Evidence from research suggests that a large proportion of the World’s population have vitamin, mineral and essential fatty acid deficiencies. In Western countries, food tends to be highly processed and nutrient poor but freely available and consumed in excess. The result of this is a population with nutrient deficiencies, the manifestation of which is the epidemic of obesity and obesity related diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In developing countries in contrast, food intakes tend to be nutrient rich unprocessed foods, but the diet lack variety, protein and total calories. This results in individuals with multiple nutrient deficiencies, the manifestation of which is poor immune system function which produces epidemics of infections diseases mainly of the respiratory tract. Evidence suggests that both groups can benefit from addition of vitamins and minerals to their diets.
Research published in the Journal of Nutrition in 20101 investigated the effects of a multi-nutrient formula on the resistance to disease in South African Children. The children were from a poor region of Pretoria and were admitted to hospital with either diarrhoea or pneumonia. The multi-nutrient supplement contained vitamins A, B complex, C, D, E and folic acid as well as copper, iron and zinc at levels based on the recommended guidelines. The supplements were given to one group daily for the duration of stay in the hospital, but another group received a placebo. The results showed that the duration of stay in hospital was shorter for those subjects given the multivitamin supplement (7.3 days) compared to those taking the placebo (9 days). Hospital stays were 1.6 days shorter and 1.9 days shorter for children with diarrhoea and pneumonia respectively, if given a multivitamin and mineral.
It is becoming increasingly apparent that the importance of vitamins and minerals in humans health has been underestimated. The mainstream still hold the view that vitamins and certain minerals prevent the development of a number of clearly defined clinical deficiency diseases. Examples include scurvy and beriberi caused by a deficiency of vitamin C and thiamine respectively. However, beyond these clear cut distinctive deficiency diseases, there exists a large number of sub-clinical disorders that result from borderline micronutrient insufficiencies that in themselves are not enough to cause identifiable disease. Instead these micronutrient insufficiencies result in poor immunity, inflammation, behavioural issues and reproductive problems that often are diagnosed as having no clearly identifiable cause. Long term insufficiencies of selenium for example are now thought to greatly increase the risk of developing cancer, as demonstrated in the studies of the Henan province in China.
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