Do you take a lot of supplements? They may not do much of anything for you.
Lots of people take supplements like vitamins, fish oil, and magnesium, but Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Health and Wellness spokesperson Shanthi Apello says don’t just start taking them on your own.
“It’s really important to talk to your doctor for a couple reasons,” Appelo said. “They’re going to know your medical history. They’re going to have a good look at your labs and there are some people who have deficiencies or health issues where supplements are warranted. But when we look at research, there’s actually not a lot of strong research at kind of a populationwide longer term studies that find that they’re very effective.”
Appelo says one study of 400,000 adults found there really wasn’t a connection between taking a multivitamin and lowering your risk of death.
Appelo says supplements aren’t regulated, so we don’t always know what’s in them. She says some can interact with your prescribed medication, so it’s always best to run it by your doctor.
