Multivitamins

Taking a daily multivitamin won’t cut risk of cancer or heart disease

Millions of us take them daily in the belief they will keep us healthy and strong and plug any nutritional gaps in our diet.  But those who pop multivitamin pills in the hope of reducing their risk of heart disease or cancer might be wasting their time and money, according to a major new study.

Indeed, the research suggests the age-old advice about getting the vitamins you need from a healthy diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables rings as true as ever.

Britons spent £430 million a year on vitamin pills, and it is estimated that 20 million take some form of supplement every day – which is up more than 3 million in the last 3 years.   Multivitamin capsules are particularly popular as they contain a mix of the dozen or so vitamins and minerals the body needs to stay healthy.  The Health Food Manufacturers’ Association, which represents the supplements industry, says more than a third of adults feel they do not get all the nutrients they need though their diet.

But there is little strong scientific evidence that taking multivitamins in table form prevents ill health.  The latest study, one of the largest to date, was by scientists from Harvard Medical School in the US and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.  Researchers tracked 21,442 men and women in their 60s over five years, putting half on a multivitamin and the rest on a dummy pill.   They found little difference between the two groups in the risk of developing cancer or heart disease.

Almost the same number developed breast, bowel, or prostate cancer – 518 in the multivitamin group and 535 in the placebo group.  The same pattern was seen in the number who suffered heart attacks, which was 96 in multivitamin takers and 93 placebo takers, and in stoke cases – at 121 and 12126 respectively.  Mortality rates barely differed either, with deaths from, all cancers totalling 116 in the multivitamin group and 109 in those who were given placebos.

They reported that a multivitamin cannot replicate the natural interactions of vitamins, minerals, and bioactive components in foods.   The NHS recommends that most people do not need to take supplements and can get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet.   Certain supplements are recommended for those who are at risk of deficiency.