Robert Roy Britt
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Jun 21
Multivitamins and Supplements a Waste of Money for Most People
With a few exceptions, they don’t improve health, research finds
Image: Pexels/Anna Shvets
Americans spend some $50 billion a year on vitamins and dietary supplements. Most of that money would be better spent on fruits and vegetables, stress-reducing activities or just about anything else deemed good for you.
Yet half of adults lean on dubious pills to supplement their arguably unhealthy diets, sometimes based on little more than a hunch, a TV ad or advice from a friend. Jeffrey Linder, MD, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says patients frequently ask what supplements they should take.
“They’re wasting money and focus thinking there has to be a magic set of pills that will keep them healthy when we should all be following the evidence-based practices of eating healthy and exercising,” Linder says.
In a June 21 editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Linder and colleagues echo the latest recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts that reviewed 84 studies and found “insufficient evidence” that supplements or multivitamins prevent cardiovascular disease or cancer in healthy, non-pregnant adults.
“The task force is not saying ‘don’t take multivitamins,’” Linder says in a statement, “but there’s this idea that if these were really good for you, we’d know by now.”
Specific recommendations
There are people who can benefit from vitamins or supplements, including those who are deficient in calcium or vitamin D. Pregnant people may need supplements under the direction of a physician. And melatonin supplements, in proper doses, can be useful for people who struggle to fall asleep, but experts say they shouldn’t be viewed as the only solution nor a cure-all.Evidence does suggest multivitamins might offer a small potential to extend life, but the evidence is imperfect, imprecise and subject to multiple interpretations, the new report concludes.
The new recommendations include specific advice to not take …
- Vitamin E supplements for prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer.
- Beta carotene for prevention of cardiovascular disease or cancer
Meanwhile, much evidence finds fruits and vegetables, along with other healthy eating habits, lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer and ups the odds of a longer and healthier life.
“People should focus on getting their nutrients from a heart-healthy diet, because the data increasingly show that the majority of healthy adults don’t need to take supplements,” Michos said.
That’s true for older people, too.
“Most if not all of your daily vitamins and minerals should come from food,” advises the National Institute on Aging. “Check with a doctor or dietitian to learn whether you need to supplement your diet.”
Why real food is better
So why doesn’t packing all the good stuff from food into a little pill do the trick?“Whole fruits and vegetables contain a mixture of vitamins, phytochemicals, fiber, and other nutrients that probably act synergistically to deliver health benefits,” write Linder and his Northwestern colleagues, Jenny Jia, MD, and Natalie A. Cameron, MD. “Micronutrients in isolation may act differently in the body than when naturally packaged with a host of other dietary components.”
Beyond any false hope that vitamins and supplements might offer in most cases, it’s important to note they’re not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration or any other agency. Some contain excessive amounts of their main ingredient, or less than claimed, or entirely other and sometimes harmful ingredients not mentioned on the label.
But hey, you say, lots of supplements are marketed as “natural.” Cyanide is natural, and it’ll kill you lickety-split. In excessive, concentrated amounts, even popular supplements like garlic, ginkgo, ginger and saw palmetto supplements can increase the risk of significant bleeding.
Bottom line: Anyone considering vitamins or supplements should consult a physician to discuss their specific needs, along with the paramount importance of overall healthy eating and physical activity.
