Expert warns that multivitamins, which one in three American adults use, have NO clear evidence that they actually help prevent chronic disease or death
- One expert says Americans who take multivitamins daily aren’t doing much for their long-term health
- She says that eating a healthy diet and getting nutrients that way is the right way to get the vitamins and minerals you need
- Taking these daily vitamins can’t compensate for an unhealthy diet either, she says
- Popular daily supplements like omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D supplements don’t do much
Many Americans use multivitamins every day in hopes that they will be the key to staving off disease and even preventing early death. However, a top expert warns that taking daily pills could just be a waste of time.
dr Fang Fang Zhang, a cancer epidemiologist at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts, told TIME that there is no evidence that daily use of these types of drugs can extend a person’s lifespan or prevent chronic diseases.
She found that while the body is meant to get these types of vitamins and minerals from food, the body may not be as good at processing them from these types of vitamins.
Those who use daily multivitamins also generally have higher incomes and live healthier lifestyles anyway—to the extent that they probably don’t need to take a daily multivitamin at all to stay healthy.
One expert says daily multivitamins, taken by about one in three American adults, do little to actually improve a person’s health and prevent chronic disease
“There is no clear evidence that there are benefits to using supplements for many popular or common health conditions,” Zhang told TIME.
Many of the foods Americans eat already contain the vitamins and minerals they need each day, eliminating the need for many additional vitamins.
dr Fang Fang Zhang (pictured), a cancer epidemiologist at Tufts University in Boston, said that when it comes to preserving valuable nutrients, food is preferable to vitamins
The way the body processes food is also more efficient in the way it uses vitamins and minerals.
“We don’t eat a single nutrient; let’s eat something,” Zhang said.
“As a result, many dietary supplements do not achieve the same effect as the natural nutrients found in food sources.”
There is also a trend for people to use the pills to bypass an unhealthy diet in hopes that it can fill in some of the gaps in their eating habits.
Zhang warns against this behavior.
“Taking supplements should not be a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle… unfortunately there is no magic pill,” Zhang said.
Several studies have shown that regular use of the vitamins provides little benefit since it does not reduce the risk of developing diseases such as cancer or heart disease.
The drugs are used by about one in three US adults, Zhang reports, and while they don’t do much harm, they’re generally a waste.
Popular supplements like daily multivitamins, omega-3s, and vitamin D supplements do little for a person’s long-term health, Zhang says
There’s also the potential opportunity cost of a person thinking they can make up for other unhealthy choices, not realizing the pills can’t do the job.
She also warns that two other popular pills you might see in the drugstore’s vitamin aisle aren’t of much use either.
Vitamin D supplements have risen in popularity and have even been falsely touted as a potential Covid cure on some of the more conspiratorial parts of social media.
Zhang said the supplements would do little to help someone unless a person has a specific deficiency of the drug in their daily diet.
Omega-3 fatty acids, often known as fish pills, have also been popularized for their ability to promote heart health.
However, there is also little evidence to support these claims, says Zhang.