Why are some doctors against nutritional supplements?

There are several reasons doctors might be against nutritional supplements. Most experts recommend that people get their nutrients from food rather than supplements. One reason is it's more pleasant to eat something than pop a pill -- the simple pleasure of eating food rather than taking a pill.

Foods also contain a greater variety of nutrients in one package. For example, you might take a pill with the same amount of vitamin C as an orange -- but by eating the orange, you're also consuming fiber, water, small amounts of calcium and protein, a nice punch of potassium and several antioxidants that could potentially help you fight disease. Also, it's hard to overdose on a nutrient by eating foods that contain it, but it's relatively easy to take too much of a single nutrient in supplement form, and too much so certain nutrients could have potentially dangerous side effects.

Finally, research on the benefits of supplements is mixed. Although there's good evidence to support some recommendations for them (for example, that pregnant women should take folic acid to prevent birth defects), the evidence in other cases is less strong. For example, an expert panel put together by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reviewed studies on multivitamins and concluded there wasn't enough evidence to recommend for or against their use in the prevention of chronic disease. For more information about supplements, talk to your doctor.