re: Your Daily Multivitamin Is Pointless, at Best

quote:

---

That study has holes in it.

---

seriously? these studies have come to light in many places in the last few months.

keep on living in denial.

NY Times VITAMINS ARE USELESS
NPR - The case against vitamins
CNN - Cites Medical Studies

quote:

---

Do you take your vitamins every day? For the majority of people, it might just be a waste of time and money, according to a new editorial published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The editorial, which is in response to three new studies also just published in the same journal, says that research does not show a health benefit to taking most vitamin supplements, and that they don't seem to prevent death or disease.

"The message is simple: Most supplements do not prevent chronic disease or death, their use is not justified, and they should be avoided," wrote the editorial's authors, who come from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Warwick and the American College of Physicians. "This message is especially true for the general population with no clear evidence of micronutrient deficiencies, who represent most supplement users in the United States and in other countries."

Specifically, supplements of antioxidants, folic acid and vitamin B seem to hold no benefits, and could potentially even be harmful, though more research is necessary, the editorial's authors said. And beta carotene, vitamin E and possibly high doses of vitamin A may be harmful.

Multivitamins also don't seem to hold any additional benefits, they said, writing, "this evidence, combined with biological considerations, suggests that any effect, either beneficial or harmful, is probably small."

"The (vitamin and supplement) industry is based on anecdote, people saying 'I take this, and it makes me feel better,'" Dr. Edgar Miller, one of the authors of the editorial and a professor of medicine and epidemiology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told CNN. "It's perpetuated. But when you put it to the test, there's no evidence of benefit in the long term. It can't prevent mortality, stroke or heart attack."

---