Los Angeles, California - October 10, 2011
If you're medicine cabinet is filling up with dietary supplements, you'll want to hear the findings of a new study that may change your mind about taking all those pills.
New research finds taking dietary supplements like multi-vitamins does not make you live longer, in fact they could shorten your life. International doctors looked at nearly 40 thousand women around the age of 61 who took supplements. The taking of multivitamins, vitamin B6,
folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper, were associated with increased
risk of death.
"They are able to tell us use with multivitamins increased the relative
risk by 2.4 percent," said Dr. Lisa Ganjhu with St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital.
The association was strongest when it came to taking iron, but
researchers also found taking calcium supplements appears to reduce risk of
death.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than half
of U.S. adults take at least one supplement daily and those numbers are
increasing as we look for ways to stay healthy. Doctors say it's important to know what you're taking because too much of a good thing could be harmful.
"You're not doing yourself any good by overtaking supplements," Dr. Ganjhu said.
Doctors say eating right is still the best way for your body to absorb the vitamins and minerals you need.
Sandra Hughes - CBS News
