Should We Take Multivitamins Every Day?

Medical Video: Vitamins: do you need supplements?

Multivitamins are considered by many as a deterrent to heart disease, cancer, decreased brain performance, and also health enhancers. However, is this presumption correct? The answer can be yes or no. It really depends on how to use multivitamins everyday. Many researchers have banned multivitamin use too often and for long periods of time, but until now many people have ignored it.

You must know that antibiotics should not be taken for a long time. Why? Because over time the body will be immune to antibiotics. If, antibiotics have such side effects if too often used, of course multivitamins are also not much different.

Impact of multivitamins if consumed too often

Taking a multivitamin at any time may be heard as a way to help cover your basic nutritional needs, especially if your food does not provide good daily nutritional value. But, routinely getting excess vitamins and minerals can be dangerous for you. Keep in mind that most vitamins contain 100% or more of vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, and calcium. Too much vitamin C or zinc can cause stomach cramps, nausea and diarrhea. Too much selenium can cause hair loss, indigestion, fatigue, and mild nerve damage.

According to Johanna Dwyer, a senior research scientist from the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements, Vitamin D, calcium, and folic acid are three nutrients that you often get too much. Taking too much vitamin D can cause serious heart problems.

In addition, in an editorial journal Annals of Internal Medicine entitled "Enough is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamins and Mineral Supplements," researchers from Johns Hopkins Hospital reviewed some evidence about supplements, namely:

An analysis of a study involving 450 thousand people found that multivitamins did not reduce the risk of heart disease or cancer.
A study that tracked mental function and multivitamin use from 5,947 men over 12 years found that multivitamins did not reduce the risk of mental decline, such as memory loss or slowness of thinking.
A study of 1,708 heart attack victims who took high-dose multivitamins and placebo for 55 months ended up having heart surgery and death at a similar level from both groups.

How do you take a safe multivitamin?

1. Placing food as the first priority

"Nutritionists recommend food as a top priority, because food provides a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other food factors not found in vitamin or mineral supplements," explained Penny Kris-Etherton, a nutrition lecturer at Pennsylvania State University's College of Health and Human Development.

For example, he pointed out that food provides many bioactive compounds and dietary fiber which are usually not found in supplements. And, some supplements do not allow for full absorption of vitamins.

"If taken on an empty stomach without food, some fat-soluble vitamins will not be absorbed as well as when they are consumed with foods that provide fat," Kris-Etherton said.

2. Multivitamins are just a supplement

If the diet is the key to getting the best vitamins and minerals, then supplements are a complement to your diet. For example, if you have done your best to eat healthy food, but still feel less in some places, multivitamin supplements can help. You are advised to use supplements if a health professional has recommended it to you.

"Supplements generally will provide 100% of all the daily needs of vitamins and minerals in the body," Kris-Etherton said. "Therefore, many nutritionists will agree that supplements may be consumed if nutritional needs are not met by healthy diet-based foods."