Yes, supplements for deficiencies have all been validated to improve overall health.
If you are anemic, an iron supplement can cure it. If you have certain gastrointestinal disorders leading to digestive or nutrient absorption problems, supplementing nutrients is paramount to long-term health. Calcium and vitamin D supplementation has been shown to be beneficial to maintaining bone health. Many vitamin preparations are prescribed by doctors to cure deficiencies that foods are unable to accomplish based on an individual’s medical condition.
And finally multivitamin & mineral (MVM) supplementation was designed to cure nutritional deficiency disease that was once rampant throughout the world – and it does (keep in mind food fortification is also MVM supplementation) and is why the US no longer has overt deficiencies. Also keep in mind it’s impossible to track the results of daily use of a properly formulated MVM from “cradle to grave” in modern society. The fact is we need them, because our personal diet and every study that tracks US diets confirm the fact. We have determined the essential nutrients we need at different levels throughout life; nobody gets all of them, and certainly not in the proper amounts, and a MVM can shore up the difference. But as long as you start early in life while you still have your health, by taking a MVM every day you can, you can rest assured you are hedging your bets against chronic disease brought on by imperfect diets. Don’t wait till the “engine is broken” before adding oil. Give it what needs while it’s still working so it keeps running. The most recent study regarding MVM use validates the above: subjects using a daily MVM that had no history of cardiovascular disease (CVD), reduced their risks of CVD by 30-41% compared to non-users and the longer the use the greater the risk reduction. By living a healthy lifestyle including incorporating a daily MVM throughout all stages in life (or at least before disease sets in), we may significantly slow the inevitable decline in body and brain functioning and, to a point, we may end our days in a very “soft landing”: cognitively functional and relatively productive, meaning we would require little to no help participating in life.