Is it worth taking vitamins and dietary supplements? For most people, probably not

The US Preventive Products and services Task Force says there is just not good evidence that dietary supplements defend towards most cancers or heart sickness in most folks

By Grace Wade

It is unclear whether dietary supplements help secure versus most cancers or cardiovascular illness in most grown ups, and just one type of supplement might really enhance cancer danger, in accordance to current recommendations from the US Preventive Products and services Endeavor Force. 

Additional than 50 percent of US older people consider dietary supplements. Many understand them as advantageous to their health and fitness and as a way to fill nutrient gaps in their eating plan.  

The new tips challenge this extensively held perception. The process pressure is made up of 16 independent health care gurus and supplies assistance on preventive health steps these as screenings, counselling providers and treatment. To develop the most up-to-date suggestions, it reviewed 84 experiments on complement use, 54 of which were published immediately after the team last issued information on nutritional supplements in 2014.  

“For most vitamin and mineral health supplements, which include combinations like multivitamins, we couldn’t obtain sufficient evidence to recommend for or from their use in blocking cardiovascular illness and cancer with some exceptions,” the organisation’s vice chair Michael Barry told New Scientist.  

The undertaking pressure specifically recommended in opposition to vitamin E and beta-carotene dietary supplements. It observed vitamin E dietary supplements experienced no advantageous impact in avoiding premature loss of life, cardiovascular ailment or most cancers. The evidence also suggests beta-carotene — a pigment converted to vitamin A in the human body — may boost the danger of lung most cancers in people today who smoke or ended up exposed to asbestos, says Barry.  

The endeavor power clarified that these new recommendations do not utilize to individuals with vitamin and mineral deficiencies or people today who are or may possibly quickly become pregnant. “In that scenario, we have a different suggestion on the use of folic acid health supplements to stop neural tube defects in the producing little one,” says Barry.  

But for most folks, dietary supplements are probably a waste of time and income, according to a commentary prepared by researchers at Northwestern College in Illinois to coincide with the publication of the new suggestions. “We’re viewing that vitamins and health supplements, unfortunately, are not a silver bullet for healthier Us citizens,” claims lead creator Jenny Jia. “Most people today do suppose that vitamins are entirely benign, but we can see, in some conditions, that they can be unsafe.”   

Taking supplements may well also offer folks with a untrue sense of security, claims Barry. As a end result, they may forgo other, extra effective, steps for stopping cancer and cardiovascular sickness like having a healthy diet plan high in fruits and veggies, working out and next recommendations for cancer screenings.   

Journal reference: JAMA, DOI: 10.1001/jama.2022.9167