Vitamins: How Many Americans Use Them?

ATLANTA — About half of U.S. adults take vitamins and other dietary supplements – a level that's been holding steady for much of the past decade, new government figures show.

But the data also show a booming number of older women are taking calcium.

Federal officials released figures Wednesday showing that the use of dietary supplements has grown since the early 1990s when it was about 42 percent. The data shows use leveled off in 2003 through 2008, with about half of adults 20 and older taking at least one dietary supplement.

The biggest change was for calcium. Two-thirds of women 60 and older take it, up from 28 percent in the early 1990s.

Experts note the ranks of the elderly have been growing, and include many women who have been encouraged for years to take calcium to help protect against osteoporosis.

The information comes from national, in-home surveys in 1988-1994 and 2003-2008. The surveys in the past decade included more than 2,000 people each year. Interviewers not only asked participants what supplements they took, but also asked to see the bottles to verify their answers.

Use of multivitamins – the most popular supplement – crept up to nearly 40 percent.

Most people who take vitamins and other supplements are educated, have good incomes, eat pretty well and already get the nutrients they need from their diets, the surveys suggests.

"It's almost like the people who are taking them aren't the people who need them," said Regan Bailey, a nutritional epidemiologist with the National Institutes of Health.

Federal surveys have only recently started asking people why they take supplements, Bailey said.

The government supports some supplements as an option for certain people – such as iron for women who are pregnant, folic acid for women thinking of getting pregnant and calcium for older women.

But health officials say people should talk to their doctors first, and consider enriched foods that can accomplish the same goal.

Much of the new data is in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report released Wednesday.

___

Online:

CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs

Comments

[Kenz300]

12:02 AM on 05/29/2011

Take your vitamins and stay away from salt, sugar and fat. Exercise a little each day even if it is only taking a walk. You will feel better and might even be healthier.

[Anti-Panoptic]

05:49 PM on 05/17/2011

"But health officials say people should talk to their doctors first, and consider ENRICHED foods that can accomplish the same goals."
Like "enriched" flour in white bread?
Or "enriched" sugar?
Or "enriched" salt?

Since when have health officials and the FDA looked out for our best benefit?

Everyone needs to take vitamins.

[mikeh3875]

07:05 AM on 05/01/2011

i take a multivitamin,omega 3 fish oil,coq10 and magnesium every day.what originally got me started on vitamins was when i was prescribed lipitor for high cholesterol during a heart test.the original reason i went in for the heart test was palpitations.i researched lipitor and saw bad side affects.i searched for alternatives and i found fish oil helps fight cholesterol.not only did the fish oil help with cholesterol but it also helped me get rid of the palpitations.pretty much solved two problems with that one healthy choice.once i realized this i started taking a really good whole foods multivitamin.after this i started taking a magnesium supplement.i made the mistake like other people did in taking lots of calcium pills but i learned that wasn't really good.see its the magnesium that people need most.magnesium is among the most important nutrients you can take.

[Sayer Ji]

05:08 PM on 04/30/2011

Vitamin research is nolonger difficult to do. The US National Library of Medicine contains over 600K complementary medicine associated studies, with over 16K of the most compelling indexed for the public to view without charge here http://www.greenmedinfo.com. The vast majority of our 100 trillion cells turn over atom-by-atom, molecule-by-molecule within 100 days, which means that nothing could be more medically relevant than what we put in our mouths, breathe in or apply topically. Food and dietary supplements therefore are at the foundation of bodily health.

[Drmhp]

12:15 AM on 04/18/2011

Eating more fruits and vegetables including super foods such as spirolina will go a long way towards good health for the average American.

[ddanimal]

01:22 PM on 04/17/2011

Most people take low quality vitamins, and the wrong ones in the wrong forms.

The popularity of calcium supplements is a good example. Most people should not take calcium, because it induces a magnesium deficiency, which most americans already do not get enough of, and its not the correct nutrient to take for preventing osteoporosis. For that, vitamin K2 is the correct nutrient.

[Drmhp]

12:12 AM on 04/18/2011

K2 and Omega 3. You are so right about the calcium issue. My calcium kicks resulted in acute magnesium deficiencies that led to manic physical and mental energy spurts to the point I was having a rare type of seisure. Once I discovered the cause, magnesium supplements cured them. Will never take calcium again.

[John02050]

11:49 AM on 04/17/2011

Enzymes in certain foods can aid in the digestion and absorption of the nutrients in another food.

[birdsdofly]

10:23 AM on 04/17/2011

When's lady gaga coming out with her monster multivitamin? Dam people, EAT FOOD (with vitamins)

[Vanessa Ingraham]

04:52 PM on 05/16/2011

heehee good point! However, due to declining soil quality from decades of poor farming practices, our foods are notoriously mineral deficient. Adding sea salt/other highly mineralized salt ie pink Himalayan, sea vegetables (nori, dulse, spirulina-someone already mentioned that one) or a multi-mineral supplement is a great idea!

[beauley]

07:32 PM on 04/16/2011

Ever since the inrush of the American "Industrial Revolution", the nutritional value of the food we eat has been on the decline, even following the addition of vitamins and minerals to fortify our foods to offset the losses using artificial fertilizers.
Our Food is Quickly Loosing Its Nutritional Value
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2367354/our_food_is_quickly_loosing_its_nutritional.html?cat=5

[himaui]

03:52 PM on 04/17/2011

not only that, we're allergic or intolerant to so many of the foods out there, processed & frankenfoods.

it's a wonder if our soils and food ecosystems will ever recover.

[John02050]

08:26 AM on 04/15/2011

It's easy for any city apartment dweller to grow their own sprouts, salad greens, and baby potatoes organically year-round indoors while also composting food year-round indoors. Most people in urban areas have access to stores which provide frozen berries, which still retain a good portion of their nutrients, as well as hard cheeses and strained yogurt. Most people in urban areas have access to farmers markets. The food at Haymarket, a large farmers market in Boston, provides fresher produce than the supermarkets suburban dwellers on the Boston South Shore can purchase.

It's BS to say city dwellers need vitamins. It's BS to say vitamins are a neccessary part of a 'modern' diet. Stop trying to hock your wares and instead try spending your time empowering individuals by spreading true knowledge instead of attempting to capitalize on their ignorance.

[ddanimal]

01:42 PM on 04/17/2011

75% of americans are deficient in magnesium and vitamin B6. The number deficient is possibly higher with vitamin D.

[himaui]

03:58 PM on 04/17/2011

harsh.

doesn't matter if you're a city dweller or not. you're not taking into account all of the pollutants in water (such as flouride that inhibits iodine absorption in the thyroid, accumulates in the pineal gland), polluted air,and all of that crap in our toiletries and cleaning products. all pollution taxes the body, the kidneys & liver are burdened to protect the body and have to double up on vitamins and minerals to activate the enzymes to clear it all out.

yes, we do need more vitamins, minerals, and enzymes than the RDA recommends if we're going to survive in this polluted environment.

and how does your argument fit re: vitamin D, especially for those living in northern climates? lots of excellent research on vit D supplements heart health, and cancer preventative.

[LovingFit]

02:20 AM on 04/15/2011

I think vitamins in a modern nutrition is a MUST. Out food is drained of nutrients. I forgot the last time I ate a peach that tasted like a peach. So vitamins are just as important as drinking water. Follow my health and fitness blog http://www.lovingfit.com
Tatianna

[John02050]

04:22 PM on 04/14/2011

Heart disease is caused by diet. It is cured by diet. Some people have a hard time understanding simple stuff. Taking vitamins or supplements doesn't address the root cause of improper nutrition. Some people think it's all a matter of 'not enough' when generally speaking it's more a matter of too much bad stuff. People wouldn't need to counteract all their poor choices in diet with supplements if they simply made the effort to make proper choices in their diet in the first place.

For instance, all this talk that fish oil is great is only because it contains omega-3. Humans are supposed to have an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of about 1:1 or 3:1. Typical US diets have ratios of around 15:1, and can go up to even 100:1 in certain select diets. Saying the answer is to fill up on fish oil to throw the ratio back in balance instead of just eating the right balance directly seems either ignorant or lazy to me.

If one eats a balance of lean meat, vegetables, strained yogurt, berries, eggs, lactose-free cheese, nuts, and seeds, with no CAFOs or petrochemicals in production, no vitamins or supplements will ever be required.

[Drmhp]

12:16 AM on 04/18/2011

Sardines! Yum and no mercury in them.

[JGE2]

02:07 PM on 04/14/2011

From the article: "Most people who take vitamins and other supplements are educated, have good incomes, eat pretty well and already get the nutrients they need from their diets, the surveys suggests."

Really? Many scientists believe the typical western diet is more nutrient deficient than previously thought.

INADEQUATE MICRONUTRIENT STATUS IS MORE COMMON THAN EXPECTED: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145717.php


Multivitamins in particular have good science to support their use.

REGULAR MULTIVITAMIN USE REDUCES RISK OF HEART ATTACK BY 41%: http://www.wellnessresources.com/health/articles/regular_multiple_vitamin_use_reduces_risk_of_heart_attack_by_41/

[duffmt6]

03:00 PM on 04/14/2011

Interesting citations, although I have seen very conflicting studies on the effect of vitamin supplementation and lifespan. Some studies indicate multivitamins reduce life span. Take it for what it's worth.

I think most people would be better off getting rid of their multi and replacing with fish oil, unless their already consume a significant amount of seafood (or other source of omega-3s in their diet).

[ddanimal]

01:24 PM on 04/17/2011

All mass-market multivitamins are low quality and have the wrong nutrient forms in the wrong amounts (e.g. synthetic vitamin E). Its really not surprising that people taking low quality multivitamins would have problems with them.

[Longtallsally]

07:38 PM on 04/16/2011

Eat right and you won't need vitamins, the first study you quote was funded by Bayer.
Calcium supplements are dangerous.

[John02050]

01:51 PM on 04/14/2011

The difference in absorption between 'high-quality' and 'low-quality' vitamins is irrelevant when the lab vitamins don't function the same as their natural counterparts.

Only people with improper diet 'need' vitamins or supplements.

[ddanimal]

01:25 PM on 04/17/2011

Not true. For optimal health, high quality supplements are appropriate and beneficial.

[ddanimal]

01:40 PM on 04/17/2011

There is a world of difference between high quality and low quality supplements, and its not just absroption. A good example is vitamin E. the low quality synthetic form is made of a mixture of stereoisomers, most of which do not occur naturally. The more expensive natural version contains the proper mixture of 8 different forms of vitamin E. So, in the case of vitamin E, the low quality synthetic "vitamin E" is garbage that bears little resemblance to the correct beneficial natural form. Synthetic vitamin E ought to be illegal, IMO. But its not and it contaminates the food supply because its used as a food additive and vitamin supplement for animal feed etc.

Similar issues apply to other nutrients like lipoic acid, vitamin K, carotenes, etc.

[logicanada]

12:48 PM on 04/14/2011

For most people a proper diet doesn't require supplements.

[ddanimal]

01:27 PM on 04/17/2011

Not true. About 75% of americans are deficient in magnesium, which causes many different health problems. Modern foods have lower magnesium content compared to the same foods 100 years ago. I could on and on with the benefits and common deficiencies of other nutrients. So explain why supplements are not necessary?