THE SIMPLE TRUTH ABOUT VITAMINS

    "Should I take any vitamins?"   That's a question I get all the time in clinic.   Not that patients listen to me; many have a laundry list of vitamins they take, regardless of what I tell them.   I just can't seem to get people to stop taking vitamins- perhaps because people think they are "natural," which they are not, they must be good for you.   In fact, ALL vitamins you buy in the store are synthesized in a chemistry laboratory.   There is nothing the least bit natural about them.

     The worst thing about vitamins is that, for the most part, they don't work.   Enormous studies have tried, optimistically, to find some health benefit of supplemental B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E; to no avail.    In fact, vitamin A seems to increase cancer risk, though only very slightly.   These other vitamins, when taken as a supplement, probably do little or nothing.

     Are there any vitamins worth taking?   I'd have to say yes, in some circumstances.   Vitamin D is looking pretty good these days, for a number of reasons:

1. As our awareness of skin cancer grows, our exposure to sun goes down, and sun produces vitamin D in the skin, a major source for humans.   As a result, vitamin D deficiency is extremely common.

2. Vitamin D is essential for calcium absorption, and therefore to bone health.   To maintain strong bones, you need vitamin D as much as you need calcium.

3. Studies have shown that vitamin D seems to have properties essential to the nervous system as well.   Seniors, for example, had better balance and fewer falls when they took vitamin D in a recent study.

WHAT ABOUT MULTIVITAMINS?

      "Multivitamins" are usually "multivitamin/multimineral supplements." That is to say, they have most essential vitamins in them AND most of the essential minerals in various amounts.   There is little scientific evidence that multivitamins have a major benefit on health.   This is probably because a reasonably balanced diet has all the vitamins and minerals we need, in appropriate amounts.  However, unlike individual vitamin supplements which usually have huge quantities of a single vitamin, most "one-a-day" multivitamins have a modest amount of all the main vitamins.   For this reason, I have less of a problem with these- overall, my opinion is that a daily multivitamin can't hurt.   I take one myself (regular Centrum one-a-day).   I know it contains a modest amount of a good vitamin, namely vitamin D.   It also has a few minerals I might not get enough of, such as iron, calcium, and zinc.   As for the rest, I probably don't need it- but at least nothing is present in large amounts.

VITAMINS: SUMMARY

1. Take a multivitamin once a day if you want to and can afford to; but if your diet is fairly diverse, you probably don't need it.   If your diet sucks, and especially if you don't eat lots of vegetables, you might actually benefit from taking a multivitamin.

2. Don't spend a ton of money on a multivitamin.   Good old Centrum, and drug-store generic equivalents of Centrum, have an excellent and broad formulation of all essential vitamins and minerals, coming from a reputable lab.   Health-food-store multivitamins are more expensive and of questionable quality in some cases.

3. If you are thin, elderly, don't eat dairy products, or have ever had a fracture, you might want to take a mixed calcium/vitamin D supplement.   This is often NOT a good idea if you have had kidney stones.    A total daily dose of 1200 mg of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D is a good bet, but talk to your doctor if you're a senior citizen- you might benefit from a higher or lower dose. Overall, few vitamins or minerals have the proven benefits of calcium and vitamin D!

4. Keep your diet varied and variable.   The more different things you eat, the more you are offering your body all the vitamins and minerals it needs, in a variety of forms.   No tablet is ever going to do for you what a good diet can.