Are Vitamin Supplements Doing You Any Good?

For years we have been told to drink our milk and take our vitamins, believing both these things to be healthy and beneficial. I believed that a daily multivitamin would help offset my incomplete diet and if some vitamins were good, more would be better. But is this true? To find out, I needed to consult a non-biased subject-matter expert about what qualities to look for in a daily multivitamin. So I reached out to Howard B. Wernick, MD, and what I learned was surprising.

Dr. Wernick has spent more than 50 years practicing medicine in Canada and Arizona. Most recently, he spent the last 15 years working as a clinician at the Phoenix Fire Department Health Center, advising and treating firefighters from Phoenix and several surrounding cities. He has a comprehensive background in supplement education and is passionate about the subject. He routinely lectures on the topics of nutrition and nutritional supplementation.

When I first contacted Dr. Wernick and asked him to answer some of my questions for this article, I was looking for a quick and informative answer about what to buy. But Dr. Wernick’s responses were more complex. I started with a simple question: “Do you recommend supplementing our diet with a daily multivitamin?” Anticipating a definitive “yes,” I had several follow-up questions ready to go. My ears rang with the sound of screeching tires coming to a sudden halt when I heard a distinct “no” response instead.

“Recent studies have found that a daily multivitamin is not as beneficial as once believed,” Dr. Wernick explained. “In fact, one study in particular showed that a daily multivitamin was actually detrimental.” He was referring to a recent long-term retrospective study that gathered data on a group of males and females, and discovered that those taking a multivitamin had a higher mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease and stroke than those who did not take one. Now before you throw out your full bottle of “ACME Super Vites,” it’s important to note that I have not read the study and am sure there are variables and test methods with which I’m not familiar with or talented enough to explain. In addition, the folks who conducted the study could not determine what part of the multivitamin contributed to the increase risk of mortality.

Another interesting part of the study is that it originally did not set out to disprove the efficacy of a daily multivitamin. Conversely, its original intent was to determine the benefits of taking a daily multivitamin. After hearing this information from Dr. Wernick, I felt compelled to research this idea more thoroughly and found that this is indeed a growing position among other very well established doctors. Specifically, many of these doctors have come to the conclusion that daily multivitamins have minimal benefit, if any at all. Some have suggested saving the money spent on the vitamins and using it to buy more fresh vegetables.

It is important to note that we are strictly talking about a daily multivitamin–not individual vitamins, minerals or supplements. Dr. Wernick is a proponent of some individual vitamins, herbal products and supplements, but firmly believes in a well-balanced diet first.

Dr. Wernick went on to say that part of the problem with the daily multivitamins on the market has to do with bioavailability and absorption. The term bioavailability refers to the supplement’s ability to dissolve and become available to the target tissue. Many vitamins on the market come in pill form where the ingredients are pressed together with some binding agent to form the pill shape. Many times the bioavailability of these pills exceeds 20 minutes, which, according to Dr. Wernick, is the longest timeframe you want a pill to be broken down and absorbed. He went on to say that pills consumed by patients have sometimes been found intact in their bedpans some time later. (I’ll let you visualize that.) “Capsules are better,” Dr. Wernick adds.

My personal hypothesis is that some people may be substituting a daily multivitamin in lieu of eating a well-balanced diet. Given the information on vitamin bioavailability and absorption just explained by Dr. Wernick, the end result may be a constant nutritional deficit.

After processing the fact that my many years of diligent multivitamin-swallowing may have been all in vain, I pressed Dr. Wernick to identify any vitamins or minerals that should be taken by the general public. “It’s a very individual thing, and hard to make a blanket statement regarding all supplements to all people,” he said. “If you’re deficient in something, the best bet would be to try to consume it in a well-balanced diet.” Now I’m the first one to admit that it can be very challenging to eat a well-balanced diet. For those who work in a busy firehouse, it can be almost impossible … but it can be done. Dr. Wernick advocates the Mediterranean Diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, olive oil and moderate amounts red wine. While these foods and ingredients may be a bit more challenging to incorporate into a firehouse meal, it can certainly be done off-shift if you’re willing to take the time to shop and prepare.

I pressed Dr. Wernick further regarding any supplements that would be beneficial for everyone, and he stated “with anything there is a question of risk versus benefit. If the risk is equal to or outweighs the benefit, then I would advise against it. With that in mind, a daily baby aspirin has been shown to be beneficial with minimal risk unless you have a history of GI bleeds or ulcers. For those who suffer from joint issues, Glucosamine Sulfate has been researched and shown to have beneficial attributes, but may take eight weeks or longer of regular consumption to show these benefits.”

Dr. Wernick went on to say that it is very important to discuss your medication and supplement list with your primary care physician. “There is a big problem with patients not discussing their supplements with their doctors. This is very important because certain supplements can adversely impact medications. Your doctor should know what you’re taking to decipher if there are any potential adverse reactions. In addition, there are studies that have shown certain supplements to have negative impacts on certain persons or lifestyles. For example, one study showed that high levels of vitamin A in elderly patients increased the risk for spontaneous fractures. Another study in Finland identified men who smoked and supplemented high amounts of beta carotene had higher instances of lung cancer than those smokers who did not supplement beta carotene.” The advice here is that “natural” supplements have the potential to negatively interact with prescription medications, and you should make your doctor aware of everything that you’re taking.

The Internet has a multitude of articles, experts and studies that still adhere to the benefits of a daily multivitamin, so the debate continues. One thing that is not debatable is that there are certain ailments that are prevalent within our profession, so it is extremely important to get an annual medical physical, complete with blood tests, which can not only detect various maladies early on, but can also identify certain nutrient deficiencies. In addition, there is consensus that the first step to nutritional completeness is eating a well-balanced diet. Ultimately it’s up to you to consult with your doctor, do your homework and see what’s best for you.