The use of dietary supplements containing a combination of vitamins or minerals has become very popular in recent years. In Europe they are regulated as a ‘food supplement’ under the European Union’s dietary supplements directive and, as they are not considered drugs, they are not regulated by the European Medicines Agency and can be marketed without the need to verify their effectiveness in clinical trials.
Many people take multivitamins in an effort to improve their health, but their positive and negative effects are not fully understood. Now, new research from the National Cancer Institute in the United States that analyzed the dietary habits of 390,124 adults with no history of cancer or other chronic diseases has found that taking daily multivitamin supplements is not associated with a reduced risk of mortality in healthy adults. The results have been published in JAMA Network Open.
Researchers examined data from three large prospective studies from multiple regions to better understand the relationship between continued multivitamin use and overall mortality, as well as mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer, and found that people who took multivitamins daily did not have a lower risk of death from any cause compared to those who did not take them.
They also found no differences in mortality from cancer or cardiovascular disease. The results were adjusted for factors such as race, ethnicity, educational level and diet quality. The researchers have pointed out the convenience of evaluating the relationship between the consumption of these multivitamin supplements and the risk of mortality in different population groups, such as individuals with documented nutritional deficiencies, and analyzing the potential impact of their regular use on other health problems related to aging.
Multivitamins can never replace a healthy diet
Miguel Ruiz-Canela, professor and director of the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra, who did not participate in the research, explained in statements to SMC Spain that the new study stands out for the large number of people studied and the long follow-up period (more than 20 years), but, despite the fact that the researchers started from the hypothesis that the use of a multivitamin complex could reduce the risk of mortality, the result shows that “people who consume multivitamins daily have a higher risk of mortality from all causes compared to those who do not consume these multivitamin complexes. This is an increase in risk of only 4% and it is not maintained in the second follow-up period of the analysis, something that at an individual level may be of little relevance, but which is of great importance for public health. At a population level, the risks that have a greater impact are low risks but which affect a large percentage of the population.”
“If you want to gain health, it is more sensible to spend the money on vitamin supplements on a quality shopping basket with fresh, local and seasonal products”
The expert adds that the study of multivitamin complexes is complex, since they are used by people who are very concerned about their health and elderly people with chronic diseases and that, although the researchers have taken into account most of the factors that could confound the results found, it is possible that they could not have adjusted for all of these factors.
“Despite this, the results are sufficiently robust to recommend that the population not consume these complexes unless there is a specific nutritional deficiency and under the supervision of a health professional. There is ample scientific evidence that shows that the best way to prolong life is to follow a healthy lifestyle, including physical activity, a healthy diet, avoiding stress and getting adequate rest. This requires more effort than taking a pill, but in the end both our body and our wallet will thank us for it,” she concludes.
In the opinion of Maira Bes-Rastrollo, co-coordinator of the Nutrition working group of the Spanish Society of Epidemiology (SEE), professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra, and member of CIBERobn, and according to her statements to same medium: “These results indicate that the benefits of the vitamins and minerals present in foods that make up a healthy eating pattern such as the Mediterranean pattern, rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil and fish, have a large amount of bioactive substances that promote health and the absorption of these nutrients. However, if we ingest vitamins and minerals as isolated supplements, the potential interactions and synergies between the different foods present in healthy eating patterns disappear. Taking multivitamins can never replace a healthy diet.”
“While it is true that there are situations in which the consumption of supplements is indicated, such as the intake of vitamin B12 in those people who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, vitamin D supplements in those people with certain levels. insufficient serum vitamin D, the use of multivitamins after bariatric surgery or the intake of folic acid during the first trimester of pregnancy to prevent spina bifida in newborns, always [debe hacerse] under the advice of a health professional.”
“In short, if you want to improve your health, it is more sensible to spend the money you spend on vitamin supplements on a quality shopping basket with fresh, local and seasonal products that help us follow a healthy Mediterranean diet and support the necessary sustainability of the rural world.”
