Doctors recommend and take supplements

WASHINGTON, March 13 (UPI) -- Not only do many physicians recommend supplements to their patients, many take them themselves, U.S. researchers say.

The study, published in Nutrition Journal, found 75 percent of dermatologists say they use dietary supplements and 66 percent recommend them to their patients; 57 percent of cardiologists use supplements and 72 percent recommend them to their patients; and 73 percent of orthopedic specialists use supplements and 91 percent recommend them.

"Health professionals, including physicians, have an interest in healthy lifestyles and in habits that may contribute to wellness, which may include the use of dietary supplements," Annette Dickinson, consultant to and past president of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, said in a statement.

The multivitamin is most of often taken by the specialists -- 44 percent of all cardiologists, 61 percent of all dermatologists and 57 percent of all orthopedists say they had taken a multivitamin within the past year.

More than 25 percent of physicians in each specialty said they had used omega-3/fish body oil, while 20 percent of each of the three specialty groups said they had taken a botanical supplement in the past year. Green tea was the most popular.

Health and wellness were the top reasons physicians said they took supplements -- including 32 percent of cardiologists, 42 percent of dermatologists and 43 percent of orthopedists.