Taking a range of
supplements from vitamin A to zinc is becoming part of everyday life. Scores of scientific studies have linked the
benefits of supplementation to improved general health, which in turn has helped drive sales of vitamin and mineral supplements to an estimated ₤360m in the UK and more than $4bn in the US. But when it comes to clinical tests, negative news seems to get more press than good news. And one failed result gives the anti-supplements crowd the opportunity to dismiss supplements in general. Sales of vitamin E supplements are thought to have fallen by half in the US following negative coverage.
The Down''s syndrome
trial - again a randomized trial - looked at over 150 babies with the genetic condition who were given daily supplements of selenium, zinc,
vitamins A, C and E, and folic acid for 18 months, with no benefits observed, according to results published in the British Medical Journal. The results prompted lead author Jill Ellis from University College London''s Institute of Child Health to say: "Parents who choose to give supplements to their children need to weigh their hope of unproved benefits against
potential adverse effects from high dose, prolonged supplementation." Other past studies linking vitamins and
minerals to not having the desired effect include calcium supplements and bones,
vitamin E and asthma, and taking B vitamins to slowing cognitive decline.
But on other hand their potential use to boost human health and thus avoid conditions such as colds and diarrhoea in the third world have been applauded. Perhaps here lies the lesson. Supplements are exactly that, to supplement a normal balanced diet. They are not drugs.
More abstracts about the Supplements - do we ask too much?