Multivitamins are defined as organic compounds occurring either as natural food or as utilizable precursors, which are required in minute amounts for the proper growth, maintenance, and reproduction. They are essential for normal health and nutrition. They perform various chemical functions in the body.
How do vitamins differ from other foodstuffs?
- Unlike proteins, they don’t enter tissue structures.
- They don’t undergo degradation for purpose of providing energy.
- They act as co-enzymes in several energy transformation reactions in the body.
Types of Vitamins
Two types of vitamins are required for our body; fat-soluble vitamins and water-soluble vitamins.
- fat-soluble vitamins include vitamins A, D, E, and K
- water-soluble vitamins include vitamins C, thiamine, riboflavin, biotin, niacin, and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), folate, vitamin B12, and pantothenic acid.
Manifestation of vitamin deficiencies
- fat-soluble vitamins
- Vitamin A- night blindness, xeropthalmia
- Vitamin D- rickets in children and inadequate bone mineralization
- Vitamin E- neurologic abnormalities, reproductive failure & muscular dystrophy
- Vitamin K- defective blood coagulation
- water-soluble vitamins
- Vitamin C- scurvy
- Thiamine- beriberi
- Riboflavin- oral buccal cavity lesion
- Niacin- pellagra (dementia, death, diarrhea)
- Vitamin B6- convulsion, anemia
- Folate- megaloblastic anemia
- Biotin- anorexia, nausea, vomiting, alopecia, glossitis
- Pantothenic acid- fatigue, burning-feet syndrome
Do You Need A Multivitamin?
A multivitamin shouldn’t be used in place of a healthy, nutrient-rich diet. A high-quality whole food multivitamin can assist support one. This is because the meals we eat now are different from those our forebears consumed.
Due to soil depletion, even a diet based on whole foods can be deficient in several essential vitamins and minerals. The truth is that during the past 50 years, the fruits and vegetables we are eating have lost some of their nutritional value.
The unhealthy lifestyles and other anxieties of daily life have made adults’ health a top priority. As they get older, people now experience medical ailments more quickly than people in past generations. Due to this, many people now supplement their diets with the essential nutrients they lack to prevent health problems.
Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry noticed a decline in the nutritional value of protein, vitamin C, B2, iron, calcium, and phosphorus from 1959-1999. They concluded that the loss of nutrition occurs due to modifications in agriculture techniques such as the use of pesticides. This gave the idea of why multivitamins should be a part of our life, even if we follow a full diet plan.
Research on the US population showed that people who did not take a multivitamin had a 40% higher chance of acquiring a nutritional shortage than those who did.
This demonstrates that the Standard American Diet causes vitamin deficiencies. We must be cautious even if we focus on a nutrient-dense diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
A balanced diet and a whole food multivitamin can help lower your risk of deficiency and support your general health.
A multivitamin supplement may also be beneficial for older persons, vegans, and vegetarians. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should consult their doctor about the best supplement for them.
According to a John Hopkins Medicine report, 50% of adult Americans use multivitamins daily. It includes seniors 65 and older.
Reasons to Use Multivitamins
Some diseases are caused by a lack of important nutrients in the diet. Traditional examples include rickets, pellagra, beri-beri, and scurvy (caused by a deficiency in vitamin C), among others (vitamin D). However, in the United States and other industrialized nations, where there is often better availability of a variety of foods, some of which are vitamin-fortified, these disorders are uncommon. In some circumstances, such as a deficiency brought on by prolonged poor diet or malabsorption, individualized vitamin supplementation may also be necessary.
You should add multivitamins to your diet if;
- your appetite is poor and you are eating less than usual.
- have any digestive issues
- eating a small portion of fruits & vegetables
- or any illness is preventing your body to get the right amount of vitamins.
- temporarily needs to increase vitamins needs such as in pregnancy
- you are following a restricted diet for more than a week. this diet can be prescribed such as a liquid diet after any surgical procedure.
- you have symptoms like body fatigue
- any issue with nails, hair, etc.
If you’re not sure whether you should take a multivitamin, you might want to speak with a registered dietitian who can assess your current diet and identify any nutrients you might be lacking.
At that point, recommendations to increase your dietary intake of those nutrients will be given, or if that is not possible, one or more additional vitamins may be prescribed.
Always let your doctor know about any supplements you are taking in case there are any potential drug interactions.
High doses of vitamins are not advised. If consumed in excess for an extended length of time, this may become poisonous or may even prevent the absorption of other nutrients or drugs.
Reasons that may not need a multivitamin
- You eat well but always feel tired. Consult your doctor for possible causes.
- You have a good diet but you want to improve your health by getting extra nutrition from vitamins.
If you’re not sure whether you should take a multivitamin, you might want to speak with a registered dietitian who can assess your current diet and identify any nutrients you might be lacking.
At that point, it is recommended to increase your dietary intake of nutrients. If it is not possible, you can prescribe one or more additional vitamins.
Watch out for vitamin supplement labels that tempt you with claims of “boosting brain health, energy generation, or healthy skin and hair.” These are general vitamin statements. They are added for marketing purposes only. They do not apply specifically to dietary supplements.
Also, be aware of the vitamins that include additives like herbs and botanicals because there is often little data on their long-term effects and potential negative consequences.
Whole food multivitamins vs Synthetic multivitamins
All multivitamins are not created equally. It is more beneficial if we choose a whole food multivitamin over a synthetic one.
What is a whole food multivitamin?
A synthetic multivitamin is one that is created in a laboratory. It is made with chemicals. However, a whole food multivitamin is one that is made from whole grains, fruits & vegetables.
Whole food multivitamins are more bioavailable to the body because the body will recognize them as natural food supplements as compared to synthetic ones. Synthetic multivitamins artificially mimic certain nutrients.
Sources of whole food multivitamins
- Whole grains such as barley, whole wheat, and brown rice provide vitamins, minerals, and good fats to the body. if we choose whole grain cereals, bread & side dishes, it will improve our digestion & risk of heart diseases.
- Omega-3 fatty acids- our body needs healthy polyunsaturated fats to make the cell membrane of the brain. Our body cannot make these fatty acids by itself. Therefore, they are essential for our bodies. A diet that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as tuna, salmon, and fatty fish helps us to fight against diseases like cancer, stroke, etc.
- Low-fat dairy products such as cottage cheese, and yogurt provide calcium, magnesium, potassium, and other nutrients. It reduces the need for synthetic multivitamins.
What to look for in a multivitamin
There are several things you should check for when buying a multivitamin. Following considerations, you should keep in mind;
- should contain no artificial filler such as corn, wheat, or milk.
- avoid using any artificial colors that might be labeled as FD&C.
- avoid hydrogenated oils such as soya bean oil.
- should be made from concentrated fruits & vegetables.
- don’t use multivitamins that contain titanium oxide.
You can find the amount of each vitamin in your multivitamin and the % daily value on the back of the bottle. You shouldn’t take a multivitamin that contains too many fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) because our body can’t eliminate them as easily as water-soluble vitamins. this can cause an accumulation of these vitamins.
A multivitamin shouldn’t supply significantly more than the daily recommended value. Keep in mind that eating too much of these vitamins is not necessary because you will be getting some nutrients from the nutritious foods in your balanced diet as well.
There is a tolerated upper consumption amount for each vitamin and mineral (UL). The National Institutes of Health define the upper limit (UL) as the daily intake that is most likely to be without consequences.
For adults, the maximum recommended consumption of vitamin D is 4,000 IU. Therefore, you wouldn’t want the levels of your daily vitamins to be this high.
Do They Support Immunity?
Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, and of course Vitamin C should all be present in significant quantities in a multivitamin for immune system health. A multivitamin containing all three of these will not only strengthen your immune system but also promote chemical processes and aid in infection resistance.
Multivitamins & Health
There is still much to learn about the ideal vitamin and mineral intake to fight chronic diseases. There is a need for more extensive research into this relationship.
We cannot deny the significance of multivitamins when dietary intake is insufficient to satisfy nutritional needs. Some study has shown no benefit or even adverse effects when taking extra vitamins. The question of vitamins and whether they are necessary is still debatable.
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support any benefits of multivitamins for the primary prevention of heart diseases among nutrient-sufficient adults.
Summary
It is critical to note that a multivitamin cannot replace a healthy, well-balanced diet. A multivitamin’s principal goal is to cover nutritional gaps, and it only supplies a slight bit of the huge assortment of beneficial nutrients and chemicals naturally contained in the diet.
It cannot provide fiber or the flavor and delight of meals that are essential to a healthy diet. Multivitamins can be effective when nutritional demands cannot be met entirely through food.
In this case, an expensive brand name isn’t necessary; even common store brands will yield results. Look for one with the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) stamp of approval on the label.
The money spent on these supplements tops $12 billion each year. According to nutrition experts, it should be better spent on nutrient-dense foods like fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products.
If this is the amount in US currency, one can only think of what it would be in underdeveloped countries like Pakistan.
The journal Annals of Internal Medicine published an editorial headlined “Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements,” in which Johns Hopkins experts analyzed information about the efficacy and impact of supplements in three recent studies.
Vitamins should be used to support a healthy diet rather than as a replacement for a whole foods diet.
Use a food-first approach to support general wellbeing, and supplement with a whole food multivitamin to ensure you’re getting everything you need.