A recent broad study that took place for over 20 years in the USA, and involved nearly four lakhs of participants has shown that taking multivitamins daily for a long-term period is unlikely to enhance how long people live among healthy adults.
Instead, the study was done by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in which scientists attempted to determine whether taking vitamins would lead to chronic disease-related deaths such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.
This is in addition to any possible factors that may have skewed our understanding on this issue.
The finding thus questions a widely held belief that taking multivitamins can add years to one’s life and make him or her healthier.
In developed countries, it is estimated that around 30% of adults take a daily multivitamin, thinking it can help prevent illnesses and promote overall health.
However, there is little scientific evidence from previous studies supporting the claim that multivitamins enhance longevity.
The new research was conducted by NIH whose objective was to establish if there is an association between vitamin consumption and deaths resulting from non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks and cancers?
Furthermore, what other potential factors or biases might influence our comprehension of this relationship?
Surprisingly, the study discovered that multivitamin use did not differ significantly by race, ethnicity, or family history of cancer.
Despite these being the most preferred supplements, researchers found no reason to believe that a regular intake of them can increase the lifespan of healthy adults.
To examine this further, the pooled analysis showed that the risk of death was 4% higher among individuals who took multivitamin supplements every day than those who did not take any at all.
This discovery emphasizes how important it is to search for other means to maintain life and ensure its longevity.
On the other hand, doctors advise against using vitamins rather they say one should diversify diet with nutrient-dense food.
These include berries, legumes, carrots and dark leafy greens are known to offer essential nutrients which support good health in general.
In short, while multivitamins are still popular this new research suggests otherwise and they may not be your way out for longer life.
Rather a balanced diet rich in different types of healthy foods could be better at securing our health and long life instead.
