Are vitamins and supplements useful? New study suggests they are a waste of money 

Are you taking vitamins or multivitamin supplements? A new study by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found that vitamins are more likely to make you spend more money instead of bringing health benefits.

The task force reviewed 84 studies that tested the effects of vitamins in around 70,000 people to determine whether vitamin, mineral, and multivitamins are helpful. 

The results, published in the journal JAMA, show the same conclusion that the task force reached during their previous study in 2014: there is insufficient evidence to determine whether vitamins and supplements help or hurt someone’s health.

According to the study, there is almost no benefit to “healthy, nonpregnant adults” or “children, persons who are chronically ill, are hospitalized or have a known nutritional deficiency."

The results apply to vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin E, as well as beta carotene, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin C, selenium, calcium, magnesium, folic acid, zinc, and other multivitamins. 

The study also recommended against the use of beta carotene supplements to prevent cardiovascular disease or cancer “because of a possible increased risk of mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and lung cancer."

People should also stay away from Vitamin E "because it probably has no net benefit in reducing mortality, cardiovascular disease, or cancer," the report added. 

Despite the results of studies such as this one, more than half of Americans take dietary supplements, spending more than $50 billion on them, according to the Task Force. 

“According to National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 52% of surveyed US adults reported using at least 1 dietary supplement in the prior 30 days, and 31% reported using a multivitamin-mineral supplement,” the report stated. 

The study and multiple other surveys have found that people take vitamins to stay healthy, feel energetic, or fill nutrient gaps in the diet. However, while some populations do indeed need vitamins, not everyone should be adding them to their daily routine. 

Yet, according to the Task Force, there are other ways to keep being healthy.

"Lifestyle counseling to prevent chronic diseases in patients should continue to focus on evidence-based approaches, including balanced diets that are high in fruits and vegetables and physical activity," said Dr. Jeffrey Linder, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, in an accompanying editorial.

"Rather than focusing money, time, and attention on supplements, it would be better to emphasize lower-risk, higher-benefit activities ... following a healthful diet, getting exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and avoiding smoking," Linder added.