Study says vitamin pills have no health benefits: will you carry on taking them?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One in three Britons take them, but a new study suggests that vitamin pills could have virtually no health benefits.
Here are the claims by a new study conducted by scientists at the University of Warwick and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, USA:
- Vitamin and mineral pills are a waste of money for well-nourished adults and could even be harmful.
- The vitamin supplement industry in the UK is thought to be worth at least £650 million annually. This could be fuelled by unnecessary cures to false health anxieties, the report suggests.
- The research involved more than half a million people and found vitamins to have no direct health benefit for the majority of the population, and that only a small actually group needs to take them.
Edgar Miller from the John Hopkins school of Medicine said “These companies are marketing products to us based on perceptions of deficiencies. They make us think our diet is unhealthy, and that they can help us make up for these deficiencies and stop chronic illnesses.”
But will the general population listen or have the vitamins become too much of a habit? Take our poll below.
Click here to read more on the vitamin and mineral study
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments