65% of these respondents think one cannot overdose on any health supplements
Inshorts conducted a poll to assess the public sentiment around health supplements consumption to boost their immunity. As the scare amidst Omicron variant spikes in India, the survey was aimed to understand the perspective of millennials around vitamin consumption.
Out of the one lakh respondents who participated in the survey, 22% of them were active consumers of some form of health supplements. Amongst these consumers, about 58% started taking health supplements without consulting a doctor and 65% believe that people can’t overdose on supplements.
As per the results, which mainly included millennials from Tier 1 cities, 42% of health supplement consumers voted that it was prescribed to them by a doctor. Among the 58% who take supplements without prescription include – 29% whom health supplements were recommended by friends and family, 15% consumed them for protection from coronavirus, 8% voted for news articles and 6% for ads and reviews for adding an extra health supplement to their daily routine.
When being asked what prompted these health supplement users to start the consumption, 37% of them cited boosting immunity as the primary reason.
Vitamins do play a vital role in maintaining good health. However, experts are raising concerns about excessive and negligent consumption of vitamins without a doctor’s advice. Some vitamins can be harmful if not taken under proper guidance.
Dr Jagadish Hiremath, CEO, ACE Suhas Hospital, said, “Vitamin C, D, E, and Zinc are not proven immune boosters as is being claimed. There is no need for supplements when we know they can cause problems of hypervitaminosis and toxicity.”