Benefits of Multivitamins Are All in the Head, Study Suggests

(Photo : Elias Shariff Falla Mardini)

Living a healthy and productive life is everyone's dream. Aside from a balanced diet, most people take multivitamins to boost their health. Conferring to the American Osteopathic Association's poll, 86% of Americans consume supplements. Supplements such as multivitamins are out in the market which is available for people. According to Medical Xpress, a federally funded survey showed Americans who take multivitamins self-reported 30% improvement for their overall health than people who do not use them.

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According to Harvard Medical School's student lead researcher Manish Paranjpe, users of multivitamins and non-users do not differ in any of the clinical health outcomes. However, they reported a 20% improvement in the health of the former. Council for Responsible Nutrition's senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs Andrea Wong, Ph.D. said that neither the results in no way reduced the multivitamins' benefits in fighting insufficient nutrient levels and promoting optimum health nor does it provide a foundation for customers to reconsider their decision in taking multivitamins or take one in the future.

Harvard Medical School said that individuals take multivitamins probably because they want to do everything to protect their health. However, there is a shred of limited evidence that multivitamins' daily intake delivers what the consumers expect to form the pill. Paranjpe added that studies found little evidence that they can contribute to health problems such as heart disease and cancer.

Healthline mentioned that many multivitamins contain herbs, fatty acids, and amino acids aside from vitamins and minerals, although their amount can be different from each other. They stressed that knowing that label fraud is common is very important as consumers.

Methods and results of the study

The researchers of the study, 21 thousand people, were included in the analysis as part of the 2012 U.S. National Health Interview Survey. Although the survey results show that multivitamin takers or users tend to judge themselves as healthier than the nonusers, medical details revealed that they are not. According to Paranjpe, stirring belief that multivitamins work might trick the consumers into feeling healthier, and he added that people who take multivitamins might be naturally positive.

In Contrast, Dr. Wong said the study is based on a survey that did not ask the specificities such as what multivitamins they are taking or the duration of the multivitamins' consumption. She stressed that the study could not prove the cause-and-effect connection that leaves many questions unanswered. She also said that the role of multivitamins is to seal nutritional gaps and make sure people get their daily intake of under-consumed nutrients.

Paranjpe said in a statement that their study shouldn't be interpreted to say that multivitamins are a waste of money. However, he added that there are still legitimate uses of vitamin supplements when there is a specific need. However, he said that for the general population who have no specific condition that will require a specific vitamin, he said that they have no evidence that taking multivitamins daily helps in any way.

Verdict

According to John Hopkins Medicine, researchers concluded that multivitamins do not reduce the risk for cancer, heart disease, and cognitive decline, or premature death. They furthered that beta-carotene and Vitamin E supplements are harmful in high doses. John Hopkins' Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical research director, Larry Appel, M.D., said that pills or vitamins should not substitute for prevention of chronic diseases.

While vitamins present in multivitamins are essential for the health, it is better to ask for your physician's advice before getting one of those multivitamins in the grocery rack.

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