Many adults Take a daily multivitamin The hope is that it will improve your health, but new research is calling its usefulness into question.
In a study published Wednesday in JAMA Network Open, researchers analyzed data from nearly 400,000 healthy U.S. adults followed for more than 20 years and found no association between regular multivitamin intake and a reduced risk of death.
The study, led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health, noted that the participants in the study were generally healthy and that further research is needed in nutritionally underserved populations.
“What we’re seeing is that whether it’s death from cancer, heart disease or stroke, we’re not seeing any benefit from taking a multivitamin,” Dr. Celine Gunder, CBS News medical contributor and public health editor for KFF Health News, said about the study on “CBS Mornings” Thursday.
In general, vitamins Whole Foods “Multivitamins can also be helpful with fruits and vegetables,” she added. But the potential benefits of taking a multivitamin also vary from person to person.
“Some people are at risk of vitamin deficiencies, such as those with chronic kidney disease, those who have had bariatric surgery or those with gastrointestinal disorders,” she says.
For example, a pregnant person You should take a multivitamin People should take folic acid to prevent the defect, Gundar said.
“There are certain populations where it makes sense, but not everyone,” she said.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a vitamin industry group, said in a statement to CBS News that the study does not acknowledge the extent of health benefits from multivitamin use.
Gunder noted that the study only looked at the risk of death, not other potential benefits.
“For example, if you take a multivitamin, Reduces cognitive decline “As we age, things like memory are affected, and there’s evidence that things like macular degeneration can be prevented with certain vitamins,” she explained. “So it depends on what you’re looking at. Are you looking at mortality, risk of death? Are you looking at other specific disease outcomes? And so I think that, again, for certain populations, taking vitamins could make sense.”
