New research conducted by the John Hopkins Medical researchers reveals that almost all vitamins, minerals and other nutrient supplements or diets offer little to no health benefit.
Vitamins and Heart Health Infographic
The 14 researchers led by Safi Khan observed the effect of 16 vitamins and eight diets in 277 randomized clinical trials. They focused on examining the impact of these supplements on longevity and heart health only.
All of the examined supplements do not pose any danger to the user’s health, according to them, but their health benefit is little to none. The only health benefits were discovered from a low-salt diet, omega-3 fatty acid supplements, and folic acids. A significant potency was also observed in supplements combining calcium and vitamin D.
“Our analysis carries a simple message that although there may be some evidence that a few interventions have an impact on death and cardiovascular health, the vast majority of multivitamins, minerals and different types of diets had no measurable effect on survival or cardiovascular disease risk reduction,” Safi said.
Commenting on some studies that recommend folic acid supplementation for reducing stroke risk in China, the group of researchers asserts such treatment may be ineffective in regions where people get enough supply of folic acid in their diet. China diets were reported to lack such a supply. Their cereals and grains are not fortified with folic acid as done in countries like the United States (U.S.).
All of the other examined supplements and diets have no significant effect on mortality or cardiovascular disease.
“Other nutritional supplements, such as vitamin B6, vitamin A, multivitamins, antioxidants, and iron and dietary interventions, such as reduced-fat intake, had no significant effect on mortality or cardiovascular disease outcomes.” Report of the research published in Annals of Internal Medicine stated.
A 20 trials review of combined supplements conducted by the team revealed that taking calcium and vitamin D at the same time increases the vulnerability of an individual to developing stroke by 17 percent. When taken separately, they are observed to affect none of such lethal potency.
“Combined calcium plus vitamin D might increase the risk for stroke.”
The researchers call attention to a staggering statistical report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that concluded that more than 52 percent Americans take no lesser than one vitamin or other nutritional supplements every day. These individuals spend about $31 billion purchasing them every year.
According to the senior author of the research, Erin Michos: “The panacea or magic bullet that people keep searching for in dietary supplements isn’t there,”
The research team from John Hopkins is not the first to discover the inefficiency of vitamin and dietary supplements on alleviating certain conditions in adults. Two 2018 studies, one led by David Jenkins in May and another led by Joonseok Kim in June came to the same conclusion.
“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 advised.
References
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/newsroom/news-releases/save-your-money-vast-majority-of-dietary-supplements-dont-improve-heart-health-or-put-off-death
- https://newatlas.com/vitamins-mineral-supplements-effect-cardiovascular-health-lifespan/60686/
FEEDBACK:
