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TIL taking a multivitamin daily increases mortality risk by 4% (piefed.zip)
submitted 6 days ago by MindfulMaverick@piefed.zip to c/todayilearned@lemmy.ml
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A massive NIH study of nearly 400,000 adults over 20 years found that daily multivitamin users had a 4% higher mortality risk compared to non-users. The research showed no mortality benefit whatsoever—contradicting the belief that multivitamins serve as health "insurance". Interestingly, multivitamin users typically had healthier lifestyles overall, yet still showed increased risk.

For healthy adults without diagnosed deficiencies, the healthiest nutrients come from food sources, not processed pills. Some specific concerns include potential buildup of excess iron or niacin from daily use. This reinforces that supplementation should be targeted and evidence-based, not indiscriminate.

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[-] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

What about specific vitamins? Eg D, B12

[-] Carnelian@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

I was reading some breakdown recently, forget if it was the CDC or whoever, but basically they found that the vast majority of Americans were totally good on vitamin D when tested despite survey results indicating people didn’t get enough from their diet generally. This was attributed to sun exposure

Then I looked it up and in many cases you get your full dose of vitamin D from the sun in literally a few minutes lol. Honestly I think the whole supplement industry in general is just a very successful scam

Edit: found it, section of note is vitamin d intakes and status.

evidence suggests that the majority of people have sufficient serum concentrations of vitamin D based on the thresholds set by the Food and Nutrition Board

If your doctor literally told you to take it then that’s great. The constant fear mongering among the general public about supplements is the scam

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

[-] CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone 12 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

In the PNW, it's difficult to get sunny days for large parts of the winter. Plus, the sun in December is only up for like 5 or 6 hours, so if you have an indoor job, it's likely that you'll go to it when the sun is down and leave when it's already dark.

[-] FishFace@piefed.social 3 points 5 days ago

If you're white you probably still get enough, especially if you consume dairy. If you have dark skin and live in more northern latitudes, there's a higher chance of deficiency.

[-] TheLeadenSea@sh.itjust.works 8 points 6 days ago

I don't know about that, I do know that I'm from the UK and I got tested and was actually deficient on vitamin D (and B12, but that's because of my diet)

[-] khannie@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Yeah incidents of rickets are actually increasing in northern latitudes, especially among darker skinned folks as they need more sun exposure than shiny white people. In the winter in Ireland / UK it's basically impossible to get enough sun exposure to make enough.

Also minimum levels necessary to avoid rickets don't mean optimal levels.

I would love to see a separate study on vitamin D supplementation.

this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2026
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