Are you wasting your money on vitamin and mineral supplements? (Photo: Getty Images)
Like most people, you probably have a stash of vitamin and mineral supplements in your bathroom cabinet. In fact, nearly 70 percent of people take supplements, according to the industry trade association, the Council for Responsible Nutrition. Fueled by an increasing focus on health and “wellness,” dietary supplements have become so popular that they’re now a $32 billion industry.
But do they actually improve your health? Several studies have found that taking supplements aren’t associated with living longer and now a massive new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that the vast majority won’t help you live a longer life or reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems.
In order to learn whether diet or supplements were more beneficial, researchers combed through 277 randomized clinical trials that examined 16 vitamins or other supplements, along with eight diets associated with reduced mortality and heart problems, ranging from coronary heart disease to stroke and heart attacks. In total, the studies included data on nearly 1 million people worldwide.
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