In a new study, researchers found nutrients from real food, not dietary supplements, are linked to lower risks for cancer and death.
This is no link between dietary supplement use and a lower risk of death.
This finding suggests that a healthy diet is very important for long and healthy life. In addition, people need to pay attention to the sources of their nutrients.
The research was conducted by a team from Tufts University.
In the study, the team used a nationally representative sample comprised of data from more than 27,000 U.S. adults ages 20 and older.
They focused on the link between dietary supplement use and death from all causes, heart disease and cancer.
They examined whether adequate or excess nutrient intake was linked to death and whether intake from food versus supplement sources had any effect on the associations.
The researchers found that adequate intakes of vitamin K and magnesium were linked to a lower risk of death.
In addition, adequate intakes of vitamin A, vitamin K, and zinc were linked to a lower risk of death from CVD, and excess intake of calcium was linked to higher risk of death from cancer.
The results also showed that the use of vitamin D supplements by people with no vitamin D deficiency may be linked to a higher risk of death from all causes including cancer.
The team also examined the sources of nutrient intake (food vs. supplement) and found that the lower risk of death linked to adequate vitamin K and magnesium was limited to nutrients from foods, not from supplements.
In addition, the lower risk of death from heart disease linked to adequate vitamin A, vitamin K, and zinc was limited to nutrients from foods, not from supplements.
The calcium intake from the supplement of at least 1,000 mg/day was linked to a higher risk of death from cancer. Importantly, there was no link for calcium intake from foods.
The researchers also found that dietary supplements cannot lower death risk in people with low nutrient intake.
The researchers suggest that nutrients from foods could provide more health benefits than that from supplements.
Future work needs to confirm these findings and examine how prevalence and dosage of dietary supplements could influence people’s health.
The lead author of the study is Fang Fang Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
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