Vitamin benefits might be all in your head, study says
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There are no shortcuts in life, and that’s especially true of health.
Researchers have long suspected multivitamins are not only largely ineffective but may even do more harm than good.
And as new evidence reveals, the benefits of over-the-counter vitamin supplements may be entirely based on the placebo effect, according to a Harvard study published in BMJ Open.
An estimated 77% of Americans regularly use dietary supplements, according to the vitamins lobby, which represents an industry worth a reported $36.2 billion.
Nevertheless, no clinical trial has shown consistent or considerable benefits for daily supplements users who are healthy and without a pre-existing vitamin or mineral deficiency, researchers noted in the report.
Their aim was to examine the psychology of vitamin users by analyzing self-reported biodata compiled by the National Health Interview Survey, including responses from 21,603 adults in the US. Information gathered pertained to their long- and short-term health history, both physical and psychological, as well as details on supplements use.
Of those thousands, 4,933 said they regularly consumed multivitamin or mineral supplements. These users were more often old, affluent, married women, educated and insured — and 30% of them thought they had better overall health compared with non-users. However, their responses in terms of health history and outcomes showed “no difference” from their counterparts, despite the daily nutrient boost.
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Furthermore, researchers found that demographics such as race, sex, education, income levels and age had no impact on whether they believed the supplements were helpful. The question of why was answered in two ways: Either vitamin users don’t need proof to believe the habit is helpful, or those who take vitamins tend to be positive-thinking people.
The observational study can’t prove that vitamins don’t work as self-reported assessments, which are difficult to track and confirm, but study authors say their findings are indicative of many previous studies on the efficacy of dietary supplements and multivitamins.
Evidence suggests that, at best, supplements are a waste of money for individuals with no known nutrient deficiencies. Plus, the supplements industry enjoys little to no federal regulation, leaving private companies to do most of their own vetting, if they do so at all. In some cases, dietary supplements may contain ingredients and drugs that usually require a prescription, have never been introduced in the US or not studied in humans at all, according to supplements researcher and Harvard internist Dr. Pieter Cohen, who was not involved in the current study. He blames an absence of regulation and oversight by the Food and Drug Administration, which allows these products to come to market without analyzing what’s in them, or whether their labels are accurate.
“There’s no possible way, as a consumer or as a doctor or anyone, to know if something is safe if you don’t know how much of it [an ingredient] is in the pill,” said Cohen.
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