IN FAVOR OF SUPPLEMENTAL VITAMINS
When scientists and doctors alike discuss their research surrounding the positive benefits of vitamin supplements, the public will accept the information because these people are experts and exhibit a high level of ethos. Scientists and doctors hold degrees that prove their level of education and indirectly convince people that they know best. They use rhetorical language that will sway their audience towards their position. Physician Mark Hyman, MD, counters the idea that vitamins can cause harm and discusses the flaws in studies that claim so in his article, “Why You Should Not Stop Taking Your Vitamins”. Dr. Hyman first lures in his audience rhetorically through pathos by associating vitamin supplements as casualties in the recent studies that have come out against the supplements, leaving them to feel badly for an inanimate object. He discusses the flaws within those studies saying that there is no correlation between the results and what supplements actually do, as the scientists conducting those studies did not take certain factors into consideration such as hormone replacement, who should and should not be given an iron supplement, patient background, population, and the forms and quality of the vitamins used in the studies. He argues that these factors are essential to come to a proper conclusion, thus invalidating those studies.
Aside from pointing out the flaws in such studies, Dr. Hyman attracts his audience with a subheading within his article, “How Vitamins Save Money and Save Lives”. Here, he discusses a study the held by the Lewin Group that saved an approximate $24 billion by giving the elderly “basic nutritional supplements”. Of course, everybody cares for the elderly and wants to save money. Therefore the audience is captured once again and people will insist that their grandmothers and grandfathers should take a vitamin supplement. People, especially Americans, have been obsessed with the new epidemic of obesity that is rapidly taking over the nation. Dr. Hyman rhetorically taps into this fear with his next subheading, “Obesity is Linked to Malnutrition” when he states, “Americans are becoming both more obese and more nutrient deficient at the same time”… “After treating more than 15,000 patients and performing extensive nutritional testing on them, it is clear American suffer from widespread nutrient deficiencies”. Dr. Hyman again appeals to his audience’s emotions but this time, in a less obvious way. He uses the rhetorics of fear to stimulate a response in his audience. The language he uses correlates obesity to nutrient deficiency, leaving his audience to believe that if they are lacking certain nutrients (vitamins), then they, too, will become obese – an American’s worst fear.
A case study written and held by Khanh Vinh Quoc Luong, MD and Lan Thi Hoang Nguyen, MD of the Vietnamese American Medical Research Foundation brought the benefits of vitamin D supplements to light. The doctors found that there is “a significant association between Alzheimer’s disease and low levels of vitamin D… Furthermore, vitamin D supplements appear to have a beneficial clinical effect on AD by regulating micro-RNA, enhancing toll-like receptors, modulating vascular endothelial factor expression, modulating angiogenin, and advanced glycation end products” (Luong). In this case, the vitamin D supplement has helped those who have fallen victim to this horrible type of dementia. By using studies like this to support the argument that vitamin supplements are beneficial, there is an indirect need to actually hold more studies to prove that each type of vitamin can actually add to health, as it can be seen as setting a precedent. This study, in its essence, calls not only for more people to hold the case study, but also for people to be willing to participate in such a trial. It is important to take into account the rhetorics of such a study that involves the overall health of people. What does this imply about what will happen to society? Will people be eager to take part in studies and risk their health to come to a possible positive conclusion? Are people this eager and willing right now? It is also important to think about the laws and restrictions that are put on these trials. The integrity of humankind must stay in tact in the duration of all studies so that people aren’t being harmed while being ignorant to it.
Aside from pointing out the flaws in such studies, Dr. Hyman attracts his audience with a subheading within his article, “How Vitamins Save Money and Save Lives”. Here, he discusses a study the held by the Lewin Group that saved an approximate $24 billion by giving the elderly “basic nutritional supplements”. Of course, everybody cares for the elderly and wants to save money. Therefore the audience is captured once again and people will insist that their grandmothers and grandfathers should take a vitamin supplement. People, especially Americans, have been obsessed with the new epidemic of obesity that is rapidly taking over the nation. Dr. Hyman rhetorically taps into this fear with his next subheading, “Obesity is Linked to Malnutrition” when he states, “Americans are becoming both more obese and more nutrient deficient at the same time”… “After treating more than 15,000 patients and performing extensive nutritional testing on them, it is clear American suffer from widespread nutrient deficiencies”. Dr. Hyman again appeals to his audience’s emotions but this time, in a less obvious way. He uses the rhetorics of fear to stimulate a response in his audience. The language he uses correlates obesity to nutrient deficiency, leaving his audience to believe that if they are lacking certain nutrients (vitamins), then they, too, will become obese – an American’s worst fear.
A case study written and held by Khanh Vinh Quoc Luong, MD and Lan Thi Hoang Nguyen, MD of the Vietnamese American Medical Research Foundation brought the benefits of vitamin D supplements to light. The doctors found that there is “a significant association between Alzheimer’s disease and low levels of vitamin D… Furthermore, vitamin D supplements appear to have a beneficial clinical effect on AD by regulating micro-RNA, enhancing toll-like receptors, modulating vascular endothelial factor expression, modulating angiogenin, and advanced glycation end products” (Luong). In this case, the vitamin D supplement has helped those who have fallen victim to this horrible type of dementia. By using studies like this to support the argument that vitamin supplements are beneficial, there is an indirect need to actually hold more studies to prove that each type of vitamin can actually add to health, as it can be seen as setting a precedent. This study, in its essence, calls not only for more people to hold the case study, but also for people to be willing to participate in such a trial. It is important to take into account the rhetorics of such a study that involves the overall health of people. What does this imply about what will happen to society? Will people be eager to take part in studies and risk their health to come to a possible positive conclusion? Are people this eager and willing right now? It is also important to think about the laws and restrictions that are put on these trials. The integrity of humankind must stay in tact in the duration of all studies so that people aren’t being harmed while being ignorant to it.