A new study focused on finding the reason behind people choosing multivitamins as a health-enhancing option than natural fruits, vegetables and food grains, according to Medical Xpress.
Millions of Americans consume multivitamins to maintain good health, but a few health experts question the overall benefit.
"Most people were using supplements because they believe it will improve their health, but we really don't know whether that's true," said study lead author Regan Bailey, a nutritional epidemiologist in the Office of Dietary Supplements at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. "Moreover, the vast majority of supplements used in the U.S. are based on personal choice, not because they are recommended by health care professionals."
Bailey also noted that nearly $30 billion U.S. annual business is a result of supplement use by adults. Most of the supplements are not prescribed by doctors but still consumed in order to maintain good health.
"People have very strong beliefs about these products and I don't know where they are getting their information," Bailey said. "It's not from the doctors. The majority of scientific data available do not support the role of dietary supplements for improving health or preventing of disease."
Marian Neuhouser, of the cancer prevention program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle suggests fruits and vegetables can be a better option to get the nutrition rather consuming multivitamin which may cost $20 a month.
To further analyze the cause of Americans consuming multivitamins, Bailey and her team looked into the data of 1,200 adults who participated in 2007 to 2010 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that only 23 percent of all the participants consumed multivitamins because it was prescribed by their doctors while the rest 45 percent consumed to maintain and 33 percent to improve their health, says the report.
Samantha Heller, an exercise physiologist and clinical nutrition coordinator at the Center for Cancer Care at Griffin Hospital in Derby, Connecticut agrees that multivitamins cannot replace healthy foods.
"I wish that a portion of the $30 billion spent on dietary supplements was spent on healthy foods and gym memberships," she said.
The findings of the study are published online in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
