Do you need a multi vitamin?

Cyclist84
Cyclist84 Posts: 11 Member
edited December 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Usually you hear it’s to fill in a gap since our soil is depleted. But what about cereals and bars breads and drinks that already have added vitamins? The story is we don’t eat enough fresh veggies and so on and so forth but of our processed food has the added vitamins in them then wouldn’t taking an extra pill be too much?
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Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 34,610 Member
    Cyclist84 wrote: »
    Usually you hear it’s to fill in a gap since our soil is depleted. But what about cereals and bars breads and drinks that already have added vitamins? The story is we don’t eat enough fresh veggies and so on and so forth but of our processed food has the added vitamins in them then wouldn’t taking an extra pill be too much?

    While they're not really necessary for people eating a healthy, balanced diet, mainstream commercial multivitamins are unlikely to be injurious in recommended doses. They rarely contain large amounts of the fat-soluble vitamins, and the others are quickly eliminated (usually in urine) if consumed in excess of need. Only a very few have a a narrow tolerable dosage.

    It's not mostly worth worrying about one way or the other, IMO.
  • NoHookUpZone
    NoHookUpZone Posts: 1,531 Member
    I take a complete multivitamin. I think it's personal preference. I don't eat nearly enough we'll balanced meals so it does benefit me. You also absorb vitamins differently based on how you eat. Iron for example shouldn't be taken with milk, dairy or calcium supplements as it inhibits absorption.

    Until recently I was anemic and vitamin d deficient. Now taking it every morning is just part of my routine. I also take fish oil supplements.
  • lgfrie
    lgfrie Posts: 1,449 Member
    I've been taking a daily multivitamin since I started my diet. It just seems wise to take one while on a calorie deficit. Mine has 1,000 mg of D, which my dr recommended, so there's one thing it's doing that's definitely useful. Who knows if you're getting all the C, calcium, magnesium, etc., you're supposed to be getting, while eating 1,000 cals under maintenance? Can't hurt. Easy enough to just pop the pill every morning.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Multi vitamins have been extensively studied and there is no evidence they improve overall health outcomes like getting vitamins naturally from your food does. As far as "vitamin fortified food", I am not sure that has been studied enough as to whether or not they provide any benefit.

    I think if you are trying to focus on health, I would skip the multivitamin, only used fortified foods as a last resort, and try as much as you can to get them from foods where they occur naturally.

    In the U.S. you would have to pretty much skip any commercial baked goods, breakfast cereals, standard milk, and I don't know what else to avoid "vitamin fortified food."
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Multi vitamins have been extensively studied and there is no evidence they improve overall health outcomes like getting vitamins naturally from your food does. As far as "vitamin fortified food", I am not sure that has been studied enough as to whether or not they provide any benefit.

    I think if you are trying to focus on health, I would skip the multivitamin, only used fortified foods as a last resort, and try as much as you can to get them from foods where they occur naturally.

    In the U.S. you would have to pretty much skip any commercial baked goods, breakfast cereals, standard milk, and I don't know what else to avoid "vitamin fortified food."

    I am not saying you need to avoid them. What I mean is that I wouldn't necessarily rely on them as a source of vitamin and minerals, vs getting them from foods where they are naturally occurring.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,097 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Multi vitamins have been extensively studied and there is no evidence they improve overall health outcomes like getting vitamins naturally from your food does. As far as "vitamin fortified food", I am not sure that has been studied enough as to whether or not they provide any benefit.

    I think if you are trying to focus on health, I would skip the multivitamin, only used fortified foods as a last resort, and try as much as you can to get them from foods where they occur naturally.

    In the U.S. you would have to pretty much skip any commercial baked goods, breakfast cereals, standard milk, and I don't know what else to avoid "vitamin fortified food."

    I am not saying you need to avoid them. What I mean is that I wouldn't necessarily rely on them as a source of vitamin and minerals, vs getting them from foods where they are naturally occurring.

    Ah, OK then. Carry on. :)
  • mburgess458
    mburgess458 Posts: 480 Member
    If you’re light on something, like anemic and need more iron, they help. Like others have said, studies show taking them for no real reason don’t help. You just get brighter urine.
  • Cyclist84
    Cyclist84 Posts: 11 Member
    At GNC the guy working there says if you without sometimes you lose vitamins so you should replenish with a multi vitamin.
  • LyndaBSS
    LyndaBSS Posts: 6,964 Member
    I take a multivitamin at the direction of my GP.
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,301 Member
    For me having the right product has been the greater part of my life saving regime, I'm not house bound and reacting to laundry residue on others and stuff, as much. If someone has a condition which compromises their ability to absorb all nutrition from their diet they really do help. It is possible for vegetarians and women to be high in copper which can cause issues, its not everyone's issue but some of us can be too high in copper so products containing copper can add to issues rather than simply support nutritional availability.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited September 2019
    MikePTY wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Multi vitamins have been extensively studied and there is no evidence they improve overall health outcomes like getting vitamins naturally from your food does. As far as "vitamin fortified food", I am not sure that has been studied enough as to whether or not they provide any benefit.

    I think if you are trying to focus on health, I would skip the multivitamin, only used fortified foods as a last resort, and try as much as you can to get them from foods where they occur naturally.

    In the U.S. you would have to pretty much skip any commercial baked goods, breakfast cereals, standard milk, and I don't know what else to avoid "vitamin fortified food."

    I am not saying you need to avoid them. What I mean is that I wouldn't necessarily rely on them as a source of vitamin and minerals, vs getting them from foods where they are naturally occurring.

    I agree with this and with trying to rely on food vs multis.

    I don't take a multi because I eat a reasonably balanced diet with lots of veg and some fruit and don't see the point. I do take D3 in the winter, and when I am eating 100% plant-based, which I do from time to time, I supplement DHA/EPA and B12 (although since I never do it for long the B12 is not necessary, probably).

    I would avoid multis with iron unless diagnosed low iron, as it is possible to overdose iron (although for most likely not from a multi). I'm sensitive about it since my mom had a condition called hemochromatosis that leads to iron build up and ended up with serious liver damage before it was caught.
  • MoxyLeigh
    MoxyLeigh Posts: 433 Member
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    Cyclist84 wrote: »
    Is it true our souls are depleted?

    Modernity is so sad. ;-)

    I assume you mean soils, but I love the typo.

    Lol-same. I was like, "Yeah man, the Guf is empty, look around." :p


    ...but yes, it is true that our soils are depleted.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Last I heard, there are very few vitamins that most people need to supplement. Even then, it makes more sense to actually have your doctor order a blood test before taking vitamins that you don't need or not taking enough of a specific vitamin.

    If I wanted I could take OTC vit D3 daily. That said, I'm more than willing to bet that taking it as recommended on the package wouldn't be enough to pull me out of my likely severe deficit. It would be smarter to have my GP order a blood test and then prescribe the appropriate amount.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 6,009 Member
    All I take is fish oil and Vitamin D (Fall thru Winter). I get enough of everything else with food.
  • Really it depends on you’re personal goals. If you are trying to build muscle it is very likely you are not getting the proper amount of each nutrient through diet alone.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    A multivitamin is a supplement, which by very definition means that it cannot prove effectivity.

    ...and yet the supplement industry boasts revenue in the billions.
  • weatherwoman94
    weatherwoman94 Posts: 14 Member
    They're expensive. I've just started taking one for immune system and lung health.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    my doctor described it as really expensive pee.
  • ceiswyn
    ceiswyn Posts: 2,256 Member
    I probably don't 'need' a multivitamin. But as I'm a vegetarian, I take a multivitamin-with-iron a couple of times a week just to cover all the bases. I'd rather not discover that I'm B12 deficient or anaemic the painful way.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    A multivitamin is a supplement, which by very definition means that it cannot prove effectivity.

    ...and yet the supplement industry boasts revenue in the billions.

    What definition of supplement is that? There absolutely are some supplements that have been demonstrably effective at certain things.
    If you're loosely referring to how supplements in the US are held to different regulatory standards about claims than prescription drugs, you're still off as there are prescription standardized vitamins that can treat or aid specific conditions.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    Oddly enough, the epidemiology research actually tends to show that people taking multivitamins are at increased risk for death. Though admittedly, that is probably not from the vitamins themselves causing a harm but because the people taking them are probably more likely to be people with health conditions that can't eliminated by statistic corrections to the epidemiology.
  • Theoldguy1
    Theoldguy1 Posts: 2,497 Member
    MikePTY wrote: »
    MikePTY wrote: »
    Multi vitamins have been extensively studied and there is no evidence they improve overall health outcomes like getting vitamins naturally from your food does. As far as "vitamin fortified food", I am not sure that has been studied enough as to whether or not they provide any benefit.

    I think if you are trying to focus on health, I would skip the multivitamin, only used fortified foods as a last resort, and try as much as you can to get them from foods where they occur naturally.

    In the U.S. you would have to pretty much skip any commercial baked goods, breakfast cereals, standard milk, and I don't know what else to avoid "vitamin fortified food."

    I am not saying you need to avoid them. What I mean is that I wouldn't necessarily rely on them as a source of vitamin and minerals, vs getting them from foods where they are naturally occurring.

    Unfortunately in US only 1 of 10 adults get the recommended servings of fruits and veggies (which are a significant source of vitamins). A daily supplement might not be bad for most people.

    https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html
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