Vitamin supplements are big business, with Americans spending about $45 billion of the more than $177 billion worldwide on health-promoting pills, gummies, and powders.
Approximately 59 million Americans use some kind of vitamin or supplement on a regular basis, spending an average of $510 each year.
But experts say most people are wasting their money.
A balanced daily diet provides all the nutrients normally needed to stay healthy, said Dr. Matthew Silvis, vice chair of clinical affairs for Penn State Health Family and Community Medicine.
“If you can eat a balanced diet and eat nutritious foods like fruits and vegetables, you don’t need multivitamins or supplements,” Silvis said in a news release.
“Despite the multi-billion dollar vitamin industry, the broad answer is that most people don’t need vitamins,” he continued. “But some people may need to consider multivitamins or supplements, and it varies from person to person.”
Examples of people who need specific supplements include:
- Pregnant women need folic acid to prevent birth defects.
- Older adults with osteoporosis can benefit from calcium and vitamin D supplements.
- Vegans or people with celiac disease who need a multivitamin to replace nutrients they cannot absorb from their diet.
High-intensity athletes who regularly participate in debilitating training or intense competition may also be justified in turning to supplements, said Silvis, who is also medical director of primary care sports medicine for the Penn State Department of Health. He said he could not.
“Professional hockey players burn an incredible amount of fuel on a daily and weekly basis,” he said. “We’re looking at their protein intake, but it’s impossible for them to eat enough chicken or steak or protein to make up for that loss and reduce their muscle mass. They often supplement with protein shakes. It’s an easy way for them to maintain their protein intake.”
However, Silvis pointed out that this does not include the average person who participates in athletics recreationally.
“Do all athletes need to consume protein shakes? Absolutely not,” he said. “Kids on the T-ball team don’t need protein shakes.”
Silvis said it’s best to ask your doctor if you need vitamins or supplements before heading to your local nutrition center, drug store or supermarket.
If the body does not need a particular nutrient, the excess nutrient is likely to be excreted.
Basically, most of the money spent on unnecessary supplements goes straight down the toilet.
“If you’re eating a balanced diet, the vitamins and minerals you’re taking with your multivitamin are literally just excreted in your urine,” Silvis says. “There is a limit to the amount of vitamins that can be absorbed, and once that limit is exceeded, they are simply excreted.
“So the idea that ‘if something is good, it must be better’ is not true,” he added.
For example, Silvis said there is no evidence that taking large amounts of vitamin C can prevent colds, and there is little suggestion that vitamin C can speed recovery.
“There’s a lot of debate about whether vitamin C actually changes the duration of the disease,” Silvis said. “However, as with other vitamins, you can meet your daily dietary needs if you eat a healthy, balanced diet that includes fruits and vegetables.”
Even worse, he said, taking too much of certain vitamins can actually cause health problems.
For example, excess vitamin A can cause a toxic condition called hypervitaminosis, which can cause vision and skin changes, bone pain, and even liver damage.
If you’re going to take supplements, you need to make sure what you’re taking is as safe as possible, Silvis said.
When purchasing vitamins, Silvis said, consumers should look for the U.S. Pharmacopoeia certification mark on the product to ensure that what’s on the label is actually in the product.
People purchasing sports performance-enhancing drugs should look for products approved by NSF Certified for Sport, a nonprofit organization that requires strict standards for supplements, Silvis said.
“These are checks and balances that we can provide to our patients because when you go to the store, there are a lot of walls and rows and rows of options,” Silvis said. “So if you don’t provide the person with the knowledge of what to look for, both in terms of what’s in a vitamin or supplement and whether it’s safe for the patient, I don’t think so. Hmm, I think my job is done. ”
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