Nutritional Guidelines Should Include Supplements, Says Doctor

The majority of Americans are not meeting the recommended daily intakes of a variety of vitamins and minerals. A recent report from Dr. Balz Feri of the Linus Pauling Institute calls attention to the fact that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) continues to advocate for a healthy diet and refuses to recommend supplements to make up for what Americans not getting via diet alone.

According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 50% of Americans are not meeting the recommendations for vitamin A, 40% for vitamin C, more than 90% for vitamins D and E, 98% for potassium, 50% for calcium, and 60% for magnesium.

Dr. Feri says that the DGAC’s failing comes from their belief if people take supplements, they will not eat a healthy diet. He suggests that daily multivitamins could supplement a healthy diet, providing nutrients that people are not currently getting from their diet.

The doctor also questions the use of standard randomized clinical trials to measure the effects of supplementation. He claims they are not effective for assessing micronutrients for three reasons: the placement on the dose-response curve of each individual; the lack of a true placebo group; and the fact that participants in nutritional trials are often healthier than the average person.

Dr. Balz Frei spoke with Nutraingredients about this issue. It was published on their website on December 12, 2014.