Posted on January 22nd, 2010 by Craig Maltby, Editor
The supplement issue rises again…this time I want to smack it down.
Every so often we see a report published that basically says: “It’s a myth that vitamins and supplements actually work.” 
The report makes sweeping claims that vitamins and supplements “don’t add years to lives, don’t prevent disease and may actually cause more health harm than good.
The most recent assault on supplemental nutrition is in Slate online. There have also been similar rants from Gina Kolata, a noted science and health reporter at the New York Times. And several published studies have also suggested the same. One study several years ago proclaimed Vitamin E taken in concentrated dosages may be linked with heart failure and higher risk of early death. Yeeesh. That study was done on a bunch of sick people. Not a cross-section of healthy/unhealthy people. What would you expect?
If the health benefits of supplements are so abysmal and have been for years, why is the supplement industry continuing to grow at 7% annual clip to revenues of well over $20 billion? Has the market been fooled that badly? Are people that stupid? Are the health benefits people are realizing just placebo effect and not real?
I recalled seeing a Newsweek story several years ago. It’s republished on this site. The piece queried 5 leading nutrition and health researchers from Harvard to Berkeley on what supplements they take themselves. They do take supplements, many types to supplements. From calcium to folate to Vitamin D. And most take a multivitamin.
And one recent study by the nutrition industry’s leading trade group found that the vast majority of doctors and nurses take supplements themselves, from multivitamins to fish oil, flax, green tea and soy. They use supplements for everything from general health to immune support, joint health, pain relief, and bone health. They also recommend supplements to their patients at pretty much the same percentage clip.
People just need to remember that they are called supplements, not food replacements. They can add to a nutritious diet. And no quality supplements (save for the number of quack products out there) make any claims about treating or preventing disease or making people live longer. At the most, they support healthy body functions and general health when taken as directed (not in massive, toxic, off-label amounts).
January 23rd, 2010 at 6:40 pm
The biggest problem with regards to supplements is that many individuals believe their task is completed at the time they use the supplement. No tablet is a replacement for working out and healthy diet. This is why it is known as a supplement. In case your health isn’t where you desire it to be, you have to eat right, work out, and use supplements. You will probably discover that your health will improve rapidly.
January 26th, 2010 at 11:03 am
All true. Thanks Irwin.