(playful whistling music) - Vitamins are the key to health and perhaps the cure for the common cold. Now how many of you have ever
heard of vitamin megadoses? - [Adam] I have, but I've
also heard of fairies and the Lock Ness monster and those won't cure your
cold either. (laughs) - What? - Vitamin supplements (annoyed
groans) don't cure colds, they don't prolong your
life, and in some cases they may actually be harmful. So, what are vitamins? - Huge pills that smell like old olives? - Wrong! Anyone else? Here we go. - Candy that's shaped
like cartoon characters. - Wrong again, you're both
thinking of vitamin supplements. What are the vitamins themselves? - Little bits of goop
that your body needs, I love you Tod. - Exactly, they're a collection
of various micronutrients that are essential for your
body to function normally. - Yes! So vitamins make us healthy. - (tire squealing)
Except that by definition vitamins are nutrients we only
need a tiny little bit of, and normally we get plenty
of them from the food we eat. - But what if I contract scurvy? - You won't, scurvy is caused by an extreme lack of vitamin C. Pirates used to get it
because they ate nothing but hardtack biscuits for months. But if you eat normal
food in normal quantities you'll be fine. Like, just eat a lemon ever. - (chomp) Me gums feel
better already indeed. - But getting more
vitamins is even better. - No it isn't. Vitamins are sorta like cats. If you have no cats you'll be lonely, if you have a cat or
two you'll feel better, but that's enough cats. No one needs to load up on cats. (meowing and purring) And just like with cats you
don't want to overdo it. Studies show that taking
too much of some vitamins like A, D, or E can
actually make you sick. - [Doctor] Well, even if that's true, megadoses of vitamin C will cure-- - Nothing. Vitamin C does not
treat or cure the common cold, and products that claim
it does are nonsense. (fast dramatic piano music) Remember Airborne? - Sure, the cold medicine
created by a school teacher. It keeps you from getting colds from touching the magazines on airplanes. - That is not true. Who gave you a medical license? - Oprah. (plop and fizz) - Airborne is a cocktail
of plain old vitamins that was marketed as a
cure for the common cold. (clacking) But in 2006 they were
sued for false advertising and ended up paying
out 23 million dollars. Airborne doesn't cure anything. It's basically just bubbles. (bubbling) - But when I take vitamin
C it makes me feel better. (adoration noise from audience) - [Adam] Yes, the placebo
effect is very powerful, but that's all it is. In reality, at least 15 different studies have concluded that vitamin C does not treat the common cold. (jeers from audience) Hey, it's not my fault everyone believes vitamins are magic, It's Linus Pauling's fault. - Great, can I go back
to doing my show now? Do not pan away, (disco music) come on! - [Adam] Linus Pauling
was a genius chemist and the only person in
history to be awarded two solo Nobel prizes. He was one of America's
true scientific celebrities. - Linus, I love your chemistry. - Your research is amazing! - [Adam] But in the early 70's, Pauling became obsessed with
the idea of living forever and basically went vitamin crazy. (dramatic music) - Great Niels Bohr's ghost, I've got it. (disco music) - [Adam] He began claiming
that massive doses of vitamin C could prevent the common
cold, prolong your life, and even cure cancer. And because he was a
celebrity scientist (clapping) the media trusted him. - So these vita-pills
will cure my sniffles? - That's right, and get this, you'll also never get sick or die. - Sounds pretty far out, but if the smartest cat
in America's sayin' it, it must be true! (laughing) Up next is Charro and
puppet superstar Madame. - No, no, no you don't! We are going back to my show, where is it? - (snap) This way! But repeated studies
have proven that Pauling was totally wrong. There is no medical basis for his claims and in 1994 he actually died of cancer, the very disease he claimed
vitamins would cure. - You're telling me that
vitamin supplements are a lie and we only believe in them
because one man went crazy? - Yeah, Pauling was the
Michael Jackson of nutrition. He totally changed the game, we had no idea how crazy he was, and 40 years later we're
still hummin' the tunes. - Wow, that's bad. - It's bad, you know it. (pop music) Hey, I'm Adam from College Humor. If you liked that clip, make
sure to check out my new show "Adam Ruins Everything"
Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on truTV. It's gonna ruin your Tuesday but trust me, the rest of your week'll be fine.
Cool story. Recently came across a "vitamin c cures cancer guy". He went on about how he knows top scientists and respected professors who agree and there's a global pharmaceutical conspiracy to suppress this vital information. He had a group of a about six people excluding me eating up every word. I had no idea what to say to this dude. He was clearly the type to want to argue about it and I was at a severe disadvantage. The extent of my knowledge was that vitamin supplements do nothing because the only reason you would ever need them is if you had a deficiency, and some analogy involving filling an already over filled bucket of water with more water. I had no sources to share or names to drop whereas he had both in spades, dubious as they may have been. So I just let him spread bullshit to his captive audience. It felt bad.
I don't think you should tell people that all vitamin supplements are useless. For us that live in more northern climates it is advised to take vitamin D in the winter.
Apostrophes. Letting you know there's an S coming up since the beginning of time.
This whole episode was really good. They have a bit about not trusting one time studies and checking the reliability of journals. To prove their point, they posted the script to a legitimate sounding journal, Advanced Nutrition and Food Technology Open Access, under the title "The Possible Irritating Effects of Nutritional Facts," and it was successfully published. Here's the pdf.
I really like this guy's show. I really don't like this guy's haircut.
the guy who plays linus pauling is an amazing comedic actor from the Harvard Sailing Club
People (especially us Americans) should keep in mind that vitamin supplements are not needed if you're eating a well rounded diet, spending at least some time outside in the sun, and exercising. He seems to say that you will simply get the vitamins you need from just eating food, but he neglects to say that our diet here consists of a ton of vitamin-lacking fast food.
The "normal" American diet might not be getting you all the vitamins you really do need, so some supplements might not be a bad thing.
Once had a girtlfriend who didn't want birth control. Said didn't need to worry about pregnancy because she could just kill it with a massive dose of vitamin C.
Hahahahah what a kook
It's weird. I find Adam annoying in the way he explains things, and yet the show is funny enough that I enjoy watching it. It's really hard to get info across without seeming like a pompous know-it-all. He manages to sound like a know-it-all but still make hearing the info enjoyable.
Good for him.