Well, that's the topic of this week's Wednesday Checkup.

Hit that intro.

Odds are, you're probably wasting your money if you're taking a supplement.

Here's why.

I just partnered with the American Osteopathic Association to conduct a Harris Poll, where we found that 86% of Americans are taking a vitamin or supplement,

and only about 20% actually tested positive for nutritional deficiency.

Now, this confirms something I've known in my heart all along,

that people are taking these supplements unnecessarily.

Where does this craze come from?

I think this obsession with vitamins comes from the constant need to improve our performance, this unrealistic body image that's pushed on us everywhere.

I mean, if you just go on Instagram, the unrealistic figures that people have is crazy to me.

Most of it is plastic surgery, Photoshop or FaceTune, or maybe sometimes performance-enhancing drugs,

but what marketers do is they prey on your insecurity; they sell you products with unproven claims.

I mean, how many times have you seen "boost your immune system", "build muscle", "fast abs", "six hours of continuous energy" on a label?

This happens all the time, and I have a serious problem with that.

What upsets me most is when I see health professionals transform into IKA experts.

The epidemic of the "I know all" expert.

There are too many of these experts out there, claiming to have all of the answers when the rest of the scientific community has questions.

While I agree with this guy, there are certain instances where evidence shows that vitamin supplementation is beneficial.

If your doctor tells you you have very low levels of Vitamin D, it makes sense to supplement.

If you have a chronic health condition, like a malabsorption syndrome where you can't actively absorb vitamins, it also makes sense to take one.

In pregnancy, or if you're even thinking about getting pregnant, I recommend to my patients to take a prenatal supplement.

And if you're following a restrictive diet⏤I'm talking to you vegans out there⏤I also do recommend supplementation in that case.

Hold up, hold up, hold up, hold up.

Odds are, you don't have one of these health conditions.

Odds are, your doctor didn't tell you to be taking a supplement.

So, let's get into it and talk about the harms of taking these.

First of all, most vitamins have minimal proof, if any, of benefit.

You're spending money, but for what?

I guess if you really want expensive urine.

Vitamins really give you this false reassurance where you may say,

"Aw, I don't need to eat these vegetables; I'm going to take a multivitamin".

It doesn't work that way.

You're better off spending your time and effort on changing your lifestyle in other meaningful ways.

Surprisingly, some supplements have even been shown to decrease the effectiveness of very common medications like insulin or Xanax, so you have to be really careful.

It's pretty rare to get toxicity of water soluble vitamins,

but for fat soluble vitamins D, E, K, A, you can get yourself into trouble with toxicity because they can build up in your fat stores.

The biggest risk when it comes to taking vitamins is the unknown.

I know that sounds kind of funny.

It actually sounds like a movie title.

No, no, no.

In all seriousness, the FDA does not check this.

Companies don't need to prove the safety or effectiveness of the product that they're selling.

I can, right now, create a supplement sitting right here, pour it into little capsules, go and sell it in the store, and it's perfectly legal.

Consumer lab has done testing and found that the ingredients inside many supplements don't match what's said on the label.

Proprietary blends of weight loss formulas have been found to be toxic to the liver.

And some scary articles have been coming out showing taking high doses of certain vitamins increases risks of cancer.

My bottom line when it comes to vitamins is:

If your doctor recommended them for you or you have a medical necessity, continue taking them.

But if you want to take them "just to stay healthy" or you're having some kind of symptom that you're ready to blame on a vitamin deficiency,

talk to your doctor first, 'cause that's usually not the case.

And, as any honest doctor will tell you, while we know a lot about vitamins, there's a lot more that we don't know.

So, anyone claiming to have all the answers is usually full of it.

Stay happy and healthy.