HEALTH: Are Vitamins and Supplements a Waste of Money?

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Elie Levine, Social Media Editor

Are Vitamins and Supplements a Waste of Money?

Bad News: Your multivitamin gummies might be no better than a placebo. Vitamin and mineral supplements don't seem to offer any health benefits, experts say. And beta carotene supplements may actually increase lung cancer risk for people who already have certain risk factors, like smoking or occupational exposure to asbestos.

Know More

Updated guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) say that most supplements don't reduce the risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease. The USPSTF made the same recommendation eight years ago. But Americans still spend billions of dollars on dietary supplements every year.

Feel Better

It's reasonable to assume that vitamins and minerals might have a positive effect on your health, but there's just not enough research to conclude anything yet. Without evidence to support the efficacy of supplements, it's best to focus on getting nutrients directly from your diet. The compounds in fruits and vegetables cannot be replaced with a dietary supplement.

What Else Should You Know

Will Biden's Plan to Cut Nicotine in Cigarettes Work?

A new proposed rule announced by President Biden and the FDA could lower nicotine in products to non-addictive levels in 2023. While it will likely face legal action from tobacco companies, it's one of the most impactful actions against nicotine addiction seen in decades. There's no way to smoke enough cigarettes to compensate for the reduced amount of nicotine.

It's too soon to say whether COVID-19 is behind a worldwide spate of pediatric hepatitis cases, but a new, small study suggests a link is possible. The study reported five cases of children who recovered from COVID-19 but later developed liver injury, including hepatitis. COVID-19 infection causes multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). Researchers speculated that hepatitis in kids could be a post-infectious reaction like MIS-C, or immune dysregulation from prior infection with COVID-19.