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Vitamins: Health Enhancers or Expensive Pee?

Also: Handle annoying people on the internet

Idle Impact is back - We’re here to share actionable insights that’ll help you improve your life!

Today it’s all about vitamins and trolls - two topics you probably didn't expect to see together, but both are incredibly relevant in today's age.

Let’s get started with taking a look at how useful (or dangerous) multivitamins are…

Multivitamins: Are you just peeing those nutrients away?

HEALTH | SUPPLEMENTS

Do multivitamins actually work? Here’s the answer

Ever popped a multivitamin and wondered if it's doing any good? You're not alone.

We attempted to answer this age-old debate by combing through dozens of articles and meta-studies (studies of many other studies).

The results were not entirely clear-cut, to say the least. However, there are a few clearer trends which we’ve compiled below. Let’s start with some good news.

The Good News: When Vitamins Can Help

There are a few studies that show some vitamins are useful in certain circumstances:

  • Folic acid is recommended for pregnant women.1

  • Calcium, Vitamin D, and Vitamin B12 (especially for vegans and vegetarians) are recommended for those with deficiencies.2

  • Multivitamins might be helpful for increasing cognitive function, decreasing anxiety, or boosting energy.3

The Not-So-Good: Where Vitamins Fall Short

There is little to no evidence that vitamins are helpful for the following:

  • Vitamins aren’t helpful for chronic illnesses such as preventing cancer or cardiovascular diseases. It also hasn’t been shown to protect against heart attacks and strokes.4

  • Note: There is only one long-term study (11 years) that found that multivitamins decreased the risk of cancer by 8% and cataracts by 9%. However, it’s not considered strong evidence.5

In some cases, multivitamins also might be harmful:

  • Vitamin E, A, and beta-carotene supplements might be harmful, especially in high doses - some of these are especially so for smokers as they can increase the chances of lung cancer.6

The Verdict: To Take or Not to Take?

After all this, sadly there is no grand conclusion.

There’s not much evidence that daily multivitamins have any benefits for your health, but many sources say it doesn’t hurt as well (other than the cases mentioned above).

It’s ultimately up to you whether you want to buy and take multivitamins - if anything, you might just benefit from the peace of mind.

On the contrary, experts all agree it’s best to eat healthy and obtain all necessary nutrients through ‘real food’ like fruits and vegetables.

We’ll just end with a boring, but true statement: “You should consult a doctor for better advice tailored to your unique health situation.”

Online trolls: In some ways, they’re worse than storybook trolls

ONLINE | RELATIONSHIPS | NETIQUETTE

Handling Obnoxious People Online: A Survival Guide

Whether you actively participate in online discussions or are more of a lurker (like me), you’ve probably encountered some of the web’s most vile beings - users who’ll leave offhand or obnoxious comments.

For example, you might be browsing your favorite YouTube channel about knitting clothes for cats when someone posts a distasteful comment: “Only stupid people knit clothes for cats.”

Pardon the bad example, but you get the point.

If this kind of thing has happened to you, then you, my friend were probably amid an internet troll. And they’re not completely dissimilar to those repulsive trolls of mythical lore.

By the way, this topic hits close to home since my master’s thesis was on YouTube trolls.

How do you handle these hateful characters while keeping your soul intact?

Here’s some advice for dealing with online trolls: Just ignore them.

As the internet folk say, “Don’t Feed the Trolls,” or DFTT for short.

Trolls take delight in and gain more energy from their victim’s heated reactions (see schadenfreude).

You can never win an argument with a troll - you shouldn’t even try.

Instead, if you withhold from “feeding” them, they’ll usually get bored and go away on their own.

Therefore, the next time you come across an online troll, or even one in real life for that matter just remember “Do Not Feed the Troll.” They’re just not worth your time.

That’s all for today! What are your thoughts on multivitamins? Or on online trolls? Let us know!

Also, we'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any other tips you'd like to share at [email protected].

Finally, share Idle Impact with just one other person below and we’ll send you a free guide The Three Mindset Shifts That Will Change Your Life:

Until next time, stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, stay kind.

- Kevin and the Idle Impact Team

Dive Deeper with recommended reads:

  • If you’re interested, take a look at all the different studies about multivitamins below.

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