[troutman]

Originally Posted by OBCT

It's certainly simpler (and debatably cheaper; though not necessarily easier) to stick to eating real food and forgetting about supplements all together... if this research holds weight.

Thoughts?

Who takes dietary supplements, and why?


http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/...ments-and-why/

Aside from sporadic vitamin D in winter, I don’t take any vitamins or supplements routinely, nor do I give any to my children. Your reasons may be close to mine: There is little to no evidence suggesting that dietary deficiencies are widespread, nor is there good evidence to suggest that vitamin supplements are beneficial in the absence of deficiency. I don’t have any need for an other supplements, nor am I confident in the scientific evidence for many of them.This position of “no supplements” is a cautious and conservative one, but is based on a consideration of the scientific evidence. I view decisions about healthcare as evaluations of risk and benefit, and then cost if necessary. Given supplementation (with some exceptions) has no demonstrable benefits and, in some cases, a little risk, the odds favour not supplementing in most cases. Add in costs, and it’s even less attractive as a routine health strategy.

Yet a decision not to take vitamins or supplements regularly is becoming a minority position. Supplement use has grown over the past 40 years among Americans

Supplement makers promote an image of being small, ethical, and natural — the exact opposite of evil Big Pharma. Yet the numbers show this is big business: a $30 billion (USD, 2011) industry which (as has been noted regularly at this blog) has limited regulatory oversight. The result is a marketplace with products listing exaggerated claims that aren’t supported by credible evidence. Yet industry surveys suggest 85% of Americans are confident in the safety, quality, and effectiveness of these products.

Survey on supplement consumption report widespread use, which seems to be based on perceptions that these products are both safe and effective. While supplement use of all kinds is common, it’s multivitamin/minerals that really push the overall consumption rates up. Take that away, and regular usage of other kinds of supplements drops down to just over 10% of the population. When looked at over longer time frames, however, the Harvard survey suggests that 40% do take some form of non-vitamin supplement at least intermittently.

The reasons for taking supplements varies. In the case of multivitamins, it seems to be based around the belief that their consumption will offer meaningful benefits. Yet on balance, there is little evidence to support general supplementation, and in the absence of a deficiency, no evidence multivitamins will boost mood or energy levels. For the most common reasons cited for supplements, expectations are generalized and fairly non-specific. Many may be taking multivitamins as an insurance policy — not a strategy that I’d routinely endorse, given the evidence, but one that is not uncommon. And certainly there is some vitamin and supplement use that is appropriate and evidence-based.

Most of the decision-making around vitamin and supplement use appears to occur without the input of a health professional, raising questions about the rationale for use. And perhaps not surprisingly, few subsequently tell their health professionals about their supplement use. Medical evidence may not be a factor in decisions to take these products. Instead they may be based on perceptions or attitudes that they’re beneficial, perhaps because of confidence in regulations that allow their sale, or the resulting marketing that exaggerates expected benefits. What’s most surprising is that the scientific evidence may not matter at all. It’s said that you can’t reason people out of a decision they didn’t reason themselves into. Perhaps that’s the case with supplements. Certainly it illustrates the need for a more thoughtful (and yes, science-based) approach to promoting health behavior change in individuals. For health professionals interested in improving the safe and appropriate use of vitamins and supplements, and reducing unnecessary or inappropriate use, we need better strategies to promote change.

Multivitamin-multimineral supplementation and mortality: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/ea...49304.abstract

Conclusion: Multivitamin-multimineral treatment has no effect on mortality risk.