Daily Multivitamins Won't Help You Live Longer
If multivitamin supplements are a daily part of your diet, you may be disappointed by the latest research from the US.
Many people take multivitamin supplements to stay healthy or to improve their health. In the US, nearly a third of adults take multivitamin supplements, according to a 2023 study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, a new study has found that taking multivitamin supplements every day doesn't actually help people live any longer.
Researchers at the National Cancer Institute in the US looked at data from three big health studies. These studies followed over 390,000 generally healthy participants for around 25 years.
Using the data from these studies, the researchers were able to compare people who took daily multivitamins with those who didn't, and see if there were any significant differences in their health.
They found that people who took daily multivitamins were no more likely to live longer than people who didn't take them. In fact, there was even a 4% higher risk of an early death among people who took multivitamins every day!
Health experts have long warned that, for most people, taking daily multivitamins won't bring any real health benefits. However, the latest research is particularly significant because the data was taken from such a large group of people over such a long time.
Health experts say that some people with health problems or special diets may benefit from taking multivitamins or individual vitamins, and people should certainly take vitamin supplements if their doctor recommends them.
However, for most people, a healthy diet should be enough to get all the vitamins and minerals they need. This means eating a good mix of fruit, vegetables, grains, fish and healthy fats like olive oil.
