Vitamin-mineral preparations are useless?
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
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Scientists representing the University of Toronto and the hospital of Saint Michel, assure: the systematic use of vitamin-mineral bioactive drugs in practice does not have the expected beneficial effect.
Lack of certain substances that we need to get from food, many people try to make up for using bioactive drugs. All well-known dietary supplements are usually clinically not tested means: many of them indicate the phrase: "does not apply to medicines". The turnover of such pseudo-medicines is largely not traced.
Experts analyzed the findings of previous studies and found that the vast majority of common multivitamin supplements do not bring any real benefit to human health. In addition, there is no evidence that taking vitamins in any way reduces the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases.
Exceptions are, except that such drugs as folic acid and complex preparations of vitamins belonging to group B: such additives have proved useful for normalizing the work of the nervous system.
"It has been amazing for us to discover so few positive properties of popular drugs in the people," said one of the study's leaders, Professor David Jenkins. "Our work allowed us to show that multivitamin preparations will not do any harm to anyone. However, there will be no benefit from them. "
In addition, throughout the study it was found out: high levels of vitamin B3 and antioxidants in the blood can become a risk factor for premature death. Scientists explain this by the fact that large doses of B3 adversely affect the sugar content in the blood, and the excess of antioxidants can "break" the natural antitumor protection in the body.
As the researchers believe, to the excess of vitamin and mineral substances leads just uncontrolled intake of all sorts of vitamin and mineral supplements.
Scientists also found that even universally advertised ascorbic acid has no practical benefit for preventing colds. A much more effective preventive agent were additives, which included zinc: such drugs shortened the period of bright cold symptoms.
"As a consequence of the fact that we did not notice any expressed positive effects of vitamin preparations, we think it's much more sensible to switch to a healthy diet so that all the substances needed by the body come directly from the products," Dr. Jenkins is sure.
"We do not know of any experiments that could prove that vitamin-mineral preparations benefit more than a full-fledged healthy diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts," the expert adds.
Conclusions of scientists are published in the Journal of the American of Cardiology.