The Limited Value of Multivitamin Supplements

I think it is fairly obvious that a healthy balanced diet, which is carefully balanced to provide the nutrients our body needs is highly preferable.

This the composition of needed nutrients can vary greatly for person to person. But in general, a good diet is the way to go. On that is also adapted to change conditions.

For instance, the lack of sunlight in Scandinavian countries during the winter, which makes consuming foods rich in Vitamin D is important.

However, a lot of people are not motivated and/or privileged¹ enough to do so.

A question that then must be asked, if you are not able to compose and consume a healthy diet does a multivitamin have a positive effect?

¹ Using this term may seem controversial but I think it is accurate.

If a person is poor and does not have food safety the fight is to find enough food. Not finding the exact food needed for a balanced diet. In general, the food that food banks give out will not be able to provide a proper balance. Add to that though that multivitamins can be expensive and is also out of reach. I have never heard of a food bank providing multivitamins. (even though it would probably be a good idea)

Then some people will feel that they do not have the time. Some people have not learned to cook well.

Eating healthy was a lot easier when I lived in the US the availability of a broad selection of fruits, vegetables and nuts is great. Norway has in general a small selection of all of the above.

> In 1912, based on research on B vitamins, Polish biochemist Casimir Funk condensed the term vital amines to vitamines.

Casimir Funk is one of the best names I’ve ever heard

About 20 years ago, after I'd been vegan for a while, I bought a software package that would analyze my hippy diet to see where I was coming up short.

Predictably, my "lazy bachelor vegan" lifestyle wasn't quite hitting the RDI for everything but as soon as I keyed in a multivitamin I had plenty of slack (at least according to this software).

Apart from dispelling my concerns about my diet choices it made me realize the number of things that are fortified with vitamin additives: [soy] milk, flour, salt, to say nothing of processed foods like breakfast cereals.

So maybe for most omnivores a vitamin supplement is harmlessly redundant given the way modern food is processed?

Vitamin D is the only one the NHS (i.e. the UK authority) recommends adults 'consider' taking, especially in winter months. It suggests year round could be beneficial for certain groups, such as darker skin (less production of it from the limited sun we get than lighter skin) and those working/spending most time indoors.

For everything else its guidance (for non-pregnant adults) is that you should be able to get it from your diet.

Not that it says don't or that it's really bad, or especially if you have some inherent deficiency (or you're a menstruating vegetarian, etc.) it could be a very good idea to take the relevant supplement to make it easier than getting it from food, I just thought it was interesting when I was looking through recently that the language is very consistent for all of them, except vit D which has the relatively strong 'should consider taking it'.

> These findings make a case for obtaining vitamins from food sources, rather than supplements, to the extent possible.

I wish they would say exactly what it is I can eat today to get 100% of my nutritional needs met and not blow my calorie budget.

I usually find that a lot of multivitamins are quite underdosed. Athletic multi-vitamins are better dosed but are stupidly expensive compared to just buying separate.

As others have noted, you just need few main vitamins/supplements to cover your most likely deficiencies (Vitamin D, Zinc, Magnesium, Omega, etc.)

If you really care about this then find and do a simple general blood test for your micros/vitamins. It will show you where you are deficient and can focus on supplementing on only those. No not much point supplementing micros that are already OK.

I don’t think mortality is the right measure, here.

Interesting read about how consuming essential elements repackaged isn't the same as eating them in their original form: https://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Processed-People-Science-Behind...

It has an interesting quote about fish oil.

> Fish oil doesn't benefit us, but oily fish do.

...as a mortality benefit for ordinary people. If you are going through various diseases it is absolutely something that a doctor will order, and there's plenty papers to prove positive effects versus sham therapy. Right now I am taking B12 to help with neuropathy and anosmia after a horrible bout of Covid for example.

What I still don't understand is why everyone is talking in 'servings' of vegetables and fruit, instead of cups or ounces.

It would be interesting to see a decade by decade breakdown of the loss of nutrients and vitamins due in fruits and veg due to intensive farming caused by greedy business

Every time I'm traveling I take vitamins supplements. I know my diet is gonna consist of very poor nutrients foods so I feel it's a good safety measure.

I stopped reading this garbage after “ the question as to whether these supplements reduce mortality is an important public health issue.”