Vitamins and supplements offer little to no benefit in preventing cancer or heart disease, a new review of 84 studies found. Based on that conclusion, an independent panel of experts at the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force said on Tuesday that it had “insufficient evidence” to either recommend or discourage the use of multivitamins or supplements to prevent those health outcomes. The review examined the impacts of popular supplements like beta carotene, folic acid, calcium, magnesium, selenium and zinc, as well as multivitamins and vitamins A, B, C, D and E. But the guidance came with caveats: It does not apply to children, people who are chronically ill or those with a known nutritional deficiency. The task force also recommended a daily folic acid supplement for people who are pregnant or considering pregnancy.

For the average healthy adult, however, “there’s no reason to start taking dietary supplements more broadly,” said Dr. Howard Sesso, associate director of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Sesso is not a member of the task force but two of his studies were included in the review. “For those who are currently taking a multivitamin in particular, I don’t think this statement necessarily ought to change what you’re doing, but it’s always important to reevaluate why you’re taking dietary supplements,” Sesso said. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force last gave recommendations on vitamins and supplements for preventing heart disease and cancer in 2014.

Dr. Jenny Jia, an instructor of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said that more large-scale studies have come out since 2014, “and we’re still not seeing any convincing proof that vitamins and supplements in general are helping with prevention of heart disease and cancer.”

Jia coauthored an editorial published alongside the review, which said buying vitamins and supplements is essentially “wasted money.” People in the U.S. spent nearly $50 billion on dietary supplements in 2021, the authors said.

          Source: Nbcnews