NutraIngredients.com alerted me to a study by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, the main trade group for the dietary supplement industry.
Its conclusion: 77% of American adults say they take dietary supplements.
Here are selected results.
Who Takes Dietary Supplements? 77 percent of U.S. adults take dietary supplements.
- 79 percent of female adults
- 74 percent of male adults
- 81 percent of adults 35 – 54
- 79 percent of adults 55+
- 83 percent of adults with children under 18 in the household
- 68 percent of adults without employment
- 73 percent of adults who live in the Northeast
- 80 percent of adults who live in the South
Everybody takes this stuff, apparently. What are they taking?
What to say?
I wish we had better evidence—how about any evidence—that supplements make healthy people healthier, but we do not.
Supplements, as far as I can tell, are about nutritional magic.
Whatever works, I guess.
In the meantime, NutraIngredients cites data that the dietary supplement market was worth nearly $125 bilion in 2018.
Impressive.
For the record: I don’t take supplements. I prefer my nutrients from food and sunshine.