Do Multivitamins actually do anything?
I’ve gone back and forth on taking a multivitamin since I know my diet isn’t all that great. Ideally I should be working to improve that diet but let’s say due to certain circumstances that’s a bit difficult at the moment.
Would it be worth taking a 1 a day multivitamin to at least correct some possible deficiency or is it very unlikely that it would have any effect?
Not asking for professional medical advice or anything, mostly looking to see if anyone else is taking a multivitamin and if so why?
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Some random thoughts:
For vegans it's adviced to take certain extra vitamins, for instance B12
Also, when you are talking about health, i would not underestimate exercise, even a brisk daily walk. I don't know for sure, but i suspect this will have more impact on our health, than taking multivitamins.
As someone else commented here, i think fibre is also very important. And drinking enough healthy fluids.
As a personal aside; i did notice a difference when i started supplementing vitamin D. I was surprised to notice that my energy level seemed to go slightly up.
Also, never mix iron (not a vitamin btw) with dairy or tea. And take it with some vitamin C
Finally, be careful and don't randomly start to mix and match certain vitamins. For instance, magnesium and calcium have a certain balance, where too much of one will have a negative effect on the other.
Aside from it not being kosher (milk and meat) what's wrong with mixing the two?
Calcium and iron inhibit each others' uptake. You won't get the full dose of them if you take them together.
Unsure if this is OP's angle, but I have pretty chronically bad anemia/ferritin levels. In my layman's research, I found that both dairy (calcium) and tea (oxalates) inhibit the body's ability to absorb iron when consumed alongside one-another. My list also included peas, coffee, eggs, and just about every other damn thing I like to eat, so that was a fun discovery. 😅 Link to kickstart research for anyone curious.
Dairy and tea (though i don't know if herbal teas count) inhibit iron absorption, so it has nothing to do with human values, so to speak :-) If you want to increase absorption, combine it with vitamin C.
Small caveat on the iron. The body doesn't have an efficient mechanism of getting rid of iron so that one is easy to over supplement.
At least for men. I'm very certain this is one of the cases where science is done upon men. Men don't have good mechanism of getting rid of iron, but women do. 👍
Yes, and so do for instance vitamin A, D, E, and K because those can heap up in fatty tissues. Also, always check your personal circumstances. Dealing with periods for instance can sometimes (not always) make one anemic, so then you might need some supplementation.