Healthy food offers enough vitamins
Dear Dr. Roach: Supplements abound, offering strength for the immune system. For me, some have been a tremendous support. I’m 65 and thankfully healthy, but I take vitamin Bs and Ds, and many other body-support supplements. Why no mention of supplements? Surely you believe in commonsense vitamins and nutritional supplements. Of course, I also eat lots of fruits and vegetables, etc., but our foods simply do NOT provide enough.
S.S.
Answer: I don’t recommend vitamins or supplements to build the immune system because I disagree with you that our foods don’t provide enough.
I believe in data, and there are now strong data showing that additional vitamin supplementation in people who consume a healthy diet provides no benefit. There is also not much evidence that dietary supplements lead to any improvements in healthy people.
For people with an unhealthy diet, efforts to make their diet healthier are more likely to result in a better outcome than supplements. The immune system cannot be boosted through supplements.
Dear Dr. Roach: Is it safe to get a tattoo if I have a pacemaker? I have been told it is not safe, but I don’t think much research has been done.
S.B.
Answer: When researching the answer, I found a lot of conflicting information. Because tattooing machines emit an electromagnetic field, there is a theoretical reason to be concerned. Strong magnetic fields turn pacemakers off, by design. However, the field of a tattoo machine is not strong, and Medtronic, one of the largest pacemaker manufacturers, considers tattoo machines to be minimal risk. It recommends keeping the tattoo machine at least 6 inches away from the pacemaker.
By contrast, an induction cooktop has a much stronger magnetic field and is a much higher risk. Medtronic recommends keeping a pacemaker 2 feet away. A microwave oven presents no danger at all to pacemaker function, presuming it is in good working condition.
Readers may email questions to: ToYourGoodHealth@med .cornell.edu or mail questions to 628 Virginia Dr., Orlando, FL 32803.