The use of vitamins to supplement and balance the food which is prepared for men, animals, and plants has grown to large proportions. It is almost impossible to read a newspaper or listen to the radio without having the subject thrust upon one's attention. Vitamins are considered to be constituents or elements of food of which small quantities are needed to maintain normal health.
The question may arise among Christian Scientists, If vitamins are food and food is required to maintain normal health, is there any objection to Christian Scientists using them? The answer to this question requires a consideration of fundamental points about energy and health which our religion teaches.
Material science and material medicine maintain that man's body is material, and that his energy and ability to move and think—his very life—are to a large extent dependent upon the food of which he partakes. If this be true, what then happens to the strength of the body when men suddenly become weak from anger, fear, or worry? And what is it that sometimes gives some small children and even feeble people great strength in the face of danger and emergency?
