

Any evidence for that? I’m genuinely curious.

1 Like

There is abundant statistical and scientific evidence for each of my statements. You are looking for evidence for which statement exactly?

Also, none of the long term strategies have worked. While that process continues, universal supplementation will solve the problem. When the long term strategies start delivering, the supplementation can be tapered off.

Yhea. I’m looking for some evidence to back that particular statement up

That’s easy. EVERY mainstream medical guideline for doctors includes supplementation as the immediate intervention for any established deficiency. ALONG with a recommendation for a dietary intervention. The supplementation is the immediate, recommended, medical intervention for rapid repair.

Yhea no dude. What you’re saying sounds right. I’m just looking for actual evidence. Like a study or something. Can you help me out? Cause otherwise we’re just shooting the shit and i’m ok with that, but when you’re talking about national policy. It needs to be based in some sort of real research.

EVERY medical guideline is based on NUMEROUS studies. NO medical guideline is communicated without supporting science. Medical guidelines DO NOT “shoot the shit”.

Unless you believe that prescription guidelines are “invented” by some politicians.

For example, if you want to know how, let’s say iron supplementation works in cases of anemia and also wish to know more about dosages, types of compounds, efficacy across various parameters etc., just go to pubmed and search. You will find many studies.

Ok. I think i’m done here. I literally can’t imagine someone being this obtuse without it being deliberate and i don’t care anymore.

You consistently appeal to authority without bothering to cite the slightest evidence or support for your wild statements. I don’t believe you’re acting in good faith.

I never said that medical guidelines shoot the shit. You’re just making that up or you don’t know how to read.

But since i was originally curious about your premise, I did your work for you and looked it up on consensus.app. A tool i think you should familiarize yourself with if you’re planning on talking to anyone with an iota of knowledge in this field.

In case you’re too afraid to click the link the topline result reads like this “The statement that supplementation is always superior to food-based interventions for rapid repair is not universally supported by research. Both supplementation and food-based interventions have their roles, and their effectiveness can vary depending on the context and specific needs of the individual.”

I’m just going to leave this here. Have a nice life and leave me the hell alone. I’m sorry i even tried to engage with you.

Do you understand what the terms “medical guidelines” and “prescription guidelines” for doctors mean?

I suggest you look them up.

I am not required to educate you on the extensive research and science that forms the basis of each of them.

That is effort that you must make on your own. Do some real work.

And NO - the links or information you send make NO DIFFERENCE whatsoever to those guidelines. And your link anyway is irrelevant to anything I have said.

I have given you clear guidance above on where you will find the studies and research. If you want, I can also point you to the prescription guidelines for deficiencies.

To understand what prescription guidelines look like, you can see the clinical practice guidelines at this link - Clinical Practice Guidelines : Micronutrient deficiency