Americans have grown accustomed to thinking of vitamins and other dietary supplements as a kind of a safety net for the shortcomings in our diets. We may not eat enough vegetables, exercise enough or get enough sunlight, but we think a multivitamin or two can repair the drawbacks in our lifestyles.

The editors of the prestigious Annals of Internal Medicine think we might be dead wrong on the restorative power of most vitamin and mineral supplements. In a frank and unequivocal editorial in the December issue of Annals, the editors declare that the body of nutritional research proves that most supplements fail to ward off disease or improve chronic health conditions, and, in some cases, they might even negatively affect health.