Mineral and vitamin supplements are taken to add nutrients to the diet that are lacking, or not found in food. St.Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto have published a systematic review of existing data and randomized controlled trials finding that multivitamins, vitamin C, Vitamin D, and calcium are the most common supplements that showed no advantage or added risk in the prevention of heart attack, stroke, premature death, or cardiovascular disease. B-vitamins with folic acid and folic acid alone was found to reduce cardiovascular disease and stroke. Antioxidants and niacin showed small effects that may signify increased risk of death from any cause.
Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, B9, C, D, E, carotene, calcium, iron, selenium, magnesium, and zinc supplement data was reviewed. ‘Multivitamin’ was used as a term in the review to describe supplements that included most vitamins and minerals, rather than a few.
According to the researchers in absence of any significant positive data, apart from folic acid with potential to reduce risk of heart disease or stroke, it is more beneficial to rely on a balanced healthy diet to get vitamins and minerals vs supplements, as no research on supplements has been able to show anything better than healthy servings of less processed plant foods which includes nuts, fruits, and vegetables.
