if you want to start a ruckus at the christmas dinner table, just get somebody started on the question of nutritional supplements. for every diner who believes that turkey, brussels sprouts and fruit cake provide everything we need, there will be somebody who pops a handful of pills each morning.
who’s right?
i took that question to tanis fenton, phd, rd, fdc, who is both an adjunct professor in the cumming school of medicine at the university of calgary and nutrition research lead for alberta health services. she was pretty clear in her answer: “nutrient supplements are not an effective way to improve health or delay aging. in fact, the well-designed trials to evaluate the health effects of vitamin supplementation (e.g. vitamin e, beta-carotene, b vitamins) have not found improved health and in some cases, those on the supplements had worse health outcomes (e.g. vitamin e, beta-carotene).”
yet, many people take nutritional supplements. according to harvard men’s health watch, a survey of 3,500 adults aged 60 and over found that “70% use a daily supplement (either a multivitamin or individual vitamin or mineral), 54% take one or two supplements, and 29% take four or more.”
the harvard authors note evidence that “folic acid and b-complex vitamins may reduce the risk of stroke” and also that “men who took a daily multivitamin for 11 years had an 8% lower risk of cancer and a 9% lower risk of cataracts compared with a placebo group.”