I often see questions on various forums and in news articles questioning the value of multivitamins.  There is a lot of evidence in the literature that in some cases individual vitamins have been shown to have this or that effect. Often, there is no effect, although in some cases it another vitamin is beneficial. Other times we read that a combination may show some benefit. Calcium and vitamin D is one example. Why should this be?

There are a couple of reasons why we need to look closely at what vitamins we are taking. Firstly, we need to make sure that they are high quality, that they undergo some kind of testing where the results are publicized, so that we can depend on actually getting what the label says we are getting. The FDA does not routinely inspect the places where vitamins are manufactured. They are concerned with whether those herbal remedies contain some form of the drug contained in Viagra, but under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994, there is no prelaunch approval process for supplements similar to the process for pharmaceutical drugs. FDA will only act if there are problems reported with a supplement; and usually only if there are a lot of problems reported. Particularly if people have died.

The second reason we need to look closely at the vitamins we are taking is that some of them will only work if they are taken together. Like calcium and vitamin D, that I mentioned above. Several of the B vitamins work best if they are taken with other B vitamins. This is a problem with clinical trials – if the trial is of a single vitamin taken alone, how do we know that it will be used effectively by the body? We don’t.

Good combinations of vitamins are quite ‘expensive’ in money terms. However, we can read that the food that we eat is of lower nutritional quality than it was 30 years ago (I did a few weeks ago). This means that we have to replace some of that quality with a good nutritional supplement. Also known as multivitamins. These are different from the herbal ‘dietary supplements’. The manufacturing quality can be controlled to ensure that the amount of each vitamin is close to the amount stated on the label. Did you know that there are manufacturing tolerances for pharmaceutical drugs as well?

So, to ensure that we are getting ‘good’ vitamins, we should pick a company that carries out research into the optimal combinations of vitamins, and manufactures the resulting combinations with as much care as a pharmaceutical company does. That way, we can be sure we are getting value for money.

Do I take vitamin and mineral supplements? Yes. As a result, my blood pressure is lower than the ‘standard’ pressure for my age, I do not have diabetes, and I only rarely visit a doctor other than for check-ups. Could this be the result of eating a healthy diet and exercising? Yes, it probably could. Could it be something in my genes? Sure, but unless I get genetic testing, I am not going to know for sure. Could it be luck? Maybe, but don’t we all create our own ‘luck’ by working hard and eating right? I just prefer the additional insurance that taking vitamins gives me, maintaining Rodshealth at an excellent level.

Think about it.

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Filed under: Health • Vitamins

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