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Health-conscious people usually take them in hopes of adding years to life.
But one study showed that taking supplements had little effect and that only nutrients in foods could reduce the risk of death.
In fact, some supplements – such as calcium and vitamin D – were actually associated with a higher risk of cancer.
Experts suggest that the results add to the growing evidence that supplements can not be used as "insurance" and that diet and lifestyle are essential to health.
Calcium and vitamin D supplements are associated with a higher risk of cancer (stock)
The study, based on data from more than 27,000 US adults, found that certain nutrients in foods – but not supplements – were generally associated with a lower risk of all-cause death and cancer.
Researchers at Tufts University have compared the intake of a range of nutrients with all-cause death rates, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
They showed that adequate intake of vitamins A and K, as well as magnesium and zinc, reduced the risk of death.
But this finding only applied to nutrients in foods, not to supplements.
Scientists have said that people could unintentionally put themselves at risk by taking calcium supplement doses greater than 1,000 milligrams a day.
This was associated with a 53% higher cancer death risk, although relative risk remains low.
They found no evidence of association between calcium in food and cancer death.
Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, Senior Scientist, said, "It is important to understand the role that the nutrient and its source could play in health outcomes, especially if the effect is not beneficial.
"Our results support the idea that, while the use of supplements helps increase total nutrient intake, there are beneficial associations with nutrients from foods that do not appear in supplements.
"This study also confirms the importance of identifying the source of nutrients when assessing mortality outcomes."
Supplement sales rose 6% in five years, with the British spending about 442 million pounds in 2018, according to the Mintel Market Research Group.
About 34% of Britons take health supplements every day, while in the US this figure approaches the 50% mark.
The debate about their effectiveness has been raging for years. Many studies have shown that a supplement does not reflect the effects of a natural catch.
In this study, participants were asked if they had used dietary supplements in the last 30 days.
People who reported using a supplement were asked about the product name, frequency and duration for each nutrient.
Nutrient intake from foods was also assessed using 24-hour diet reminders conducted by trained interviewers.
In addition, the researchers found that dietary supplements had no effect on the risk of death in people with low nutrient intake.
According to the researchers, unnecessary consumption of vitamin D supplements by people without vitamin deficiency could increase the risk of death, whatever the cause.
Professor Judy Buttriss of the British Nutrition Foundation said that the results of this study added to a growing body of evidence that micronutrient supplements do not reduce the risk of death.
She said, "Diet research is looking more and more at the health effects of dietary habits, rather than isolated nutrients, and it's clear that it's the diet as a whole and not a whole. only isolated nutrient that can have the greatest beneficial impact on health. & # 39;
Professor Tom Sanders from King's College London said: "People who take care of themselves with supplements are often the ones who are worried or have health problems.
"Plus, there are those who eat poor quality diets but take a supplement as an insurance policy.
"You can not turn a bad diet into a good diet with a handful of pills."
Professor Hugh Montgomery of the UCL Institute's Human Health and Performance Division said, "The growing message is that routine supplementation with vitamins offers little or no health benefit and can be harmful. .
"Meanwhile, it is clear that diets rich in these components are healthy.
"Vitamin and / or mineral supplementation may be beneficial for people at risk (folic acid during pregnancy, for example) or for specific medical reasons (such as osteoporosis).
"However, in general, healthy people can usually better focus on a healthy diet, rich in vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and fruits than spending money on supplements.
"These are usually not an effective substitute or a complement to the first."
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