Multivitamins

Multivitamins are the most overrated supplement, generating over $8 billion annually despite failing to deliver meaningful benefits for most users. The Physicians' Health Study II, a landmark trial with 14,641 male physicians, found no reduction in cancer, heart attack, or stroke risk over 11 years of daily use. For people eating a reasonably balanced diet, these pills simply recycle expensive nutrients into urine—a 2013 Annals of Internal Medicine meta-analysis confirmed multivitamins do not reduce mortality in well-nourished populations. Compared to the average basic nutrition routine, their cost yields zero health dividend. They significantly underperform #2 on this list, Detox and Cleanse Supplements, which at least provide a transient placebo effect for some users.