Study Finds No Benefit From Daily Multivitamin

Multivitamins are the most commonly used diet supplement, but new research shows that daily multivitamin use doesn’t ward off cancer or heart disease.

In a study of 161,808 women who were part of the government-funded Women’s Health Initiative research effort, doctors from 40 centers around the country collected data on multivitamin use.

After following the women for about eight years, they looked at rates of various cancers and heart problems among the 42 percent of women who were regular multivitamin users, and compared them to those who didn’t take vitamins. The researchers found no evidence of any benefit from multivitamin use in any of 10 categories studied, including no differences in the rate of breast or colon cancer, heart attack, stroke, blood clots or mortality.

While some earlier studies failed to show a benefit of daily multivitamin use, other research has suggested a possible benefit for colon and breast cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Bonnie - once again, a supplement study was performed on an older, aging part of the population.

Multivitamins, like all other dietary supplements, are meant to be used as part of an overall healthy lifestyle. They are not intended to be magic bullets. As the authors themselves point out in this study, people who use multivitamins are likely to be healthier and engage in many healthy habits, including being more physically active, having a higher fruit and vegetable intake, consuming lower amounts of fat, and are less likely to smoke. In other words, the key to good health is a commitment to an overall wellness approach and that includes daily use of a multivitamin and other nutrients tailored to individual need.

This study does not change the fact that the majority of consumers benefit from taking dietary supplements, particularly as the majority of Americans fail to consume the recommended amounts of a variety of essential nutrients. For example, while the current recommendation is a maximum intake of eight teaspoons of sugars a day, one 12-ounce can of regular soda (or a 20-ounce bottle of VitaminWater) delivers eight or nine teaspoons. That means you are at or over the limit before you’ve eaten a single cookie or container of fruit-flavored yogurt, or even some commercial tomato soups or salad dressings with added sugars. The result is an average daily intake of more than 20 teaspoons of sweet, empty calories. The cumulative effect this has on the body is evident with the amount of chronic disease crippling the population. Consistently taking a multivitamin over the long-term can at least help fill the nutrient gaps and stem the downward spiral caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices.

Further, there is a strong body of evidence (as seen in this blog) supporting the benefit of many supplemental nutrients. In fact, there are many nutrients for which the evidence base is so robust that FDA has approved health claims (for example, calcium and vitamin D to reduce the risk of osteoporosis; folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects; plant sterols and stanols to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease) or qualified health claims (such as omega-3 fatty acids to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease). I always say that supplemental nutrients are one-quarter of an overall healthy lifestyle to maintain health and avoid chronic disease. The other three-quarters are diet, exercise, and stress management.

Also, how do we know what multivitamins these women used? If a quarter of them used Centrum Silver for instance, they will show absolutely no benefit because of the fillers and artificial ingredients.

Finally, for the few skeptical clients of mine that question dietary supplement efficacy, I usually suggest that they go off of them and see how it affects their health short and long-term. Most decide to either continue or get back on them when they feel a change for the worse.