Thinking Outside the Pillbox: Vitamins as Health Insurance

By Suzy Cohen, R.Ph.

QUESTION: My ophthalmologist recently told me I had macular degeneration. On a scale of one to 10, he said it's a one. He sold me a bottle of vitamins (60 tabs) for $20. I feel that I have been ripped off. Any thoughts?

ANSWER: If you thought the vitamins were pricey, why did you buy them? Part of the healing process for people is their belief in a treatment; that's why placebos (sugar pills) can work for the desperately ill. If the supplement you got contains any or all of these ingredients, then it is valuable: Vitamin A, E, C, omega-3 fatty acids, copper, bilberry, lutein, zinc, zeaxanthin. There are many brand names for these over-the-counter formulas. As a general rule, I prefer capsules over tablets for supplements.

Let's talk about getting "ripped off" when buying vitamins. It happens sometimes because supplements are not always pure, or they fail to contain what the label says they do. I'm also cognizant of the fact that you spent $20 for this product when your vision is still pretty good. But the problem may be about perception, too.

Moving Americans out of the mind-set of, "I'm sick now; fix me with this pill" into the mind-set of, "I don't want to get sick, so I'll prevent illness with this supplement," is really hard! It is not how we are raised and, seemingly, it's not in our DNA. And such an attitude gets no airtime on TV. Truly, it's a mind-boggling concept for people not accustomed to putting money into their bodies as a method of "health insurance."

Suzy's advice >