Are Multivitamins Really That Important?

Written by Chris Oswald, DC, CNS*

This article offers an up-to-date overview on multivitamins and if it is beneficial to take this supplement.

A healthy diet consisting of a variety of foods can be quite beneficial to your health. If you are not eating enough fruits, veggies, beans (legumes), whole grains, nuts (high in magnesium), and other foods containing valuable nutrients, it may be beneficial to take a supplement. Unfortunately, most American adults are not meeting recommended daily intake levels of key nutrients through diet alone.^{1, 2, 3}

These nutrients, and others, are key contributors to many health-promoting functions throughout the body, like immune function,⁵ energy production,⁶ and overall wellness.⁷ Researchers have examined the benefits within certain health areas, such as cognition⁸ and cardiovascular health,⁹ and concluded that multivitamins don’t work. However, it’s important to note that the purpose of these studies was to test the impact of a multivitamin against a specific disease state, but multivitamins are not designed to treat any diseases. Multivitamins are there to fill the nutritional gaps in one’s diet.

As noted above, American adults are not getting enough of the critical nutrients essential to the healthy and optimal function of the human body. The collection of ingredients in a high-quality multivitamin is designed to work in concert to deliver overall wellness benefits by supporting many basic functions throughout the body. Some of the ingredients with their purpose are as follows:

• Fully chelated minerals and antioxidants to support optimal health.^10‡
• Bioavailable nutrients like methylated B-vitamins.^10‡
• Lutein and zeaxanthin to support eye health.^12‡
• Choline and inositol, which are essential to neuronal function.^{13, 14‡}
• Vitamin D provides broad overall support for cellular health.^15‡

While pursuing a well-balanced diet and acquiring all the necessary vitamins and minerals from diet should be everyone’s goal, it is important to realize the current state of many of your patients and clients. Even with the best of intentions, it is difficult to get all the nutrients needed from diet alone, and the data that continuously comes out of NHANES supports the possibility that many of your patients can benefit from the consistent use of a multivitamin. It is also important to realize that multivitamins are not intended to treat any disease or health condition, but meant to provide a sort of “vitamin and mineral insurance” to help ensure that patients meet the recommended daily intake levels necessary to support healthy function throughout the body.

Pure Encapsulations® offers our best-selling O.N.E. Multivitamin, providing support for overall wellness with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.^‡ Learn more here.

REFERENCES

1. Office of Dietary Supplements – Nutrient Recommendations and Databases. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/nutrientrecommendations.aspx. Accessed December 23, 2022.
2. WWEIA Data Tables. WWEIA Data Tables: USDA ARS. https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-bhnrc/beltsville-human-nutrition-research-center/food-surveys-research-group/docs/wweia-data-tables/. Accessed December 23, 2022.
3. NHANES- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm. Published November 29, 2022. Accessed December 23, 2022.
4. Office of Dietary Supplements – Nutrient Recommendations and Databases. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements. https://ods.od.nih.gov/HealthInformation/nutrientrecommendations.aspx. Accessed January 13, 2023.
5. Crawford C, Brown LL, Costello RB, Deuster PA. Nutrients. 2022;14(21):4604.
6. Tardy AL, Pouteau E, Marquez D, et al. Nutrients. 2020;12(1):228. 8
7. McKay DL, Perrone G, Rasmussen H, et al. J Am Coll Nutr. 2000;19:613-621
8. Young LM, Gauci S, Arnoldy L, et al. Nutrients. 2022;14(23):5079.
9. Sesso HD, Rist PM, Aragaki AK, et al. Am J Clin Nutr. 2022;115(6):1501-1510.
10. McKay DL, Perrone G, Rasmussen H, et al. J Am Coll Nutr. 2000;19:613-621
11. Prinz-Langenohl R, Brämswig S, Tobolski O, et ak. Br J Pharmacol. 2009 Dec; 158(8): 2014–2021
12. Hammond BR, Fletcher LM, Roos F, et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2014 Dec 2;55(12):8583-9.
13. Knott V, de la Salle S, Choueiry J, et al. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 2015 Apr;131:119-29.
14. Lucas CT, Call FL 2nd, Williams WJ. J Clin Invest. 1970 Oct;49(10):1949-55
15. Hossein-nezhad A, Spira A, Holick MF. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58725.

*Chris Oswald, DC, DNS is an employee of Atrium Professional Brands, Inc.