Study Confirms that Vitamins No Substitute For Food

An eight-year study of 161,808 postmenopausal women found similar results as a study in men: that vitamin pills don't significantly reduce likelihood of cancer or heart disease. Researchers came to the obvious conclusion that people should "get nutrients from food. Whole foods are better than dietary supplements."

To oversimplify the matter, there are three major reasons why vitamins have little effect. 1) fruits, vegetables and other whole foods have vitamins as just one of the health-giving ingredients, and the body needs all of them together; 2) vitamins are viewed as a substitute for fruits and vegetables, and people are eating unhealthy displacement foods instead of produce; and 3) vitamin supplements tend to be inferior to vitamins as it appears in whole foods.