Commercial advertising is always pervasive, for example, vitamins are essential elements for the human body, it has countless effects: prevent aging, promote immunity, prevent heart disease, and even anti-cancer …… these effects are true or false? Preventing aging and promoting immune function are difficult to quantify, so let’s leave them aside.
And heart disease and cancer, both are disease categories, supplemental vitamin tablets, can have an effect?
I’m sorry to say that the effectiveness of vitamin supplementation in preventing heart disease and cancer is not clear.
You may still be hoping that taking vitamin tablets will at least strengthen your body and be harmless, if not prevent heart disease and cancer.
Again, I regret to inform you that there is ample evidence that taking vitamin E is not beneficial in preventing heart disease and cancer; those who smoke supplementation with beta carotene, on the contrary, increase the risk of lung cancer, and also increase the risk of death from heart disease or stroke.
As a result, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recently issued a statement opposing the prevention of cardiovascular disease and cancer through supplementation with vitamin E and beta carotene, and the benefits and risks of multivitamins and the individual or combined nutrients within them to prevent heart disease and cancer are unclear.
So, are vitamin supplements really not good for you? Is it possible that mom’s nagging isn’t scientific? Not really!
A 2019 study that included 27,000 adults found that adequate nutritional intake can reduce the risk of death, for example, moderate intakes of vitamin K and magnesium were associated with a reduced risk of death; moderate intakes of vitamin A, vitamin K and zinc were associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular death. However, it is important to note that the associations between these nutrients and the risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality are limited to dietary sources and not additional supplements.
Do you still want to take vitamin tablets that seem to be “all-inclusive”? The answer is: it’s better to eat more fruits and vegetables. In other words, your mother is right to tell you to eat more fruits and vegetables!
You know, even for astronauts operating in space capsules, in such a unique environment, they only need to take vitamin D supplements because the protective layer of the spacecraft keeps them out of the sun.
So, once again, we reiterate this idea that it’s better to take extra vitamins than to eat more fruits and vegetables! For the average person, a healthy diet rich in vegetables, nuts, whole grains and fruits is more beneficial to health than supplements, and vitamin tablets are not a substitute for the nutrients found in food.
Of course, for special populations with nutritional deficiencies, additional supplements should be taken on top of improved dietary nutrition as prescribed by your doctor.
