Are Multivitamins Necessary With Healthy Diet?
Unless you are superman (or superwoman), supplements are essential for optimum health. Many people don’t feel like they need supplements if they eat a balanced diet but in fact they do. It is next to impossible to get all of the vitamins and minerals that you need from your diet alone. Even if you are extremely mindful of eating a wide range of foods, consider taking daily supplements a cushion for your health.
Consider this - a multivitamin will not do you any harm as long as they are taken in suggested doses. One obvious benefit of taking a multivitamin is to prevent deficiency. Depending on your health situation you may be more in need of vitamins and minerals. For example, pregnant women or those that have an iron deficiency are in need of a multivitamin to keep healthy. Pregnant women should start taking vitamins within their first trimester to make sure the proper nutrients are passed on to their baby. Pregnant women who take multivitamins regularly throughout pregnancy have a much lower risk of having an underweight baby and it also prevents certain birth defects. Studies have also examined the benefits of taking a multivitamin compared with a single supplement. They found that using multivitamins regularly does wonders for your health such as strengthening your immunity, fighting inflammation in the body and warding off disease and illness.
It is never too late to start taking a multivitamin as studies have shown that even the elderly who start taking multivitamins later on in life benefit from them in minimal time. The key is being consistent. Make it a habit to take the vitamin at the same time every day so that you don’t forget and always take them with a meal.
Consider this - a multivitamin will not do you any harm as long as they are taken in suggested doses. One obvious benefit of taking a multivitamin is to prevent deficiency. Depending on your health situation you may be more in need of vitamins and minerals. For example, pregnant women or those that have an iron deficiency are in need of a multivitamin to keep healthy. Pregnant women should start taking vitamins within their first trimester to make sure the proper nutrients are passed on to their baby. Pregnant women who take multivitamins regularly throughout pregnancy have a much lower risk of having an underweight baby and it also prevents certain birth defects. Studies have also examined the benefits of taking a multivitamin compared with a single supplement. They found that using multivitamins regularly does wonders for your health such as strengthening your immunity, fighting inflammation in the body and warding off disease and illness.
It is never too late to start taking a multivitamin as studies have shown that even the elderly who start taking multivitamins later on in life benefit from them in minimal time. The key is being consistent. Make it a habit to take the vitamin at the same time every day so that you don’t forget and always take them with a meal.
Your Comments
HappyVeggie (not verified) 21 February 2010
I strongly disagree with this answer. Many vitamins are harmful to your heath, if more of them than necessary are consumed. Certainly, any adverse effect will happen over a very long period of time, but it is important to understand that we can eat what we need. How many other preditorial animals make sure they have enough vitamins? They naturally consume what they need, so long as it is available. Humans don't have this luxury, so we do have to make sure we're eating well...but that's all we really need.
The only vitamin that will stop being absorbed by the body after it's sufficiently used, and will "flush itself out" in large doses, is Vitamin C. Even so, if too much Vitamin C is consumed over a long period of time, and then suddenly is not consumed as often, the body gets used to its usual 100% absorbtion and will not function as well when it's lacking the amount it usually consumes at one time.
With a diet rich in different vitamins and minerals - a variety of different fruits and vegatables, good protein sources, whole grains, etc. we should be fine.
The only time vitamin supplements are a good idea, is when one is aware that they are not getting what they need in a certain area - due to allergies, diet ristrictions, lack of access to food, etc.
As a vegan, I use nutritional yeast three times per week for my B vitamins, including the all too important B12, but this is my only conscious supplement.
Multivitamins cover all bases - and may help in one area but be overload in another. The best idea, if one is to take supplements, is to examine their diet and see if something is lacking, then to invest in that particular vitamin if one does not believe they can otherwise fulfill the need on a weekly basis.
Phew...long post! Sorry, I get worked up about these things.
Happy eating!
Jesse McGreevy (not verified) 28 August 2010
Our body need vitamins and minerals and I believe if we are on a healthy diet and our body is being supplied with the desired quota of vitamins there is no need to pop the pills. Nature has blessed us with a variety of foods from which we derive all the vitamins and minerals that our body needs but if you feel your body lack some vitamins and you should start a multivitamin course I'd suggest that you look at the brand first, it's benefits and side effects as well. So choose carefully and consume very moderately. So from my point of view, we should let our body extract the vitamins from the foods we eat, after that only if our body is still not getting the vitamins in right proportion we can opt for supplements as the last resort.
Adam (not verified) 1 May 2011
This answer is completely moronic. The claim:
"Consider this - a multivitamin will not do you any harm as long as they are taken in suggested doses."
comes out of nowhere and is not backed by any facts. In fact, increased multivitamin use has been linked to higher risk of prostate cancer. This has been known for several years now.
http://www.webmd.com/prostate-cancer/news/20070515/mega-multivitamins-and-prostate-cancer
There have been several replications of this study, most notably in 2010:
http://healthblog.ctv.ca/post/Multivitamins-and-increased-cancer-risk-a-recurring-link.aspx
where several different studies reached the same conclusion.
Tiffany (not verified) 27 June 2011
This response is actually very contradictory to what doctors say about using multivitamins.
Multivitamins are of course good for you if you are deficient in certain vitamins/minerals, but otherwise, they are unneccessary. Individuals who eat balanced meals are more likely to get the right amount of vitamins they need [as well as the real version, not synthetics] than those who rely on supplements alone. They are called supplements for a reason.. For vegans, it is recommending to take certain supplements like B vitamins that are only found in meat. Same with omega 3 acids, etc, for those who do not eat fish. Vitamin D drops are good for babies since its not found in breast milk or certain formulas.
Prenatal vitamins ARE recommended for pregnant women.
So in all, mvs are not -necessary- for a healthy diet and healthy person, but it will not hurt them either. Actually, the body will simply flush out excess vitamins to begin with so if you're already balanced, your money is going down the drain.
I have a large womens vitamin bottle in my cabinet that I get to every few months [they're HORSEPILLS!]. But no lie, I do feel better when I do take them because I know that I personally don't eat a balanced meal everyday..
So to each his own..
Hope this helps!
Tiffany (not verified) 27 June 2011
This response is actually very contradictory to what doctors say about using multivitamins.
Multivitamins are of course good for you if you are deficient in certain vitamins/minerals, but otherwise, they are unneccessary. Individuals who eat balanced meals are more likely to get the right amount of vitamins they need [as well as the real version, not synthetics] than those who rely on supplements alone. They are called supplements for a reason.. For vegans, it is recommending to take certain supplements like B vitamins that are only found in meat. Same with omega 3 acids, etc, for those who do not eat fish. Vitamin D drops are good for babies since its not found in breast milk or certain formulas.
Prenatal vitamins ARE recommended for pregnant women.
So in all, mvs are not -necessary- for a healthy diet and healthy person, but it will not hurt them either. Actually, the body will simply flush out excess vitamins to begin with so if you're already balanced, your money is going down the drain.
I have a large womens vitamin bottle in my cabinet that I get to every few months [they're HORSEPILLS!]. But no lie, I do feel better when I do take them because I know that I personally don't eat a balanced meal everyday..
So to each his own..
Hope this helps!
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