Throw Away Your Multivitamin Today and Read This! — DMP Fitness

Even the best eating plans can fall short of meeting all of the 40-plus nutrients you need each day. Most Americans fail to meet dietary recommendations for many reasons, including strict dieting, poor appetite, changing nutritional needs, or less-than-healthy food choices. So a lot of people turn to a once-daily multivitamin is an easy way to fill in small nutritional gaps.

But does a once-daily multivitamin really work, and how do I know which multivitamin to take, if at all? 

Multivitamins are a Supplement not a Substitute

Healthy eating remains the best source of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. A multivitamin is not a substitute for healthy food or a healthy lifestyle, but it can provide a nutritional back-up for a less-than-ideal diet. “If your diet eliminates whole food groups or you don’t eat enough variety of foods — you would benefit from a once-daily multivitamin,” says Karen Ansel, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans identified calcium, vitamin D, dietary fiber, and potassium as nutrients of concern for inadequate intake in adults and children. All of these nutrients, except fiber, come packaged in a multivitamin. Fiber can be obtained as a separate supplement, but it’s still best to try to get all your fiber from the foods you eat.

So we know that we shouldn’t substitute a multivitamin for healthy eating, but if I’m lacking in a nutrient of concern, how do I know if my multivitamin is taking care of those needs? 

The studies, published in the Dec. 17 issue of the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, found that multivitamin and mineral supplements did not work any better than placebo pills.