No, in fact intake of multivitamin supplements over a long period of time could be detrimental to your health. This fact was highlighted by a current study by Dr. Mursu and colleagues from Finland, which was published in Oct 2011 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
They studied the effects of several widely used dietary vitamin and mineral supplements, especially supplemental iron, in approximately 40,000 women aged 55 to 69 years over 19 years and found that incessant and unnecessary supplementation may be associated with increased risk for death. Although many vitamin supplements did not appear to be associated with a higher risk for total mortality, several were, including multivitamins, vitamins B6, and folic acid, as well as minerals iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper.
This study found that the use of multivitamins overall was associated with 2.4% increased absolute risk for death. Vitamin B6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, and zinc were associated with about 3% to 6% increased risk for death, whereas copper was associated with an 18.0% increased risk for total mortality when compared with corresponding non-use.
In contrast, use of calcium was inversely related to risk for death with an absolute risk reduction of 3.8%.
“In agreement with our hypothesis, most of the supplements studied were not associated with a reduced total mortality rate in older women,” Dr. Mursu and colleagues conclude. “In contrast, we found that several commonly used dietary vitamin and mineral supplements, including multivitamins, vitamins B6, and folic acid, as well as minerals iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper, were associated with a higher risk of total mortality.”
This study along with several others is pointing towards a perception that certain antioxidant supplements, such as vitamin E, vitamin A, and beta-carotene, can be harmful.”
“We cannot recommend the use of vitamin and mineral supplements as a preventive measure, at least not in a well-nourished population,” the authors add. “Those supplements do not replace or add to the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables and may cause unwanted health consequences.”
3 Comments
Thanks very much for your appreciation. Would strive to do even better. Regards- Dr.Seema Sharma
Hello Dr. Sharma. Your blog posts are quite interesting! I’m a medical student in the UK who is writing up a project on O&G, and I came across your website.
There are huge variations in levels of education in India. Therefore I applaud your efforts to educate people about their health! Keep up the good work!
Thanks so much for your encouraging words. Regards- Dr.Seema Sharma