Some days you and your family are crushing it: getting proper exercise, feeling fit, and eating well. Everyone’s enjoying their vegetables and getting enough protein. Other days? Not so much. Life gets hectic, and it can be hard to make sure you and your family are getting the right mix of nutrients, especially when everyone has different needs. Thankfully, people of all ages can take vitamins, particularly multivitamins, to close nutritional gaps they may not meet through their diet. In this article, we’ll discuss the importance of multivitamins, explain how every family member can benefit from taking them, and describe the different types available.
Related Reading: FOUR REASONS TO CHOOSE A GNC MULTIVITAMIN
Vitamins and minerals are substances needed by our bodies to develop and function normally. Vitamins include A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins, while essential minerals include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chloride, magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, sulfur, cobalt, copper, fluoride, manganese, and selenium. While people consume vitamins and minerals in the food they eat, most people don’t get enough of these essential compounds. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 94% of Americans over the age of four don’t consume enough vitamin D, 88% lack vitamin E, and 52% lack magnesium. On average, a significant portion of Americans also under-consume calcium (44%), vitamin A (43%) and vitamin C (38%).
This is where multivitamins come in. Typical multivitamins contain an array of necessary vitamins (such as A, C, D, E, K, and the B vitamins), as well as minerals (like calcium and iron).
The National Institutes of Health places multivitamins in three categories:
- Broad-spectrum supplements These contain all or most of the essential vitamins and minerals in each dose.
- High-potency supplements These contain amounts of vitamins and minerals that are higher than the usual recommendations.
- Specialized (condition-specific) supplements These include supplements tailored to a specific goal, such as weight maintenance, improved immune function, or boosted energy.
Multivitamins can supplement the nutritional gaps people may have from a limited diet, or an increased nutrient need due to health reasons or personal lifestyle. Essentially, when a person’s diet alone does not satisfy daily intake requirements, it may be worth considering multivitamins. About one-third of people take multivitamins, making them the most commonly used dietary supplements. Vitamin supplementation can be especially important for people during certain, physically taxing periods of life, including pregnancy and old age.
One study showed that multivitamins may help provide helpful antioxidants and nutrients in people who don’t get enough fruits and vegetables. This may help the body alleviate oxidative stress.
There is also a lot of recent research investigating the relationship between what we eat and how that impacts our mental health. Increasingly, researchers are studying whether our diet can impact mood. One recent paper suggested that multivitamins with B group vitamins can help improve both healthy and at-risk people’s moods.
Naturally, every family member in your household could benefit from taking a multivitamin. After all, sex, age, and health conditions all require different nutritional needs, as shown by the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). Pregnant women, for example, often need more vitamin folic acid, calcium, and iron than women who are not pregnant. A study of pregnant women showed that multivitamin supplementation is important for the health of both the mother and the baby.5 Indeed, when looking for prenatal multivitamins, it can be helpful to choose one that contains several vitamins and minerals, especially folic acid, calcium, and iron, so the mother gets as much of a nutritional boost as possible.
Thinking more broadly, men and women should consider different multivitamins as they require different levels of nutrients. For example, women who are menstruating need higher levels of iron and folate, while a smaller body size means they may need less of other nutrients than men.
If you’re considering the older members of your family, people over age 50 can benefit from the extra boost multivitamins may supply, as their bodies might not be able to absorb all the nutrients they need due to old age. One such vitamin is B12, which is important for keeping nerves and blood cells healthy. Recent research suggests that older people who started taking multivitamins showed improvements in certain measures of physical performance. Vitamin D and calcium are also important for older adults. Since falls may be a concern with increasing age, it’s important to keep bone health in mind. Vitamin D together with calcium help to support healthy bones.
On the other end of the age spectrum, children and teenagers who may not meet their daily dietary nutrition requirements could benefit from daily multivitamins to help support their growth. Kids need their own multivitamins since daily recommendations of vitamins and minerals are different among younger age groups.
Now that you understand why multivitamins are important, there’s one more factor to consider. Which type is best for each member of your family? Here are the different forms multivitamins can come in, and some considerations to help you choose the best variety for everyone:
- Multivitamin Pills and capsules: The traditional option, these vitamins are easy for most adults to swallow. They also don’t include much sugar, unlike other types of multivitamins.
- Multivitamin Gummies: These soft, chewy vitamins come in different flavors such as mixed berry or citrus. They’re a great choice for kids, as they add some fun into the process.
- Multivitamin Chews: These are an ideal alternative for people who struggle with swallowing pills, such as young children or older family members.
- Multivitamin Liquids: Another great option for those who have difficulty with pills.
Once you’ve picked out the perfect way to take your multivitamin, you’re probably wondering when the best time is to take it. You always want to double check the directions on your vitamin’s package, but in general, it’s best to have your vitamin alongside a meal or snack containing some fat. This will help with absorption. And, as always, refer to the product label of any supplement you intend to take to check for any warnings associated with the product before you take it.
Citations:
1. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/MVMS-HealthProfessional/#h1
2. https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/micronutrient-inadequacies/overview
3. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/6/1170
4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31527485/
5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32075071/
6. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11324234/
7. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S156816371830343X
