This week, I wanted to cover one of the most popular supplements on the market: multi-vitamins.

I strongly believe you should have a clear understanding of what a supplement does and if it fits into your life before you buy it.

Otherwise, it shouldn’t receive your hard-earned dollars.

This newsletter will be a bit more educational in nature, but I will provide a summary of conclusions & recommendations at the end if you’d like to save time.

With that said, let’s talk about what you need to know in regard to multivitamins:

Definitions

Multi-vitamins are products that contain some dose of each vitamin.

Specifically, this includes:

• Vitamin A

• All B Vitamins

• Vitamin C

• Vitamin D

• Vitamin E

• Vitamin K

Vitamins and minerals are the two groups of the most common micronutrients, all of which are essential.

Vitamins and minerals differ in that minerals are single atoms and vitamins are complex molecules.

Multi-vitamins sometimes minerals as well, although if they do and which minerals they contain varies product-to-product.

Reasons for supplementation

The Standard American Diet (SAD) tends to be very low in nutrient-dense foods and higher in ultra-processed foods.

The result: vitamin deficiency is quite common among the general population, even in seemingly health adults [source].

Because of this, it makes sense that a multi-vitamin would be a smart move.

However, the real question is this: what are the actual health outcomes in people who take multi-vitamins long-term?

*SIDE NOTE: The Standard American Diet (SAD) is different than recommendations made from the government such as the food pyramid.

People are often quick to equate the SAD and recommendations such as the food pyramid;

and then discredit such recommendations made from the FDA or USDA.

The truth is, the standard american diet does not follow the food pyramid.

If they did, they’d probably be healthier.

So, if someone is telling you to do the opposite of what the FDA or USDA says, then that person probably doesn’t know what they’re talking about.

Long-term health outcomes of multi-vitamin supplementation

In the current state of the research, there is not enough evidence to show if there are any long-term health benefits of a multi-vitamin,

at least in the context of heart disease or cancer (the 2 most common causes of death) [source].

It has been shown with some certainty that Vitamin E and Vitamin A supplementation specifically do not have health benefits long-term.

So, the take home here is this:

Of all the things you can do to improve health long-term, a multi-vitamin isn’t a large lever to pull.

Differences between multi-vitamins & whole-foods

The vitamins and minerals found in supplements do not affect your body the same way as if they were derived from food.

There is a concept in nutrition called the food matrix. Basically, the packing of nutrients together in a food influences how those nutrients affect your body.

In a supplement, each nutrient is isolated and then put back together in a pill or powder form. Therefore, no food matrix.

Moreover, the specific forms of each nutrient may be different in food than they are in supplements.

Take magnesium, for example.

Magnesium oxide has horrific bioavailability. It's also dirt cheap for supplement manufacturers. So, supplement companies like to use this form.

Bottom-line: the nutrients are not equal to the nutrients found in whole-foods.

This is at least true for micronutrients (e.g. vitamins and minerals), not necessarily macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat).

What whole-foods am I talking about?

“Whole-food” can be a bit of an abstract term.

To be more specific, food groups fitting this bill include:

• Fruits

  • Apple, banana, tomato, kiwi, mango, berries, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.

• Vegetables

  • Dark leafy greens, onion, garlic, carrots, broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, etc.

• Legumes

  • lentils, beans, etc.

• Whole-grains

  • Whole-wheat bread, quinoa, farro, etc.

• Animal foods

  • red meat, eggs, salmon, shellfish, etc.

• Among others

Should you buy a multi-vitamin?

With all of that said, I don’t think it’s a bad idea to purchase a multi-vitamin.

Here’s some points to keep in mind if you’re interested in getting one:

• You cannot expect them to ever be a true replacement for whole-foods. Even if you take one daily, you still need to be eating a nutrient dense diet.

• There’s certainly no harm in taking one. So if you have more peace of mind when you take one, that’s a good enough reason to take one in my opinion.

• They might make a good asset on days where you are unable to eat a good amount of whole-foods. For instance, if you are travelling all day and are stuck with airport food, taking a multi-vitamin might not be a terrible idea.

• They certainly make more sense than buying any single vitamin as a supplement. For instance, most multi-vitamins are going to have 100% of your daily value of vitamin C plus every other vitamin. In light of that, why would you ever buy Vitamin C alone?

That all sums up everything you need to know about multi-vitamin supplementation.

If you’re looking to spend money on a supplement, I hope this helps you make a more informed decision.