The word vitamin has only been around for just over 100 years. But today vitamins are a $36 billion dollar-a-year industry.
On today’s show, the history and science behind the mostly unregulated vitamin market.
And, with new measles outbreaks discovered each week, parents who choose not to vaccinate their kids are in the cross hairs. We’ll talk to reporter who asks: are mothers to blame? And the story of an extreme athlete who balances work, family, and 400 miles of running and biking per week.
Listen to the full show and click Read more for individual segments.
The Multi-Billion Dollar, Largely Unregulated, Vitamin Market
- Journalist Catherine Price writes about the history, science, and beliefs surrounding chemicals manufactured and sold without any requirement to prove their safety, efficacy or even composition. Her new book is called Vitamania: Our Obsessive Quest for Nutritional Perfection.
- Catherine's list of resources consumers can use to better understand the supplements they're taking:
- USP Verified,
- NSF Certified
- LabDoor.com
- ConsumerLab.com
Don't Blame Parents For Vaccine Resistance
- Ruth Grahamis a New Hampshire based freelance journalist and a regular contributor toSlate where we found her article: “Don’t Blame Parents for Vaccine Resistance.”
Listerine's Origin Story
- Sarah Zhangis a staff writer at Gizmodo, where she wrote about the origins of Listerine.
Global Hygiene Habits
- Olga Khazanis a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she covers health. Find her article here: "How Often People in Various Countries Shower."
An Endurance Athlete Goes the Distance
- Endurance athletes are driven to go to lengths that normal athletes have no interest in. This next story is about a man who makes endurance his very lifestyle, and NHPR’s Sam Evans-Brown brings us the story.
- You can read more and see some photos from Sam at this link: Kale Poland: The Life of an Ultramarathoner