I’ve gone back and forth on taking a multivitamin since I know my diet isn’t all that great. Ideally I should be working to improve that diet but let’s say due to certain circumstances that’s a bit difficult at the moment.
Would it be worth taking a 1 a day multivitamin to at least correct some possible deficiency or is it very unlikely that it would have any effect?
Not asking for professional medical advice or anything, mostly looking to see if anyone else is taking a multivitamin and if so why?
I have created a handy chart to follow
Did your doctor recommend you take supplements?
If yes
Take those specific supplements
If no
You do not need to take supplements
To add to this, you really need a blood test to show what you need. Some docs will talk out their ass about dieting (this is rare, but it happens). Always get bloodwork to confirm.
Also, some vitamins are water soluble, others need to be taken with food. Your doc should know though
I’m a vegetarian and people assume I need B12, but my bloodwork shows I’m fine. I did need some D though, since apparently hiding inside for 3 years during a pandemic can impact your body… who would’ve guessed??
I did need some D though, since apparently hiding inside for 3 years during a pandemic can impact your body… who would’ve guessed??
Vitamin D deficiency is incredibly common. I think it’s something like 1/3 or 1/4 depending on the season or where you live.
Of course, if you’re a member of the red haired master race, your body produces it for you so it’s less likely.
Vitamin D deficiency was also shown to be a co-morbidity with COVID. So to answer the question “do multivitamins do anything?” I’d say they could potentially have saved your life and you might not have noticed.
Before COVID, my wife nagged me into establishing a primary care physician since I hadn’t gone in a while. So I did, they did a blood test, and showed that I was vitamin D deficient. I took some prescription vitamin D for like a week then my doctor told me to start taking a multivitamin. When they later announced it being a co-morbidity, I felt like I dodged a bullet.
I’m a vegetarian, have gained weight but not to the point that it would explain why I feel like ass all the time recently. I should get blood work, I was thinking I had low testosterone or something but it could be anything really
If your diet lacks certain vitamins, a vitamin supplement may help. If not, it won’t. Excess vitamins are eliminated by a healthy body.
Some vitamines can be had too much too, so “overdosing” is a real possibility. A and D for example.
It’s pretty hard to overdose on D though, you have to drink fish oil or supplement heavily.
If you are Australian all ‘medications’ have a code on them whether they have been scientifically proven to do what the label says. Aust R - right on they’ll do what they say, Aust - L - loser no scientific proof. So yes some iron supplements work really well, others less so for example
How about “U” – “Unstudied” If there’s no money to study a supplement, it doesn’t get studied. Or maybe “unmonied”, because the particular studies the governments want cost $$$.
Most doctors today will tell you NOT to take iron, especially if you are a man. Apparently iron has been associated with various health concerns.
Some random thoughts:
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For vegans it’s adviced to take certain extra vitamins, for instance B12
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Also, when you are talking about health, i would not underestimate exercise, even a brisk daily walk. I don’t know for sure, but i suspect this will have more impact on our health, than taking multivitamins.
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As someone else commented here, i think fibre is also very important. And drinking enough healthy fluids.
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As a personal aside; i did notice a difference when i started supplementing vitamin D. I was surprised to notice that my energy level seemed to go slightly up.
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Also, never mix iron (not a vitamin btw) with dairy or tea. And take it with some vitamin C
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Finally, be careful and don’t randomly start to mix and match certain vitamins. For instance, magnesium and calcium have a certain balance, where too much of one will have a negative effect on the other.
Also, never mix iron (not a vitamin btw) with dairy or tea. And take it with some vitamin C
Aside from it not being kosher (milk and meat) what’s wrong with mixing the two?
Unsure if this is OP’s angle, but I have pretty chronically bad anemia/ferritin levels. In my layman’s research, I found that both dairy (calcium) and tea (oxalates) inhibit the body’s ability to absorb iron when consumed alongside one-another. My list also included peas, coffee, eggs, and just about every other damn thing I like to eat, so that was a fun discovery. 😅 Link to kickstart research for anyone curious.
Small caveat on the iron. The body doesn’t have an efficient mechanism of getting rid of iron so that one is easy to over supplement.
My sister, who did her master’s in nutrition or some related field, says multivitamins are a waste of money. She suggests getting bloodwork and seeing if you’re deficient in anything. And if you’re deficient, it’s better to change your diet than buy multivitamins (if possible).
With that being said, I still take a multivitamin…
