Daily multivitamins do not help people live longer, major study finds

[helvella]

The taking of general multivitamins has long been questioned here on this forum.

The article specifically identifies iron:

Meanwhile iron, which is added to many multivitamins, can lead to iron overload and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia.

I think we'd also advocate for caution about iodine being very commonly included. (The article obviously can't include everything!)

Daily multivitamins do not help people live longer, major study finds

Analysis of 400,000 healthy adults finds no health benefits from taking daily multivitamins

Taking a daily multivitamin does not help people to live any longer and may actually increase the risk of an early death, a major study has found.

...

...

Duane Mellor, a registered dietitian and senior lecturer at Aston medical school, said: “It’s not surprising to see these do not significantly reduce the risk of mortality.

“A vitamin and mineral supplement will not fix an unhealthy diet on its own, but it can help cover key nutrients if someone is struggling to get them from food. An example of this might be vitamin D where adults in the UK are encouraged to take as a supplement in winter or vegans and vegetarians who might benefit from a supplement of vitamin B12.”

Full article accessible here:

theguardian.com/science/art...

The original paper on JAMA:

June 26, 2024

Multivitamin Use and Mortality Risk in 3 Prospective US Cohorts

Open access paper here:

jamanetwork.com/journals/ja...

greygoose RedApple

[Sparklingsunshine]

I think it just reinforces what we say on the forum. Dont take multivitamins, they are normally poor quality ingredients, with either too much or not enough of what we need. Test yourself for nutritional deficiencies and use the most bioavailable forms if you need to supplement. And multivitamins are not a substitute for a healthy, balanced diet.