Americans using more vitamin and mineral supplements

Vegetarian Journal, July-August, 2004 by Reed Mangels

More than one-third of American adults use vitamin and mineral supplements daily, a marked increase from 23.7 percent in 1992. Supplement users tend to be women and older people, and they tend to live in the West and Northeast. Daily use of vitamins A, C, and E has also increased compared to previous surveys. Calcium use has increased in the past 8 years, with 11 percent of respondents using daily calcium supplements. American adults are also using herbal and botanical supplements more often. About 6 percent of adults in the U.S. use this type of supplement daily; 14.5 percent used an herbal or botanical supplement sometime in the past year.

Millen AE, Dodd KW, Subar AF. 2004. Use of vitamin, mineral, nonvitamin, and nonmineral supplements in the United States: The 1987, 1992, and 2000 National Health Interview Survey results. J Am Diet Assoc 104:942-50.