Multivitamins? What are they good for? Apparently absolutely nuthin'.

Longitudinal studies on multivitamins are returning empty-handed. The LAT had a similar story that I posted on 12/21. This is from the Huff Post, but that doesn't mean it's quackery. I hope these trials will chip away at the reductive thinking that vitamins are a cure-all.

Huff Post: Multivitamins did Nothing to Prevent Cancer, Heart Disease in Older Women
The findings in the Archives of Internal Medicine

"The largest study ever of multivitamin use in older women found the pills did nothing to prevent common cancers or heart disease. The eight-year study in 161,808 postmenopausal women echoes recent disappointing vitamin studies in men.

Millions of Americans spend billions of dollars on vitamins to boost their health. Research has focused on cancer and heart disease in particular because of evidence that diets full of vitamin-rich foods may protect against those illnesses. But that evidence doesn't necessarily mean pills are a good substitute. [emphasis mine]

The study's lead author, researcher Marian Neuhouser of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, offered this advice: "Get nutrients from food. Whole foods are better than dietary supplements," Neuhouser said."