Multivitamins for health?

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Many of us take daily multivitamin or mineral pill. It is convenient and we feel that by doing so, we are getting all the vitamins and minerals our body needs. But is it really beneficial? And is it safe? Let’s take a closer look.

Health benefits of multivitamins:

Vitamin and mineral supplements cannot act as a complete food substitute because they can’t provide us with all the benefits that whole foods, such as vegetables, fruits, dairy and whole grains, do. However, many people don’t eat well-balanced diet because they don’t like some type of food, don’t have time or are on a special diet. Therefore, multivitamin and mineral supplements can be used as a way to fill in the gaps in our diet. This can ensure an adequate intake of micronutrients  so our body stays healthy.

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According to Dr. Jane Higdon of the Linus Pauling Institute, multivitamin supplements may play a role in prevention of chronic diseases such as heart disease, osteoporosis and cancer. For example, folic acid can decrease risk of cardiovascular diseases and Alzheimer disease and vitamin D and calcium intake promotes healthy bones. Inadequate intake of many vitamins and minerals can cause health issues such as anemia (low red blood cell count) due to iron deficiency or rickets (softening and weakening of the bones) due to vitamin D deficiency.

Possible risks and things to watch for:

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The most common risk associated with an intake of vitamin and mineral supplements is that of overdosing. Taking too much of some vitamins and minerals can be harmful to your health. For example iron overdosing can cause organ failure and too much of vitamin A can lead to nervous system damage and osteoporosis. Therefore avoid megadoses; don’t take multivitamin and mineral supplements which contain more than 100 percent of the Daily Value of any of the micronutrients. Also, some type of foods, such as cereals or beverages, might be fortified with vitamins so check the labels. You don’t want to get more vitamins than you need.

Always take the vitamin pills with food so that the vitamins can be properly absorbed. For instance, fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin A or E, need to be taken with fatty foods, otherwise your body won’t absorb them.
Check the label. Never buy supplements with no expiration dates on them and don’t take vitamins or minerals which are past their expiration date.

Here you can watch an episode from BBC Horizon TV series. It examines if multivitamins are really beneficial to us and if there might be “too much of a good thing” when taking vitamin supplements.

A few words at the end:

If you need to take multivitamin or mineral supplements because you don’t get enough micronutrients in your diet, choose carefully before you buy. Look at the content as well as the quality verification and when in doubt, consult with your doctor.

Nesim Lichy