Although classic nutritional deficiencies such as rickets and scurvy are now rare in the United States, insufficient levels of certain micronutrients can still impair a wide range of biological functions. .
For example, long-term inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake can lead to osteoporosis later in life, and low folate intake in pregnant women increases the risk of neural tube defects in newborns. You’ve probably heard of it.
But what you may not think about is that micronutrient deficiencies can increase your susceptibility to diseases and chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, and cognitive impairment. This means that it may also increase. Not getting enough of certain micronutrients can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to infections. Recently, I learned that magnesium has various roles such as activating vitamin D in the body, so if your magnesium level is insufficient, it may increase the risk of infection and severity of the new coronavirus infection. He even claimed that there was.
However, to date, there have been only two large, long-term clinical trials of multivitamins. The Physicians’ Health Study II was the first to evaluate the long-term effects of multivitamins in preventing chronic disease. The study tested four supplements (including a multivitamin) for the prevention of specific diseases in approximately 15,000 male doctors over the age of 50. This study found that over an average of 11 years, multivitamin use reduced the risk of cancer by 8%. and cataract 9% increase, no effect on cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, or age-related macular degeneration. Not exactly, but keep in mind that this study found no notable downsides to taking multivitamins.
as recent as COSMOS randomized clinical trial in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition We evaluated the short-term effects of multivitamins on cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention in over 21,000 participants. The study, which spanned an average of 3.6 years, showed no effect of multivitamin use on cancer overall or cardiovascular disease, but the relatively short study period suggests a mild to moderate effect on cancer incidence. The ability to detect is likely to be limited. COSMOS showed a statistically significant reduction in lung cancer incidence.
This study provides evidence consistent with the Physician’s Health II study that daily multivitamins likely have little or no effect on the development of cardiovascular disease, but there are also no health disadvantages. (note that the multivitamin tested in both clinical trials was Centrum).
Although more research is needed, many researchers in this field (including myself) believe that when micronutrient intakes are lower than recommended levels, the immediate short-term need for micronutrients in metabolic reactions is reduced to a long-term need. We speculate that this may be prioritized over other needs, which may lead to irreversible events. You may incur long-term damage in exchange for continuing to meet your short-term needs. Think of it like replying only to the three most recent emails in your inbox. For these reasons, taking a daily multivitamin makes practical sense for me.
