Should You Take a Multivitamin? Are There Health Benefits?

The supplement industry is a booming business in the U.S. Whether or not you should take a multivitamin depends on your age, gender, and lifestyle and health benefits of a multivitamin include stronger bones, enhanced metabolism, and boosted immunity and eye health.

The supplement industry is a booming business in the U.S. Over a third of Americans say that they take some multivitamin or supplement every day. 

But because lots of people are taking them doesn’t mean that multivitamins are right for you. Most people with a healthy, balanced diet don’t need additional vitamin or mineral supplements. Read on to determine whether or not a multivitamin is the best choice for your health. 

For the most part, whether or not you need a multivitamin depends on your diet and the overall state of your health. A balanced diet should contain a variety of: 

• Proteins — including non-animal proteins, like those found in nuts, beans, and seeds
• Vegetables
• Grains
• Fruit
• Dairy

You probably don't need a multivitamin if you’re getting the right balance of these food groups — plus some healthy additions, like nut-based oils. 

Your best bet is to talk to your doctor or a dietician about whether or not a multivitamin can benefit your health. In the long run, making healthy dietary decisions is a better goal than just taking a multivitamin. But supplements come in handy when you can’t easily get these nutrients from your diet.   

Generally speaking, people who are more likely to need supplements include those who: 

• Have highly restricted diets
• Consistently drink too much alcohol
• Are older 
• Have had bariatric surgery — which limits the size of your stomach
• Don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables

The best multivitamin for you depends on factors unique to your body and lifestyle. Your body needs 13 essential vitamins, an extensive array of minerals, and other micronutrients to perform daily functions. The amount of each one that you need depends on factors like your: 

• Age
• Gender
• Daily activities and lifestyle choices

With so many different variables in play, it can be difficult to figure out what nutrients are missing from your regular routine. If you’re concerned about particular deficiencies, your doctor can test the levels of specific nutrients in your body. For example, there are straightforward tests that detect problems like iron deficiencies. This is a great way to know what your body needs before picking your multivitamin. 

Otherwise, you can keep track of your dietary intake over the course of a week or two and calculate  how much of each nutrient you consume on average. Then you can use this information to pick a multivitamin that only focuses on the things that your diet lacks. This can be a time-consuming process. Luckily, you should only need to do it once — unless you make large-scale changes to your diet.   

Different age groups tend to be deficient in unique vitamins and minerals. For example, teenagers who follow a typical American diet tend to lack: 

• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Fiber
• Potassium 

Teens in this category should look to supplement their diet with these particular nutrients. Older age groups have their own unique deficiencies. 

Everyone should focus on thirteen essential vitamins: A, C, D, E, K, and all of the B vitamins — like B6 and B12.

Folic acid — called folate on food labels — is an essential B vitamin. Folic acid supplements are always recommended for females who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant. This micronutrient plays a key role in fetal neural development. If you don’t have enough, it can lead to severe births. ]

Make sure you’re meeting — but not exceeding — your RDA for each of these vitamins. Otherwise, you could develop a deficiency. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can lead to various health problems. 

Keep in mind that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t monitor most vitamin and mineral supplements. 

Ask your doctor or another health professional for trustworthy brand names. Some supplements may contain extra, unknown ingredients, while others don’t even contain the nutrients listed on the label. 

Another way to weed out safe supplements from sketchy brands is to keep an eye out for labels from the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention. This is a non-profit organization that independently evaluates supplements. Their labels are called USP verification labels. 

But just because a supplement contains the right ingredients doesn’t mean it’s safe. Certain supplements can complicate existing health issues or interfere with your prescription medications. If you’re on medications or have any health issues, you need to talk to your doctor before starting a new supplement. Otherwise, you could develop serious side effects. 

You also need to be aware of multivitamins that contain megadoses. Large doses of certain vitamins and minerals can create toxic effects in your body. Check the multivitamin’s nutrition label for the percent daily value readings (%DV). This measurement is related to the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for each of these nutrients. You shouldn’t take anything that significantly exceeds 100% of a particular nutrient’s recommended daily dose. 

Each vitamin and mineral has unique uses throughout your body. This means that getting the proper amount of each provides a wide range of health benefits for your tissues and organs. 

For example: 

• Calcium keeps your bones strong and helps prevent osteoporosis later in life — be careful; some evidence indicates that too much calcium can increase your risk of heart disease
• Vitamin C helps your metabolism function and may help prevent a wide array of diseases by interacting with your immune system
• Vitamin A is good for eye health and helps prevent problems like macular degeneration
• Vitamin B12 can prevent anemia and helps your nerve cells stay healthy