Do I Really Need a Multivitamin—and If So, How Do I Find the Right One for Me?
My daily routine includes swallowing a horse pill-sized multivitamin for the—alleged—betterment of my health. By all accounts, I should probably take a multi anyway since I have an active lifestyle. And it ensures I’m getting all the nutrients I may be missing out on. For example, maybe it’s the winter months and the lack of sun is skimping me on vitamin D.
But in all honesty, taking a multi sometimes feels like a chore. Plus, I have this irrational fear of choking on one. This begs the question: Do I really need to be taking a multivitamin?
With input from Namrita Brooke, Ph.D., R.D.N., and Kristen Arnold, M.S., R.D.N., C.S.S.D., I found out if taking a multivitamin is necessary.
Are You Getting All the Nutrients You Need?
If you’re meeting your daily nutrition requirements, no multivitamin, no problem. However, people tend to fall short on micronutrients, says Brooke, who is a competitive cyclist and coach, and works with Velocious Cycling Adventures and BaseCamp. Micronutrients include vitamins, like A, B, D, and K, and minerals, such as calcium, iron, and potassium.
Because we’re creatures of habit, we can fall into a rut eating the same 20 to 30 foods every week. While your diet may be nutrient-rich, says Brooke, you may not be getting the full spectrum your body requires.
A multi may also come in handy if you’re following a restrictive diet, such as keto or vegan, intermittent fasting, or mostly eating non-nutrient-dense convenience foods.
“If someone is intentionally cutting calories, a multivitamin may be helpful,” says Arnold, who is also a competitive cyclist, as well as a level 2 USA cycling coach. “By intentionally not meeting the body’s energy needs, they will be more at risk for a vitamin or mineral deficiency.”
One more thing to note: Being an athlete doesn’t automatically indicate that you will benefit from taking a multivitamin, says Arnold.
Signs of a Nutrient Deficiency—and How to Know for Sure
Some physical signs of nutrient deficiency are dry skin, brittle nails, cold sores, and low energy. But let’s be real—I would automatically think “COVID test!” before even considering I should pop a multivitamin.
Sufferers of needle and hemophobia aren’t going to like this advice, but getting bloodwork, i.e., a basic metabolic panel (BMP), once a year is an accurate indicator of what nutrients you’re lacking.
An annual BMP will suffice, but if you plan on training at high altitude or have an upcoming race, scheduling bloodwork every six months will help you and your primary care physician and/or dietitian figure out which supplements you need and give your body time to absorb them. Brooke recommends at least two months of supplementation pre-event to allow your body to absorb, regulate, and reap the benefits.
Is It Okay to Take Both a Supplement and Multivitamin?
When I was visiting my dad in Florida, he was palming what seemed like 15 quadrillion pills one morning. After swallowing a 45mg iron pill, he asked how many milligrams were in my iron prescription. If it was a contest, I won hands down: 325mg.
Joy of victory was sapped as I wondered: Is taking a multivitamin with other supplements overkill?
I was told, probably by my dad, that your body will excrete whatever you don’t need from your multivitamin in your urine. This is true for nutrients that are water soluble, says Brooke, but vitamins that are fat soluble, like A, D, E, and K, can be stored in your body.
There’s a minor risk of toxicity due to maxing out on your tolerable upper intake level (UL)—the maximum amount of daily vitamins and minerals that you can safely take without risking overdose or serious side effects—but a more likely scenario is nutrients canceling each other out. Calcium and manganese, for example, can compete with iron for absorption, says Brooke.
Because my medical history includes anemia and the ferrous sulfate 325mg was, to reiterate, prescribed by my doctor (who’s aware I take a daily multivitamin), I don’t have to worry about overdosing on iron. I also take vitamin C gummies to aid the supplement’s absorption.
In short, before adding supplements to your diet, consult your primary care physician and/or dietitian. And don’t forget to add multivitamin under “current medications” on your pre-visit questionnaire.
How to Choose Which Multivitamins to Take
Ideally, you would skip the multivitamin and get the nutrients you need from a whole foods diet. Brooke recommends eating seasonally and locally grown produce, and making sure your plate is colorful, not just orange or green. If you’re an lacto-ovo vegetarian—that is, a vegetarian whose diet includes dairy products, eggs, vegetables, fruits, grains, and nuts— be sure to include foods high in protein, like eggs or yogurt. Vegans, on the other hand, will need to take B12 supplements or eat B12-fortified foods, like nutritional yeast or cereal, since it can’t be acquired from a plant-based-only diet. B12 is an essential vitamin that helps your body with red blood cell production and nervous system function, among several other things.
Additionally, multivitamins come in gummy and pill form. However, it turns out those fruit-flavored gummies lack one vital nutrient.
“The iron mineral is too hard to include in gummies,” says Arnold.
If you still want to take a multivitamin as a safeguard, Brooke recommends looking for supplements that are third-party tested or NSF Certified for Sport, which is now recognized by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Because multivitamins are considered a food instead of a drug, says Arnold, they’re not FDA regulated.
Third-party and NSF certifications indicate these dietary supplements are free from prohibited substances and meet public health protection standards. You can search for NSF-certified products on the organization’s website.
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