Supplements No Substitute for Healthy Diet

Oct. 29, 2010 — -- Entire stores, grocery store aisles and websites are dedicated to helping you find the right combination of vitamins and supplements -- the kinds you swallow, the kinds you chew and the kinds you drink.

Although 44 percent of Americans say they use supplements every day -- helping to create the $25 billion dollar industry, many don't understand why they take them or whether they need to take them at all.

Some supplement labels claim that what's inside the products will help guard against illness. Others boldly claim that you're not getting enough nutrients in a day. But for many, supplements may not be the answer to staying healthy.

"If we really look at the data on vitamins and minerals, there isn't a whole lot there," said Dr. Donald Hensrud, associate professor of Nutrition and Preventive Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Still, websites by well-known alternative health experts say answers to a few quick online questions about yourself will help them determine a personal combination of supplements that are right for you.

ABC News' chief health and medical editor, Dr. Richard Besser, decided to try a few websites.

"I'm 51 and I'm in good health," said Besser. "I'm a very healthy eater and have a very diverse diet."

In fact, Besser's primary care physician, Dr. Jill Silverman, said Besser did not need vitamins or supplements.

"If you have a varied diet and you're eating fruits and vegetables, you should get all the vitamins through your diet," said Silverman. "Otherwise, I just think you're just wasting your money if you're taking anything extra, and potentially doing some harm."

According to Keith Ayoob, director of the nutrition clinic at the Rose R. Kennedy Center at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y., it is possible to overdose on vitamins.

"If you take too much of one, you might offset how another one works," said Ayoob. "Sometimes, minerals don't mix well together."