One of the most common requests that I get from patients is to help recommend a good multivitamin for them. Usually, I encounter this question on average three times a week. It’s not a huge surprise as generations of advertising has engrained to the average consumer that multivitamins are good for their overall health, can help prevent disease and also supplement a less than ideal diet that is deficient in essential minerals and vitamins.

The first question that I usually ask is what specific concern they would like their multivitamin to address. The most common reply response is that they want to be healthier. They want to improve their overall health.

How do you measure overall health?

How about:
Reducing the risk of heart disease
Reducing the risk of cancer
Promote longevity

Here’s the scoop.

The traditional assumption is that having a daily multivitamin can prevent heart disease, cancer, delay death and improve our overall health. If our diet is inadequate, then taking a multivitamin can help compensate for these deficiencies and all is good. Right?

That’s not what the current research shows. What we know is that dietary inventions and changes, such as adopting the Mediterranean diet, which consists of fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, healthy oils can lead to having lower odds of having a heart attack. Replacing these nutrients with a pill does not lead to the same result. There is a whole complexity and synergy of nutrients and their relationship with the other components found in food, such as fiber that has not or cannot be replicated by taking a single pill yet.

So, when people ask me about recommending a multivitamin that addresses their diet deficiencies, I usually recommend them to improve their diet instead, as there is better evidence of better health outcomes. We are not at the stage where a multivitamin can reverse or prevent the negative health effects from having a poor diet.

What does the research show?

The current research suggests that multivitamins generally do not decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer, and death in otherwise healthy adults. Therefore, they may not offer any meaningful health benefits to the generally health adult.
Although, multivitamins are generally safe in the recommended doses, there are some safety concerns in certain populations. Some studies have shown that high doses of beta-carotene can increase the risk of lung cancer, prostate cancer in smokers. Certain doses of vitamin E may increase the risk of prostate cancer, heart failure and mortality, and hemorrhagic stroke.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are specific populations where having a daily multivitamin is perfectly justified. Sometimes, certain medications or disease states may deplete some nutrients, and supplementation would be completely valid. For certain populations, such as vegetarians, iron supplementation and Vitamin B12 may be indicated. Folic acid is usually used to prevent congenital neural tube defects in pregnant women. Specific formulations of vitamins (Vitalux) may slow down the progression of age related macular degeneration.

I did not go into detail of the breaking apart and analyzing the specific details of the recent findings as that is not my goal. My goal is to encourage you to discuss supplements with your health care provider and to find out what is best for you.

Please consult with your health care provider to see if a multivitamin is beneficial to you. This post is for general information purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. This is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

References

http://annals.org/aim/article/1789253/enough-enough-stop-wasting-money-vitamin-mineral-supplements
http://annals.org/aim/article/1767855/vitamin-mineral-supplements-primary-prevention-cardiovascular-disease-cancer-updated-systematic
http://annals.org/aim/article/1789247/does-long-term-multivitamin-supplementation-help-cognitive-function-men
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/more-evidence-that-routine-multivitamin-use-should-be-avoided/