Column Chronicles: Ask Dr. Wellbottom - vitamins

Ask Dr. Wellbottom: vitamins

Frank Cotolo
May 3, 2018

Once again it's time to confer with the all-knowing Dr. Adrian Wellbottom. The popular physician and author of 56 books on medical matters that matter to the young and the old, the sick and the poor and others, always takes a fresh yet traditional approach to the health of anyone. In this episode, we ask the doctor about vitamins.

Q: I read somewhere that too much Vitamin C at once can kill a person. Is that true?

Dr.W: Wherever you read that, you read a lie. Vitamin C is harmless and aside from being a great antitoxin, the round-pill types can have many uses. For instance, a friend of mine is a tailor and uses Vitamin C pills as buttons.

Q: Why can vitamins be in drinks and yet I have to take them in pills?

Dr. W: There are liquid vitamin supplements available. But don't think you can put them in anything you like to absorb their potency. Some jerks drip vitamins in bourbon or crème de mint and think that's okay. It's not; it’s stupid. Stick to pills if you think you can add vitamins to any old thing you ingest.

Q: If a vitamin is defined as a vital nutrient, why are some vitamins illegal in some U.S. states?

Dr. W: The definition of a vital nutrient can change according to who defines the term. The same goes for the word illegal, which in certain countries cannot be uttered without receiving a fine. As for America, the Black Market sells pills it calls vitamins but are actually granules of sesame and sometimes the shavings from hammerheads. You will know that a vitamin is illegal if you don't see it for sale in a health or drug store, unless the stores are out of stock, then the vitamin could be legal but not available in that health or drug store.

Q: I take Vitamin D instead of exposing myself to the Sun. Is that all right?

Dr. W: Yes but remember you won't get as warm as if you get it from Earth's star in the sky.

Q: Was Vitamin B discovered after Vitamin A was discovered and it is called Vitamin B because of that?

Dr. W: Of course, and the cow jumped over the moon.

Q: What vitamin is good for stopping Vitamin A from working?

Dr. W: Vitamin P for poison.

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.