Multivitamins: Are they worth the money?

Multivitamins and mineral supplements are exactly what they sound like: multiple vitamins and minerals in one serving. They're supplements that contain several different vitamins and minerals and other ingredients like amino acids or fatty acids. And because there are multiple ingredients, there are low doses of each ingredient. Despite that, they are the most commonly used supplements in the world!

There are 13 vitamins and at least 16 minerals that are essential to daily health. You need certain amounts of all of these nutrients for optimal health. In fact, nutrient deficiencies of some of these can impact reproduction, growth, and regulation of bodily processes.

Lots of people say that if you follow a "balanced diet," you'll get enough vitamins and minerals. I personally would love to promote that … but it's just not true. Firstly, there is no consensus on what a balanced diet actually is. Finding nutrient dense, organic, local and seasonal foods is not practical or achievable for many of us. Secondly, we know that many people are eating way too much processed or ultra-processed food that is devoid of nutrition. There's an abundance of research that shows many people don't get enough vitamins and minerals. Period.

How do you know which vitamins and minerals are in your multivitamin? Read the label, and don’t be afraid to ask questions! If there are at least three different vitamins and minerals listed,it’s a multivitamin.

Do multivitamins work?

Multivitamins have been studied a lot. The quality of the multivitamins studied has not been consistent. Some studies consider any supplements with at least three vitamins to be a "multivitamin." Most of the time, the multivitamins studied are ones that are very popular and are available everywhere. This can be a problem. Because some of the most popular multivit and minerals are made from very cheap ingredients that are not well absorbed or are even synthetic. Take Centrum for example. Our most popular selling brand of multivitamins and minerals. On the website, they show you the amounts of vitamins, but don’t state what form the ingredients come in, or the source. You only find that out when you look at the back of the packet.

Let’s unpack these ingredients a little:

Perhaps the most shocking one is DL-alpha tocopheryl acetate. This is a synthetic form of Vitamin E derived as a waste product from the petrochemical industry. Just read that again. It’s a petrochemical waste product that has no business going into the human body. Let alone as a supposed health supplement. It’s not the only one. Thiamin mononitrate is a synthetic form of vitamin B6 derived from coal tar. Yep, I just said coal tar. Guess what else comes from the chemical industry? Chromium III chloride, a completely inorganic chemical that should not enter the human body.

Sadly, these are not the only synthetic ingredients in there. There’s the synthetic form of folic acid, called pterolymonoglutamic acid; synthetic selenium (sodium selenate); phylloquinone (synthetic K1) and cyanocobalamin (synthetic B12). Then there’s calcium carbonate, ferrous fumarole and various other nutrients in here that have notoriously poor absorption. Oh and I forgot to mention the palm oil and the synthetic bulking and anticaking agents. How this concoction is sold as a health aid is completely beyond me.

But the point is that if research on multivitamins is conducted using appalling supplements such as Centrum, then it’s no wonder the results are poor.

So, what exactly do we know about the health benefits of multivitamins?

Here’s a quick summary of the science (but remember we don’t know how good the products used in the research were):

● Multivitamin use is linked with improved moods. Interestingly, if someone has nutrient deficiencies, they may have mood imbalances. So, if the multivitamin addresses an underlying deficiency, this makes sense.

● In terms of memory and cognitive performance (ability to think), there seems to be an improvement in people who regularly take multivitamins.

● In terms of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, there seems to be a slight improvement.

● In terms of heart disease, the results are mixed. There may be an increase, or a decrease, or no effect on risk of heart attacks.

● In terms of cancer, there is a slightly reduced risk of certain cancers in men.

● In terms of mortality (death), there doesn't seem to be a clear increase or decrease in mortality rates for people who take multivitamins.

All in all, multivitamins aren’t magical “health pills.” They’re not guaranteed to improve your mental or physical health, or help you live longer; but, they do have some health benefits.

Are multivitamins safe?

Given what I’ve just shared about Centrum, you might start thinking these supplements are positively dangerous. Just about every study that looked to see if multivitamins were health-promoting, also looked at side effects. They have consistently shown that multivitamins are very safe. Now, I’m not talking about high-dose supplements. High doses of many nutrients can be harmful. But specifically for multivitamins where there are several nutrients included, all of which are in low doses. Those are safe.Unless you have a knowledgeable practitioner advise otherwise, you want to stick to the dose on the label. That dose should be safe for most people.

However, there are many times when supplements (not just multivitamins) have been tested and found to contain different ingredients than what's on the label; this may be different quantities of vitamins or minerals. Sometimes they contain ingredients that are not supposed to be in them at all (like toxins or prescription medicines).

This is why choosing supplements that are licensed, if applicable (like in Canada), and from reputable companies is so important.

Conclusion

Multivitamins are not a way to optimal health. There is limited evidence that they improve health for most people. But there are some benefits. In my mind, they can be a great form of insurance against your diet’s vagaries as they can shore up certain nutrients that might be lacking in your everyday meals. But I can’t emphasise enough that you need to choose a good brand. There are several now that also take age and stage of life into account and some very impressive greens powders that are a good alternative to the traditional capsule.

Since they contain low doses of many different nutrients, they're also safe (as long as you have a quality product).Of course, taking a multivitamin is not a way to improve a poor diet. We always recommend eating a balanced diet of whole foods. There is plenty of evidence that eating a diet of whole, unprocessed food prevents many diseases.

If you want more information or to discuss your own personal needs, please book for a complimentary call with one of our highly trained nutritionists here. And if there’s a tub of Centrum lurking in your cupboard, do me a favour and just chuck it.

References:

https://authoritynutrition.com/do-multivitamins-work/

http://thewellnessbusinesshub.com/yes-nutrient-deficiencies-heres-proof-can/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0022955/