Confusing articles about Vitamins and Supplements on the internet

Should you be taking vitamin and mineral supplements?

At face value the headline for an article I read this week stating that – “Massive study casts doubt on health benefits of multivitamins“, has the inference that you’re wasting your time taking vitamin supplements. However, if you read the whole article you can become quite confused as to whether or not it is supporting the headline or arguing against it – it really is just a jumble of quotes from several sources.

So, where might this sort of article leave people who do take vitamin and mineral supplements? First of all, I doubt that anyone in their right mind would think that taking a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement will help to protect you from developing cardiovascular disease if you don’t exercise regularly and insist on eating things like cream cakes, fries and chocolate; as if there’s no tomorrow. Nor do I think that anyone in their right mind will think that a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement will protect them from cancers – if they smoke tobacco or indulge heavily in some other lifestyle activity known to be associated with carcinogens. It is also a fact that some people do have predispositions to cardiovascular disease and even cancers – so again vitamins and supplements may well have little or no protective value for them.

However, for the majority of the population taking a low dose multi-vitamin and mineral supplement will not do any harm and could well just make up for a deficiency in your diet that you’re not even aware of. Speaking personally, I do eat a well balanced diet and exercise regularly. However, I am also honest enough with myself to know that some days I don’t have at least my ’5 a-day’, or perhaps I don’t eat foods with a good portion of low in essential fatty acids in them etc. Subsequently, I will continue to take my daily low dose multi-vitamin and mineral pill and a dose of cod liver oil; because I know some days I really need them; and on those days that I don’t – my body will deal with them anyway.