We’re frequently asked in our comment section about: vitamins are a waste of money say scientists. Truth is we’ve been delaying this article for a while until we had enough information & facts to allow us to enlighten our readers.
Covid-19 Updates
The total price tag exceeds $12 billion per year—money that Johns Hopkins nutrition experts say might be better spent on nutrient-packed foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.
The Vitamin Verdict
The researchers concluded that multivitamins don’t reduce the risk for heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline (such as memory loss and slowed-down thinking) or an early death. They also noted that in prior studies, vitamin E and beta-carotene supplements appear to be harmful, especially at high doses.
“Pills are not a shortcut to better health and the prevention of chronic diseases,” says Larry Appel, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research. “Other nutrition recommendations have much stronger evidence of benefits—eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and sugar you eat.”
The exception is supplemental folic acid for women of child-bearing potential, Appel says. “If you follow a healthy diet, you can get all of the vitamins and minerals you need from food.”.
Story Timeline
May be a waste of money, but study finds two exceptions
The majority of vitamins and other nutritional supplements don’t increase lifespan or protect one’s heart health, a huge analysis out of Johns Hopkins University has found. There were two exceptions to the findings related to folic acid and omega-3 fatty acid supplements, however, while one particularly popular vitamin and mineral combination was linked to an increase in stroke risk. Most of that money may be going to waste, the researchers concluded after conducting a ‘massive’ analysis of 277 existing clinical trials.
The downside is that most of these supplements also weren’t linked to any sort of heart health protection or increase in lifespan, potentially making them a big waste of money. The researchers found an association between omega-3 fatty acids and eating a low-salt diet, and also ‘possibly’ found health benefits associated with taking folic acid. On the other hand, taking a vitamin D and calcium combo supplement was associated with a slight uptick in stroke risk.
Though that remains in contention, experts largely recommend that nutrients come from healthy food, not pills and tablets, in order to reap the benefits. The Johns Hopkins University study looked at the potential effects of a huge number of popular vitamins, minerals, and other supplements on multiple health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, and heart attack.
Now On
Page Six
Not a whole lot, according to a new study led by Dr. David Jenkins of the University of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital.
The paper, which was published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, focused on the heart health benefits (or lack thereof) of many different supplements including popular vitamins from A to E, calcium, beta carotene and multivitamins. The results suggest that many multivitamins as well as vitamin C, D and calcium supplements have no positive cardiovascular benefits, failing to affect the rates of heart disease, heart attack or stroke. But before you go tossing all your supplements in the trash, there’s a tiny bit of good news to be found in the data as well.
According to the researchers, B vitamins and folic acid were associated with a lower risk of heart disease and stroke.