Why Take Vitamins???

I need some help.  I was trying to explain how I needed to take vitamins every day for now on (from the day of my surgery) and I was told that vitamins are a bunch of crock - people only want to get your hard earned money by making you THINK you need them. Can anyone tell me of the various complications of NOT taking vitamins?  This all started when I started taking some B-Complex vitamins and Kevin recommended  the sublingual ones by Sundown.

Cause you'll die if you don't. We get vites through our foods naturally. RNYers have malabsorption. Certain parts of the intestine absorb certain vites. We have to mega dose just to get the bare minimum. Your person who said we don't need them is right as long as we have an intact digestive system. Tell your person to have a nice hot cup of shut the f_ _ _ up for me. My surgeon doesn't make money on the vitamins I buy from some guy in Lake Orion. kp Edit_________

Nutrient	Incidence of Deficiency	Typical Symptoms and Diseases
Biotin	Uncommon	Dermatitis, eye inflammation, hair loss, loss of muscle control, insomnia, muscle weakness
Calcium	Average diet contains 40 to 50% of RDA*	Brittle nails, cramps, delusions, depression, insomnia, irritability, osteoporosis, palpitations, peridontal disease, rickets, tooth decay
Chromium	90% of diets deficient	Anxiety, fatigue, glucose intolerance, adult-onset diabetes
Copper	75% of diets deficient; average diet contains 50% of RDA*	Anemia, arterial damage, depression, diarrhea, fatigue, fragile bones, hair loss, hyperthyroidism, weakness
Essential fatty acids	Very common	Diarrhea, dry skin and hair, hair loss, immune impairment, infertility, poor wound healing, premenstrual syndrome, acne, eczema, gall stones, liver degeneration
Folic acid	Average diet contains 60% of RDA*; deficient in 100% of elderly in one study; deficient in 48% of adolescent girls; requirement doubles in pregnancy	Anemia, apathy, diarrhea, fatigue, headaches, insomnia, loss of appetite, neural tube defects in fetus, paranoia, shortness of breath, weakness
Iodine	Uncommon since the supplementation of salt with iodine	Cretinism, fatigue, hypothyroidism, weight gain
Iron	Most common mineral deficiency	Anemia, brittle nails, confusion, constipation, depression, dizziness, fatigue, headaches, inflamed tongue, mouth lesions
Magnesium	75 to 85% of diets deficient: average diet contains 50 to 60% of RDA*	Anxiety, confusion, heart attack, hyperactivity, insomnia, nervousness, muscular irritability, restlessness, weakness
Manganese	Unknown, may be common in women	Atherosclerosis, dizziness, elevated cholesterol, glucose intolerance, hearing loss, loss of muscle control, ringing in ears
Niacin	Commonly deficient in elderly	Bad breath, canker sores, confusion, depression, dermatitis, diarrhea, emotional instability, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, memory impairment, muscle weakness, nausea, skin eruptions and inflammation
Pantothenic acid (B5)	Average elderly diet contains 60% of RDA*	Abdominal pains, burning feet, depression, eczema, fatigue, hair loss, immune impairment, insomnia, irritability, low blood pressure, muscle spasms, nausea, poor coordination
Potassium	Commonly deficient in elderly	Acne, constipation, depression, edema, excessive water consumption, fatigue, glucose intolerance, high cholesterol levels, insomnia, mental impairment, muscle weakness, nervousness, poor reflexes
Pyridoxine (B6)	71% of male and 90% of female diets deficient	Acne, anemia, arthritis, eye inflammation, depression, dizziness, facial oiliness, fatigue, impaired wound healing, irritability, loss of appetite, loss of hair, mouth lesions, nausea
Riboflavin	Deficient in 30% of elderly Britons	Blurred vision, cataracts, depression, dermatitis, dizziness, hair loss, inflamed eyes, mouth lesions, nervousness, neurological symptoms (numbness, loss of sensation, "electric shock" sensations), seizures. sensitivity to light, sleepiness, weakness
Selenium	Average diet contains 50% of RDA	Growth impairment, high cholesterol levels, increased incidence of cancer, pancreatic insufficiency (inability to secrete adequate amounts of digestive enzymes), immune impairment, liver impairment, male sterility
Thiamin	Commonly deficient in elderly	Confusion, constipation, digestive problems, irritability, loss of appetite, memory loss, nervousness, numbness of hands and feet, pain sensitivity, poor coordination, weakness
Vitamin A	20% of diets deficient	Acne, dry hair, fatigue, growth impairment, insomnia, hyperkeratosis (thickening and roughness of skin), immune impairment, night blindness, weight loss
Vitamin B-12	Serum levels low in 25% of hospital patients	Anemia, constipation, depression, dizziness, fatigue, intestinal disturbances, headaches, irritability, loss of vibration sensation, low stomach acid, mental disturbances, moodiness, mouth lesions, numbness, spinal cord degeneration
Vitamin C	20 to 50% of diets deficient	Bleeding gums, depression, easy bruising, impaired wound healing, irritability, joint pains, loose teeth, malaise, tiredness.
Vitamin D	62% of elderly women's diets deficient	Burning sensation in mouth, diarrhea, insomnia, myopia, nervousness, osteomalacia, osteoporosis, rickets, scalp sweating
Vitamin E	23% of male and 15% of female diets deficient	Gait disturbances, poor reflexes, loss of position sense, loss of vibration sense, shortened red blood cell life
Vitamin K	Deficiency in pregnant women and newborns common	Bleeding disorders
Zinc	68% of diets deficient	Acne, amnesia, apathy, brittle nails, delayed sexual maturity, depression, diarrhea, eczema, fatigue, growth impairment, hair loss, high cholesterol levels, immune impairment, impotence, irritability, lethargy, loss of appetite, loss of sense of taste, low stomach acid, male infertility, memory impairment, night blindness, paranoia, white spots on nails, wound healing impairment

Thanks KP, that is some handy information.  

Kevin, if I could give you a great big kiss, I'd give it to you now!!  This is exactly what I need to give to this friend of mine!!  I copied and pasted this so I could print it out. See, he THINKS that vitamins are a waste of money, especially when he sees all that's available today.  To him, EVERYONE who makes a vitamin wants to make you think you need THEIR vitamin.  That's where the 'wasting your money' comes in! I noticed that mood swings were one of the posssible side effects of not taking vitamins.  I will take that to heart and make sure that I remind him of that....and perhaps he needs to start taking some!!!  While on the subject...I'm taking the sublingual B-complex with the adult chewables and the biotin.  What was it with calcium that you shouldn't take together??

Iron. kp

Don't the B-complex have iron in one of the vitamins, or is it separate??

I dunno. I missed that day in chemestry class. I can tell you that none of the vitamins listed are eighth notes. kp

Kevin, don't feel bad!!  I hated chemistry as a teen and I passed with a D only because I helped the teacher out.  He lives in Muskegum now, otherwise I'd ask him myself. Thing is, I may have to take some type of science class if I decide to go for a bachelor's degree.  Does Fundementals of Nutrition count as credit if it's listed under Biology??

Do you walk to school or carry your lunch? kp

Well, I walked the first three years and drove the last.  I bought my lunch, which was typically a diet dr. pepper and tuna fish on white.....