No significant benefits for women's health vitamin supplements do not carry, as it turned out in the course of scientific research. But the danger to life is.

A group of scientists from the University of East Finland and the University of Minnesota conducted a survey that covered more than 40,000 women, predominantly overcoming the 60-year boundary. All of them daily took multivitamins containing folic acid, zinc, copper or tablets with vitamin B6. A 20-year follow-up showed that these women have an increased risk of death compared to those who did not take vitamin supplements.

Especially significant was the situation in women taking iron supplements - in this case, the risk of premature death increased particularly high. But the reception of tablets with calcium, on the contrary, reduced this danger. However, scientists emphasize that the direct connection of vitamin supplements with premature death is not proven. Just accepting them, people often already had any life-threatening illnesses.

However, to take vitamin supplements is still recommended only to those women who suffer from a pronounced deficiency of a substance in the body. Scientific research has not found any arguments in favor of the preventive intake of these supplements.

Scientists emphasize that there is no reason to recommend vitamin or mineral supplements on the principle of "the more the better", that is, as a measure that prevents illness in people who do not have problems with a balanced diet.

But, as the study published in The Archives of Internal Medicine notes aptly, the vitamin and mineral supplement industry produces a turnover of $ 20 billion per year in only one American. Almost half of the population buys these supplements.

nedug. en.