Vitamania : Vitamins in American Culture

The importance of vitamins to health is undisputed. But millions of Americans believe that the vitamins they get in their food are not enough. Vitamin supp. have become a multibillion-dollar industry. At the same time, many scientists, consumer advocacy groups, & the FDA doubt that most people need to take vitamin pills. Here, Apple examines the claims & counterclaims of scientists, mfrs., retailers, politicians, & consumers from the discovery of vitamins in the early 20th cent. to the present. She reveals the complicated interests -- scientific, professional, financial -- that have propelled the vitamin industry & its would-be regulators. She documents how consumers have insisted on their right to make their own decisions abut their health & their vitamins. Illustrations.Apple, Rima D. is the author of 'Vitamania : Vitamins in American Culture', published 2007 under ISBN 9781422366943 and ISBN 1422366944.