Why you should consider taking a multivitamin
In our fast-paced world where balancing work, family, and personal health can be challenging, maintaining a well-rounded diet may often take a back seat on the list of priorities. Despite our best efforts, we might not always get the essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health – this is where multivitamins may come in as a convenient and effective solution. In this article, we will explore the reasons you might wish to consider taking a multivitamin.
What is a multivitamin?
Multivitamins are supplements that contain a combination of vitamins (like vitamins B & D), and minerals (like zinc and calcium) that support overall health and wellbeing. Some multivitamin supplements may also include additional supportive compounds such as phytochemicals or adaptogens. They are designed to fill nutritional gaps in our diet, ensuring that the body receives adequate amounts of key nutrients. However, not all experts agree that a multivitamin supplement is necessary for everyone, with some suggesting that they may be a waste of money at best, and potentially dangerous at worst. Let’s explore the evidence…
What are the benefits?
Even those with the healthiest diets can sometimes fall short of their daily recommended intake of nutrients due to reasons such as dietary restrictions, busy schedules, or limited access to fresh produce. In fact, research suggests that only 30% of UK adults regularly consume the recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables a day[1]. Furthermore, a decline of up to 50% in many minerals, vitamins and other nutrients sourced from fruits and vegetables over the last 100 years has been recorded, due to the effects of soil degradation and climate change[2]. Multivitamins may help fill these gaps by providing a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for various bodily functions, such as energy production, immune support, and maintaining healthy bones and muscles.
Multivitamins often contain essential vitamins such as vitamins C, D, and E, as well as minerals like zinc and selenium, all of which are well-documented for their immune-supporting properties. Regular intake of these vitamins and minerals may help enhance the body’s natural defence system, making you less susceptible to infections and illnesses. While research on multivitamin use in disease prevention is conflicting, some studies suggest modest but significant risk reduction for serious diseases such as cancer in participants taking a multivitamin, versus those on a placebo[3].
It is also important to note that while evidence may not currently support multivitamin supplementation for disease prevention, nutritional deficiencies, even at pre-clinical suboptimal levels, can result in undesirable effects and symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, brittle hair and nails, poor wound healing and muscle weakness[4]. As such, multivitamin use may help to increase overall nutrient intake and prevent the development of these unwanted symptoms.
A multivitamin supplement may also prove useful as an ‘insurance policy’ during specific life stages, where nutrient intake or absorption might be compromised, or nutrient requirements are increased[5]. During pregnancy, for example, the body requires a larger supply of specific nutrients, such as folic acid, to support the growth of the baby and the health of the mother. Additionally, it is common for nutrient stores to become depleted postpartum[6]; a multivitamin supplement in these cases may help to rebuild the body’s nutrient stores to support the maintenance of optimal health. Multivitamin use during pregnancy may also reduce birth complications; research demonstrates an approximately 10% reduced risk of low birth weight and preterm birth when supplementing with a multivitamin during pregnancy[7].
Furthermore, multivitamin use appears to result in improved cognitive outcomes for those in later life; several studies have shown improved global cognition (reflecting overall ability across multiple cognitive domains, such as recall, recognition and learning) in elderly participants who received a daily multivitamin[8]. These findings suggest that multivitamin supplementation may help maintain or enhance cognitive function in older adults.
What to look for in a multivitamin
There are many multivitamin supplements available to choose from, but not all are created equal. Multivitamin supplements tend to differ in 3 main areas – the range, forms and amounts of nutrients included. It is wise to look for a multivitamin supplement that contains a broad range of essential nutrients, including vitamins B, C, D and K, zinc, manganese and iodine.
The supplement should also provide a sensible amount of each nutrient, usually expressed as a percentage of the nutrient reference value (NRV). Be wary of supplements containing very high amounts of nutrients, particularly fat-soluble vitamins, as they may cause toxicity symptoms (such as nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, and blurred vision) in very high doses[9].
Finally, the form of each nutrient is an important factor to consider. Nutrients can be supplemented in various forms, each with their own benefits and pitfalls; aim for supplements containing high-quality forms that have increased bioavailability to ensure the nutrients are able to be utilised by the body[10]. Our Nutrigold Supamag Plus provides a broad spectrum of premium quality vitamins, minerals and natural plant extracts, including magnesium, choline, selenium, iodine and a range of B vitamins.
In conclusion, while a balanced diet is ideal, modern lifestyles and life stages can make meeting nutritional needs difficult. Multivitamins may help to fill these gaps, providing essential nutrients for immune health, energy, and cognition. Though evidence on their role in disease prevention is mixed, the benefits of supplementing for deficiencies or increased needs are clear. Choosing a high-quality option may help to ensure optimal absorption and effectiveness.
References
[1] British Dietetic Association (2024) Are we achieving 5-a-day?, British Dietetic Association (BDA). Available at: https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/are-we-achieving-5-a-day.html (Accessed: 03 September 2024).
[2] Silver, W.L. et al. (2021) ‘The role of soil in the contribution of food and feed’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 376(1834), p. 20200181. doi:10.1098/rstb.2020.0181.
[3] Gaziano, J.M. et al. (2012) ‘Multivitamins in the prevention of cancer in men’, JAMA, 308(18), p. 1871. doi:10.1001/jama.2012.14641.
[4] Alpers, D.H. (2012) ‘Subclinical micronutrient deficiency’, Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, 28(2), pp. 135–138. doi:10.1097/mog.0b013e32834e09f8.
[5] Yoon, Y.S., Lee, H.I. and Oh, S.W. (2024) ‘A life-stage approach to Precision Nutrition: A narrative review’, Cureus [Preprint]. doi:10.7759/cureus.66813.
[6] Marshall, N.E. et al. (2022) ‘The importance of nutrition in pregnancy and lactation: Lifelong consequences’, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 226(5), pp. 607–632. doi:10.1016/j.ajog.2021.12.035.
[7] Keats, E.C. et al. (2021a) ‘Multiple-micronutrient supplementation in pregnant adolescents in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and a meta-analysis of individual participant data’, Nutrition Reviews, 80(2), pp. 141–156. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab004.
[8] Vyas, C.M. et al. (2024) ‘Effect of multivitamin-mineral supplementation versus placebo on cognitive function: Results from the clinic subcohort of the Cocoa Supplement and Multivitamin Outcomes Study (Cosmos) randomized clinical trial and meta-analysis of 3 cognitive studies within cosmos’, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 119(3), pp. 692–701. doi:10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.12.011.
[9] National Institutes of Health (2023) Office of dietary supplements – vitamin A and carotenoids, NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. Available at: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/ (Accessed: 03 September 2024).
[10] Blumberg, J.B. et al. (2018) ‘The use of multivitamin/multimineral supplements: A modified Delphi Consensus Panel Report’, Clinical Therapeutics, 40(4), pp. 640–657. doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2018.02.014.
