Skeptics Stack Exchange
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Questions tagged [nutritional-supplements]

A preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet.

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Do supplements with folic acid cause cancer? Should they be avoided?

There are some claims that taking B12 supplements which contain folic acid causes cancer. Is this true? Are there vitamin B12 supplements without folic acid? Here's a passage from the book Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman Avoid taking supplements…
DrewX
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Does Ginkgo Biloba improve your memory?

I have heard that Ginkgo Biloba improves your memory, is this true? If it is true, what kind of memory does it improve? Long term or short term? Auditory, Visual or Spacial memory? Does it effect the Hippocampus in some way?
leeand00
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Is Herbalife safe, and can it actually promote sustained weight loss?

I have a friend who's begun taking Herbalife products, presumably for weight loss. I informed him that their products, like all supplements, are not regulated by the FDA, and that there have been numerous cases of liver toxicity associated with…
user15871
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Does hydrogen-infused water have these health benefits?

I recently saw a local shop selling packages of water infused with hydrogen gas. It was alleged that hydrogen is an antioxidant and therefore drinking hydrogen-infused water would have various health benefits. One manufacturer of hydrogen water…
Nate Eldredge
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Protein Per Every Pound You Weigh for optimal muscle building?

I am sure everyone who goes to the gym has been told at one point by some trainer that: You must consume up to 1.0g of protein per pound of bodyweight. I have heard many arguments on why this is true and many arguments why this ideal is false.…
James Smith
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Does Zeolite remove heavy metals and radiation from the body?

This seems to be a potentially dangerous claim: The Scientifically proven Micronized Zeolite from Zeolite.com Zeolite is a breakthrough supplement that works at the cellular level by trapping heavy metals and toxins and safely removing them from…
Sklivvz
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Is sulfur a "miracle cure"?

There are claims that sulfur and its compounds like organic sulfur and MSM can cure many health issues. Sulfur and Methylsulfonylmethane or MSM for short is being claimed to have these benefits: Increasing enzyme production within bodily glands…
Timo Huovinen
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Is prescription fish oil better than over-the-counter fish oil?

The possible health benefits of fish oil (primarily from its omega-3 content) have made it a popular supplement. There are a lot of over-the-counter fish oil supplements (google fish oil) on the market and one (that I know of) that is only available…
Rusty
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Is lactose intolerance an outdated diagnosis for discomfort after milk ingestion?

As a continuation of a question of most adults being lactose intolerant, the marketing of The a2 Milk Company in Australia House at SxSW 2018 suggested it may not be lactose-intolerance, after all, but instead the sensitivity to the A1 protein found…
cnst
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Will cooking with a Lucky Iron Fish add dietary iron to food?

Lucky Iron Fish is a product made of iron, one can use to add to food to boil with and it is meant to boost the iron levels in the food. One Lucky Iron FishTM can provide an entire family with up to 90% of their daily iron intake for up to 5 years.…
Kristof Van Landschoot
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Can you measure the quality of fish oil by trying to dissolve styrofoam?

Some people say that if fish oil can melt or dissolve styrofoam that means it is "bad" fish oil, while others claim that indicates "good" fish oil. Here is an example video of someone making the latter claim. Does fish oil's ability to dissolve…
Najera
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Do vitamin D supplements help against winter depression?

People like me who live in the northern part of the world, often get a bit depressed at this time of the year, when it's essentially dark when you leave for work and when you get home from work. This has been blamed on vitamin D deficiency. Are…
Mårten
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Do fish oil or omega-3 fatty acids increase the risk of cancer?

A retrospective study came out that found a correlation between increased blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids and increased incidence of prostate cancer. The skeptical responses I've seen come from those who tend to promote dietary…
Max
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Does synthetic vitamin C contribute to the formation of genotoxins that can lead to cancer?

While researching Vitamin C supplements, I noticed dozens of people outraged about various companies slipping in "synthetic vitamin c" (ascorbic acid). From what I can tell this aversion might have started from a westonaprice.org article that…
Honest Abe
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Are fruits better than processed fruit juices?

I had a discussion with a friend of mine. He claimed that (processed) fruit juices from any organization (say Tropicana) are not at par with naturally occurring fruits, rather they are worse. He said that Drinking fruit juice would cause it to be…
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