Home » Health » Vitamins and nutritional supplements are a waste of money for most people – New Scientist

Vitamins and nutritional supplements are a waste of money for most people – New Scientist

According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, there is no good evidence that dietary supplements protect against cancer or heart disease in most people.

It is unclear whether dietary supplements protect against cancer or cardiovascular disease in most adults. One type of supplement may even increase the risk of cancer. That’s what the new recommendations of the US Preventive Services Task Force.

More than half of adults in the United States take supplements. Many consider them to be good for their health, or as a way to make up for deficiencies in their diet.

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The old-timers

The new guidelines contradict this. The task force consists of 16 independent medical experts and advises on preventive health measures such as screenings, counseling services and medicines. To develop its latest recommendations, it reviewed 84 studies on supplement use, 54 of which were published after the group last issued advice on supplements in 2014.

No proof

‘For most vitamin and mineral supplements, including combinations such as multivitamins, we could not find enough evidence to advise for or against their use in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Although there are a few exceptions,” said vice-chairman of the organization, Michael Barry.

The task force specifically advised against vitamin E and beta-carotene supplements. They found that vitamin E supplements had no beneficial effect on the prevention of premature death, cardiovascular disease or cancer. There is also some evidence that beta-carotene, a pigment that converts to vitamin A in the body, may increase the risk of lung cancer in people who smoke or have been exposed to asbestos, Barry said.

Waste of time and money

The task force clarified that these new recommendations do not apply to people with vitamin or mineral deficiencies, pregnant women or people who may become pregnant in the near future. “In that case, we have a separate recommendation for the use of folic acid, to prevent neural tube defects in the developing baby,” says Barry.

But for most people, dietary supplements are likely to be a waste of time and money, according to a commentary written by researchers at Northwestern University in Illinois, which will be published at the same time. “We see that, unfortunately, vitamins and supplements are not a panacea for healthy Americans,” said lead author Jenny Jia† “People assume that vitamins are completely benign, but we see that they can be harmful in some cases.”

False sense of security

Taking supplements can also give people a false sense of security, Barry says. As a result, they may forego other more effective measures to prevent cancer and cardiovascular disease, such as eating a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetablesexercise and following cancer screening recommendations.

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