These miracle supplement stories are based on actual research of the benefits of substances in natural foods. There’s just one catch: The individual substances are not nearly as good as the whole food and may even be harmful in therapeutic doses. So eat your carrots; don’t take Vitamin A. Eat your nuts and seeds with the germ; don’t take Vitamin E. We believe that most people are better off with a healthy diet than taking supplements. But there are exceptions, and  we’ll deal with them individually.