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Ask the Expert: Kathleen Zelman
Multivitamin
One of our viewers wants to know about multivitamins. Her question is, most retailers dedicate a large portion of real estate, one aisle, to vitamins. Is there such thing as the best multivitamin? How do you know what else you should be taking?
So, first, let me talk about the best multivitamin. The best multivitamin can be generic because once your body digests and absorbs the nutrients; they are all virtually the same. So, you don’t need to spend extra money for brand name vitamins. Do look, however, for the USP, United States Pharmacopeia seal because that is a seal that indicates that the product has been tested. That it uses proper techniques to make sure the ingredients in there are the active ingredients and that it’s safe. So, look for USP. Buy a multivitamin mineral for your age and for your sex. So, women, our needs change. So, when you are in the childbearing years you have different nutrient needs than when you get older. Pretty much, those two buckets are where women change, so we need less iron when we get older but we need more B12. You need a little bit more of some of those nutrients if you are pregnant. So most gals who are even thinking about getting pregnant; their physicians have them on prenatal vitamins. So, vitamins, there’s a role for them. They are not miracle workers. They fill in, the supplement, which is where the term comes from, the supplement your diet where you have nutrient gaps. So, I think of multivitamins, as nutritional insurance because it is hard to have a diet that meets all of your nutritional needs everyday. So, unless your diet is perfect I think it is a good idea to take a once, daily multivitamin.
However, there was a recent study, from the Women’s Health Initiative, that showed that multivitamins are not going to help in terms of cancer, preventing cancer, or cardiovascular disease, particularly among post menopausal women. So they are not miracle cures. They are meant to supplement your diet.
As registered dieticians we always say food first. So I would much rather you get your nutrients from food because in you food you also get phytochemicals and fiber and nutrients that we probably don’t even know that we need and then there’s the synergy, or the working together of all those nutrients, when you get them in food; just can’t be replaced by a pill. But, when you don’t get enough Vitamin C, taking a supplement will help fill that in and you are good to go.
Now, the second part of the question is, how do you know what else you should be taking? Again, it really depends on your age and sex but most American adults don’t get enough calcium, Vitamin D, potassium, and fiber. So, those are the four nutrients that the dietary guidelines identify as nutrients of concern. So, you could supplement your diet with additional Vitamin D. Vitamin D is hard to get from food other than milk that’s fortified with Vitamin D and more and more products are adding Vitamin D to it. But potassium is widely available in dairy, in fruits and in vegetables. So, eat more fruits and vegetables that way you’ll get potassium. You’ll also get fiber and you’ll fill in those nutrients of concern.
Calcium is the other one. There is a little bit of calcium in most multivitamins and it would preferable for you to get your dairy, get three servings of dairy, because that’s the best source of calcium in your diet. If you can’t tolerate dairy you can get calcium-fortified foods or you could take a calcium supplementation. So, depends on your diet, your likes, your dislikes, your allergies so consult your registered dietician or your health care provider to help identify which other supplements might be beneficial for you. Because if you are older you might need a little more B12; you might need iron if you’re younger. So, it’s really highly individual and it’s best to work with your healthcare provider to fill in that nutrient gap.
