Study Casts Doubt on Safety of Vitamins & Minerals

A new study in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that postmenopausal women who took multivitamins, iron, vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc and copper had a higher risk of death than women who didn't take supplements.

The popularity of vitamins and minerals has soared in the last decade not just to correct deficiencies but also to prevent and reverse chronic disease. More than half of US adults report using at least one dietary supplement on a regular basis.

Herb Shapiro, the co-owner of The Health Shoppe in Morristown, NJ says “Well, we sell a tremendous amount of calcium and vitamin D, uh, potassium we sell many herbs many homeopathics we sell hundreds and hundreds, maybe a thousand different types of herbs.”

Dr. Riva Touger-Decker, RD, PhD/UMDNJ, a nutritional expert at the School of Health Related Professions explains “All that information is based on self-report. And so you're telling and bringing me in the bottles that you choose to bring to me of the supplements you're taking. We don't know the doses, so dose is an important piece of it.”

Dr. Riva Touger-Decker also warns that we need to be cautious when looking at these results

She informs that a multivitamin can act like a good band-aid to support our nutritional needs, especially if we're skipping meals.

“But very often I'll say, if you're eating a bowl of cereal and most of our cereals are fortified and enriched that is a multivitamin in and of itself and so I'll advise against it,” notes Dr. Decker.

As Dr. Naomi Weinshenker indicates the US vitamin and supplement industry is a 20 billion dollar business. “But for people who take many supplements, we don't know how helpful they really are, or how harmful they could be when combined with prescription drugs.”

In the meantime, one vitamin, calcium was associated with an increase in survival in the study.

Dr. Decker explains “Calcium and vitamin D have a role in the prevention of osteoporosis. For most women who are not getting in a sufficient amount of calcium through diet, I would recommend a calcium supplement that's either calcium carbonate or calcium citrate with vitamin D because we know vitamin D helps calcium absorption.”

Above all, experts recommend that you seek the advice of a healthcare professional before starting a vitamin regimen. And, supplements can't replace a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables.