Fact or fiction: Do the most popular health supplements work or are Americans WASTING their money?

Nearly four in five Americans take supplements daily to help with a range of ailments, from stress, brittle bones and insomnia.

But do these “super pills” really do what they say on the label or are Americans spending hundreds of dollars unnecessarily every year?

Nutritionists warn that in many cases there is little evidence that a supplement has the prescribed health benefit it claims.

Below, DailyMail.com examined the five most popular supplements – based on Google searches and compiled by Total Shape, an online fitness center – to determine which ones work and which ones might be depriving their user.

Ashwagandha

This plant has recently taken TikTok by storm with claims that it can do everything from relieve stress and anxiety to help one sleep and fight menopause.

Taken once or twice a day as a pill with crushed roots, experts say it contains withanolides — compounds that can reduce inflammation.

Some also suggest that these may help suppress the release of dopamine in the brain, helping to curb stress.

a meta-analysis in 2022, looking at 12 studies, 1,000 people discovered a possible link between taking the supplement and reduced stress.

However, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) says the supplement “may be effective” in relieving stress, but warns that more research is needed.

The NCCIH also said there was “limited evidence” that the supplement might improve testosterone and sperm quality.

The organization also said there was “not enough evidence” to support additional claims that ashwagandha improves brain health and athletic performance or helps with health conditions, including asthma, diabetes and menopause.

Nutritionists say the supplement is safe to use but should not be taken routinely due to the risk of side effects such as diarrhea and vomiting.

People who have thyroid problems, autoimmune conditions or are pregnant should steer clear, they add.

creatine

This powder was recently named America’s second most popular supplement and is the most used by athletes.

It is popular in the group both for its ability to boost energy – helping muscles work harder – and to improve recovery – which promotes growth.

Science suggests that this supplement can help people improve their strength and grow muscle faster.

A separate 2022 meta-analysis analyzing 12 studies found the supplement to be “an efficient form of supplementation” for muscle growth in a healthy young population.

There have also been suggestions that creatine may help with brain function in people aged 60 and over, although evidence for this remains ‘limited’.

From the little research on this claim, a piece of paper involving 30 people who took creatine four times a day for a week showed significant improvements in brain function. But the sample was too small to draw firm conclusions about the supplement’s effects.

magnesium

This “super pill” is said to help with a wide variety of conditions, from muscle aches to migraines and low energy.

It occurs naturally in foods such as spinach, nuts, salmon and beef.

Experts say that those following a balanced diet should get enough from these sources and not need to take an additional supplement.

But many still take it both to avoid deficiency and to reap the benefits of its purported health benefits.

Explaining this, Dr Bruce Bistrian of Harvard Medical School said: ‘Magnesium supplements are sometimes marketed as “super pills” that can help a long list of ailments, such as muscle tension, low energy and sleep problems in people with a sufficiently full body. magnesium.’

However, he added: “The evidence to support the claims is simply not there.”

Some nutritionists suggest that taking magnesium can help athletes fight muscle cramps because the nutrient is used by muscles to help them contract and, when not enough is available, can cause cramps.

Studies on nearly 400 pregnant women support this claim, showing that magnesium may help the group avoid leg cramps, especially at night.

But in groups of older adults, a 2012 systematic review failed to find the same evidence, saying there was no difference in cramps between the groups taking the supplements and not.

Scientists have generally concluded that taking magnesium supplements is safe.

Melatonin

In today’s busy world, it can be difficult to fall asleep.

To help remedy the problem, one in four American adults — or a quarter of the population — takes melatonin tablets occasionally or regularly.

Melatonin is naturally produced in the brain when sunlight fades to promote feelings of sleepiness.

Melatonin supplements claim to stimulate this process and may help reduce the amount of time it takes to fall asleep, as well as the time a person stays asleep.

Once ingested, the supplements are absorbed into the bloodstream within 30 minutes and travel to the brain. However, only about 2.5 to 50 percent of the melatonin in the pill reaches the organ.

The NCCIH says there is “not enough strong evidence” to suggest that the pills can help someone with insomnia, or someone who routinely has trouble falling asleep.

In cases where science has discovered a potential benefit, such as when someone has trouble sleeping at normal hours, researchers say there’s not enough evidence that the risks outweigh the benefits.

One such potential risk is dementia. Research from a 2022 study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease involving 3,000 people found that those who routinely took the supplement were more likely to get the disease. Some articles have also suggested that those exposed to higher doses were more likely to get the disease.

Vitamin D

This vitamin, normally sourced from sunlight, gained popularity during the Covid pandemic amid claims that it could protect a person from infection.

Today, nearly one in five adults continues to take the supplement — in a $638 million market — for its purported health benefits, which may include its ability to strengthen bones.

Vitamin D is produced naturally when the body is exposed to sunlight, with adults needing only 10 to 15 minutes a day to get the daily recommended dose.

Experts say everyone should get enough of this vitamin naturally every day, even through exposure to overcast skies in winter.

It has been suggested that the vitamin may help strengthen bones by increasing the amount of calcium the body absorbs.

However, large studies do not suggest that taking vitamin D strengthens bones in healthy middle-aged and older adults, with the VITAL study – a large trial involving 25,000 people and being conducted by Harvard to test the benefits of vitamin D – supplementation – the most important is not. to find a link.

In 2019, some scientists even pointed the other way — suggesting that too much vitamin D could reduce bone density.

There is also limited evidence to support claims that the vitamin helped protect against Covid, with the National Institutes of Health saying there is “no evidence” that it prevents infections.

Summarizing the evidence, Dr. Neha Vyas, a family physician at the Cleveland Clinic CNBC this was a ‘very tricky subject’.

‘There really is no consensus in the literature. There are no large-scale good studies on vitamin D without a conflict of interest.’