Magic Bullets or Modern Snake Oil? #2

Widespread Confusion

Unfortunately, right along with the enthusiastic public acceptance of dietary supplements has also come a great deal of confusion. The dizzying array of product claims, marketing pitches and late night testimonials is understandably bewildering to consumers, health professionals and even nutritionists/dieticians. In many cases, a substantial percentage of potential supplement users (people who might have benefited from a judicious use of supplements), have instead become so confused that they’ve decided to forgo supplement usage at all.

This is unfortunate, because for many people, the regular use of certain nutritional supplements can be a cost-effective strategy for both promoting short-term health and reducing longer-term disease risks. A large and growing body of scientific evidence exists to show a clear health benefit of certain dietary supplements, such as calcium and vitamin D for bone health, folic acid for preventing neural tube defects, and B-complex vitamins for reducing the risk of heart disease. However, the relationship between other dietary supplements and purported health benefits is less clear, such as the equivocal evidence for the effects of vitamin E and fiber in preventing heart disease and colon cancer, respectively. Likewise, the scientific evidence is conflicting on the potential role of antioxidant nutrients, such as vitamin C, selenium and beta-carotene in the prevention of certain cancers and in slowing the very process of aging itself.

Continued tomorrow:


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