- With Mayo Clinic nutritionists
Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
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Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Katherine Zeratsky and Jennifer Nelson
Jennifer K. Nelson, M.S., R.D., L.D., C.N.S.D.
Jennifer Nelson is your link to a better diet. As specialty editor of the Food & Nutrition Center, she plays a vital role in bringing you healthy recipes and meal planning."Nutrition is one way people have direct control over the quality of their lives," she says. "I hope to translate the science of nutrition into ways that people can select and prepare great-tasting foods that help maintain health and treat disease."
A St. Paul, Minn., native, she is certified by the National Board of Nutrition Support Certification, has been with Mayo Clinic since 1978, and is director of clinical dietetics and an associate professor of nutrition at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
She leads clinical nutrition efforts for a staff of more than 50 clinical dietitians and nine dietetic technicians and oversees staffing, strategic and financial planning, and quality improvement. Nelson was co-editor of the James Beard Foundation Award-winning "The New Mayo Clinic Cookbook." She has been a contributing author to and reviewer of many Mayo Clinic books, including "Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight for EveryBody," "The Mayo Clinic Family Health Book" and "The Mayo Clinic/Williams Sonoma Cookbook." She contributes to the strategic direction of the Food & Nutrition Center, which includes creating recipes and menus, reviewing nutrition content of various articles, and answering nutrition questions posed to Ask a Specialist.
Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
As a specialty editor for the Food & Nutrition Center, Katherine Zeratsky helps you sort through the facts and figures, the fads and the hype to learn more about nutrition and diet.A Marinette, Wis., native, she is certified in dietetics by the state of Minnesota and the American Dietetic Association. She has been with Mayo Clinic since 1999.
She is active in nutrition-related curriculum and course development in pediatrics at Mayo Clinic Rochester and nutrition education related to the physiology and recommended intakes for premature infants.
Other areas of interest include breast milk and formula safety, neonatal feeding, and nutrition for breast-feeding mothers.
She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served a dietetic internship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, and worked as a registered dietitian and health risk counselor at ThedaCare of Appleton, Wis., before joining the Mayo Clinic staff.
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Nutrition-wise blog
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March 6, 2008
Multivitamins — Are they the best thing for you?
By Jennifer Nelson, M.S., R.D. and Katherine Zeratsky, R.D.
Do you take a multivitamin? Or a single vitamin, mineral, or combination supplement? If so, you are in the company of tens of millions of U.S. adults.
Why do you take them? Most people say it makes them feel healthier or they believe it will prevent chronic diseases, or colds and flu. But you may be surprised to know that what is in your bottle and on the label is not strictly regulated. And there is no system in place to collect reports of adverse affects.
Over the past few years there has been increasing evidence that multivitamins and single or combination type vitamin/mineral supplements may not provide the health benefit sought by you, the consumer. In some cases the opposite or no beneficial effects have been reported.
Alarming to think that vitamin or mineral supplements could actually cause more harm than good. An example of this is the use of beta carotene by smokers actually increased the incidence of lung cancer. This is echoed by a recent study out of the University of Washington that reports the use of multivitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E and folate did not reduce the risk of lung cancer.
It is not all bad news though; there are studies to support the use of folate (folic acid) prior to and during pregnancy in the prevention of neural tube defects in the developing fetus. And history has proven that vitamins and minerals play a critical role in our health — the reason we know about the benefits of vitamins and minerals in food is because of the major discoveries in disease prevention such as vitamin C and scurvy and thiamine, a B vitamin, and beri beri (a wasting type disease).
This may leave you wondering if those vitamin mineral supplements in your medicine cabinet are doing what they should or even worth your money.
Let's look at this way — do you eat a well balanced diet? If so, you may not need a multivitamin and if you take one as a "safety net" know that you may exceed what your body needs or can use.
Are you concerned about a chronic disease? If so, making changes in your diet and exercise habits, not smoking and following through with recommended screenings by your physician are more likely to benefit your overall health picture.
Consider your current state of health, talk to your doctor and/or dietitian, and weigh the possible benefits and risks of a multivitamin and mineral supplement for you.
To your health,
Katherine
16 comments posted
September 8, 2009 12:18 a.m.
The study in Nutrition Journal ( http://www.nutritionj.com/content/6/1/30 ) noted by Toni merely says that people who take vitamins have more vitamins in their bloodstream. If you read the article, you'll see that the so-called "biomarkers" they found in supplement users' blood are the vitamins themselves. The article says nothing about "better health" of supplement users, except certain cases of self-assessed health that were not statistically significant. The article comes to no clear or strong conclusion about anything, really. This doesn't mean that supplements are useless, but rather that the long-term data show unclear results.
- Howard
February 21, 2009 9:25 p.m.
Since we have a hand-free axes to by any kind of nutrition supplements in a market, chances are that we can harm our self much easier than helping our self. In the old countries, where these opportunities do not exist, people eat less but natural food and live longer, happier and active life. In modernized countries, we look for supplements to move us from couch. If is for me ,brothers and sisters; boil and don't broil- even the oil(don't fry). Never fill your stomack in full. Vitamins in morning- minerals in evening and high protein- the last after meal, followed by cold water drink. No starch, no sugar- if you want to live longer. Today stay away from the food which bothered you yesterday. If your tongue is white in morning - you ate bad food in evening. TO BEFIT DOCTORS AND NUTRITION CORPORATES -JUST IGNORE MY COMMENTS. TO BENEFIT YOUR SELF, LIVE THOSE SULFATES IN THEIR SHELFS. Se you in a great health!
- luigi
July 26, 2008 6:13 p.m.
I don't believe in a so called healthy diet,overcooking,processing,pesticdes,the list goes on,but all add to getting little or no benefits from any vitamin content contained in food,better a multivitamin if in doubt ask at any reputable health shop,most medical professionals frown upon supplements,saying that a balanced diet is better for you,it,s too difficult in this day and age to get this,most people opt for quick meals,fast foods, which have little or no vitamins in them you could never assess exactly what you get from food properly in any case.
- stuart fraser
July 14, 2008 11:33 a.m.
I have an excess of iron and calcium detected from blood tests - what causes this and how is it treated?
- cindy
May 2, 2008 6:13 a.m.
I BELIEVED THAT SOME MULTIVITAMINS ARE VERY EFFECTIVE,BASSED ON YOUR RESEACH, CAN YOU OUTLINE THOSE MULTIVITAMINE THAT ARE EFFECTIVE TO HUMAN HEALTH?.
- GERALD
March 30, 2008 8:58 p.m.
Check out the Landmark Study in Nutrition Journal, an online, peer-reviewed international human nutrition journal. The study, entitled Usage Patterns, Health, and Nutritional Status of Long-Term Multiple Dietary Supplement Users, is the first-ever study on long-term users of multiple dietary supplements, and found these users comparatively to have markedly better health as measured by higher blood levels of key nutrients and more optimal levels of key health biomarkers. This simply confirms that long-term consumers of specific whole food supplements have better health than the two comparison groups—those who used just a multivitamin and those who use no supplements at all. Publication of the Landmark study in Nutrition Journal ensures free and universal access to the manuscript thus enabling immediate communication of these important Landmark study research findings to and from virtually any place in the world. The study will also be indexed in PubMed Central, a free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature published by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) ensuring broad based availability of the study manuscript. This publication offers incredible support and enhancement to scientific credibility. If anyone would like a copy, I would be happy to send one. To the best of health, Antoinette
- Toni
March 26, 2008 3:34 p.m.
I don't know why anyone feels the need to cite the beta carotene study regarding smokers.If a person smokes they shouldn't expect any results from supplements because they shouldn't be smoking and talking about health in the same sentence. Nothing good comes from smoking and the havoc it causes to every system of the body. Beta carotene is not bad but in a smokers body it might be- but that's because they smoke!! Most americans are fat, stressed out and unhealthy and could certainly use a multivitamin not to mention a few other supplements.
- karen
March 26, 2008 8:36 a.m.
Seriously, who wants to take another pill or more? Natural forms of vitamins in minerals found in food work much better with one another than taking isolated forms of vitamins and minerals. For good health we all should be eating balanced meals most of the time. That way we do get the right amount of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. Of course there are specific cases when people who are truly deficient of a certain vitamin and/or mineral with need to use supplements.
- Susie
March 18, 2008 1:53 p.m.
"'You're obviously being paid by the "sickness industry" and not the "wellness industry." -End of Comment'" Wow, Tim. You seem to be a rather unscientific thinker. I for one am glad that people with real expertise on nutrition (dieticians) are willing to put out unbiased, scientifically valid advice like this for us. As for not promoting "wellness," do you not think that citing the evidence that supports the potential harm of supplements is done in the name of promoting wellness? The careful methods of science have done more for human wellness than anything else I can think of.
- Rob
March 14, 2008 8:23 p.m.
I take Vibe, a liquid supplement, for vitamins and antioxidants, and Efacor for Omega3s every day, and I am sure they do improve my overall health.
- Dave
16 comments posted