Читать книгу Pathy's Principles and Practice of Geriatric Medicine - Группа авторов - Страница 432

Vitamins and minerals perform essential metabolic and physiologic functions in the body, can be obtained from a wide variety of foods, and also can be consumed as supplements when insufficiently supplied from diet alone or when therapeutic doses are needed. Frank micronutrient deficiencies produce classic deficiency syndromes and clearly should be treated. Marginally deficient intakes over time can also lead to suboptimal outcomes in a variety of systems and should be corrected. Users of supplements of vitamins and minerals, such as MVMs, are less likely than nonusers to be deficient in several micronutrients.¹³ Along with a healthy dietary pattern, a daily MVM may be a practical way to compensate for shortfalls in micronutrient intakes.^4,13 Supplements of various vitamins and minerals generally have not been beneficial in primary prevention of chronic diseases. The development and progression of chronic diseases occur over decades, so it is unlikely that a few years of supplementation in late life will prevent diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.