The Ugly Truth About Multivitamins

The Dark Side Of Vitamin Supplements

Why do so many Americans take some form of a multivitamin or vitamin supplement daily then? Experts argue this is due to the branding of many of these vitamins by major corporations, as the vitamin industry earns twelve billion dollars annually! Other researchers have also discovered there are conflicting findings on what multivitamins can truly do for the body, as they found they do not protect against chronic disease and cancer, memory loss, or aging. On the extreme side, as mentioned before, some experts claim some multivitamins, due to the large doses of vitamins and minerals found in each pill may cause toxicity when taken in high doses. However, there is still no concrete proof this can occur.

What The Studies Discovered

With three relevant studies released in December 2017 in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, the research showed a daily multivitamin would not help boost the average American’s health, and the researchers behind the studies are urging individuals to stop taking the supplements. The studies found a daily multivitamin will not reduce the risk of a patient developing a heart problem or memory loss, and cannot guarantee a longer lifespan or even improved health overall. Essentially, multivitamins and mineral supplements did not perform any better than placebo pills. Dr. Eliseo Guallar, a professor of epidemiology at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who was part of the study, stated that through the research, it was clear vitamins (supplements) are not working as expected. He also mentioned it is not clear if taking these supplements actually fill in any nutritional gaps or boost overall health.