Are Vitamin Pills Healthy? April 16, 2008
A new study suggests that vitamin supplements of the kind taken by many millions of people globally, may not be as good for your health as we think. Scientists at Copenhagen University reviewed the results from many previous studies and came to the conclusion that at least three vitamin supplement vitamins - vitamin A, vitamin E and beta-carotene - may actually damage your health! Vitamin A results indicated a 16% increase in chance of dying - with 7% for beta carotene and 4% for vitamin E. The good news is that vitamin C and selenium did not seem to have any major downside from this study, but they also found no indication of major advantages to taking these supplements either.
The scientists suggest that the vitamins themselves may not be the problem, just taking them in excessive amounts in supplements. They believe that all vitamins should come from a healthy diet directly. Obviously many health groups related to supplement manufacturers, and others who aren’t, are up in arms about this as vitamin sales constitute a global market of $2.5 billion. Whatever the final outcome from further studies, it would seem that maintaining a healthy, balanced diet containing all the vitamins you need is the way forward - as the food itself has extra advantages for your body, such as energy and roughage.
Leave a Reply