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In an ideal world, no one would need dietary supplements. Our balanced diets would provide all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients our bodies need. Alas, the world of American eating is far from ideal. And that, some nutrition experts and supplement advocates argue, is why we need dietary supplements. The latest federal data show that more than half of U.S. adults use dietary supplements, mostly multivitamins.
Nutrition experts argue that people need only the recommended daily allowance â the amount of vitamins found in a routine diet. Vitamin manufacturers argue that a regular diet doesnât contain enough vitamins, and that more is better. Most people assume that, at the very least, excess vitamins canât do any harm. It turns out, however, that scientists have known for years that large quantities of supplemental vitamins can be quite harmful indeed.