Multivitamin vs. Vitamins from food

ChristinaaH84

I take a multivitamin with iron almost daily unless i get all my necessary vitamins from my food.
Whats the difference between getting your vitamins from food and taking a multivitamin?
Also, does anyone eat tums for calcium? I read online that its okay to do it and safe but its a different form of calcium that the body doesn't absorb as well.

janejellyroll

When you're getting vitamins from food, you're typically getting the fiber, antioxidants, and other good things that are included in the food. When you're taking a vitamin, you're just getting that vitamin.

toxikon

https://examine.com/nutrition/do-i-need-a-multivitamin/
https://examine.com/insiders/multivitamins/
https://examine.com/nutrition/what-are-the-basic-supplements-to-take-to-be-healthy/

Old_Cat_Lady

Don't use Tums for calcium. Extremely poor source. Plus, Tums kills the acid in your stomach making it more hard to absorb nutrients.
https://www.drweil.com/vitamins-supplements-herbs/supplements-remedies/tums-for-calcium/
Your multivitamin along with food should contain enough.

dfwesq

janejellyroll wrote: »

When you're getting vitamins from food, you're typically getting the fiber, antioxidants, and other good things that are included in the food. When you're taking a vitamin, you're just getting that vitamin.

I agree.

Foods have a lot of nutrients in them that haven't been studied well, and some have yet to be discovered. Those can't be put into supplements, so to get the benefits you have to eat them in food. On the other hand, sometimes people don't get enough basic vitamins and minerals in their diet, or they need extra because of some medical condition or medicine they're taking. In that case, they might need to supplement them.