Multivitamins

What it is

• People call these products by many names, including multis, multiples, or simply vitamins.
• There is no standard multivitamin or standard list of ingredients.
• Companies decide which vitamins and minerals go in their products, and how much.
• Basic multivitamins are taken once a day and contain all or most vitamins and minerals, mostly at or below recommended amounts.
• Multivitamins cannot take the place of eating a variety of foods.

Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Consumer ↗ · NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Health Professional Fact Sheet ↗

How it's thought to work

Each vitamin and mineral in a multivitamin has its own role in the body. Taking a multivitamin adds to the nutrients a person gets each day.

Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Consumer ↗

What people use it for

• Some people take a multivitamin as a form of dietary or nutritional insurance.
• Some multivitamins are promoted for purposes such as athletic performance, energy, weight control, better immunity, or eye health.
• Multivitamins are taken to get enough nutrients when food alone does not supply them.

Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Consumer ↗

What the research has found so far

A few studies found older people who took a multivitamin for 1 to 3 years had better thinking and memory.

Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Consumer ↗

On Multivitamins and aging, PubMed lists 197 trials in people, 452 studies that watched people over time, 9 animal and lab studies. See the counts and searches

Side effects and risks

Taking high doses, or taking many different supplements, may cause side effects.

Source: NCCIH (NIH): Vitamins and Minerals ↗

Who should be careful, and drug interactions

• Taking a daily basic multivitamin is unlikely to pose a health risk for healthy people.
• Smokers, and perhaps former smokers, are advised to avoid multivitamins with large amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin A, which might raise lung cancer risk.
• Too much vitamin A during pregnancy may raise the baby's risk of birth defects.
• This birth defect risk does not apply to beta-carotene.
• Iron supplements are a leading cause of poisoning in young children.
• In one study of pregnant women, supplement use raised the share with iron and folic acid intakes above the upper limit.

Sources: NCCIH (NIH): Vitamins and Minerals ↗ · NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Consumer ↗ · NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Health Professional Fact Sheet ↗

Approval and legal status

Multivitamins have no standard or regulatory definition of which nutrients they must contain or in what amounts. Multivitamins must give nutrition information on a Supplement Facts panel and list all ingredients on the label.

Sources: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Health Professional Fact Sheet ↗ · NCCIH (NIH): Vitamins and Minerals ↗

Amounts used in studies

What studies or labels describe, not a recommendation.

The AREDS study used a daily supplement with vitamin C (500 mg), vitamin E (400 IU), beta-carotene (15 mg), zinc (80 mg), and copper (2 mg).

Source: NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Multivitamin/mineral Supplements - Consumer ↗

Roughly what it costs

The 4 products we list that contain Multivitamins cost from $9.79 to $40, as read from the makers' pages. See the products

Questions to ask your doctor

• Is Multivitamins a sensible option for me, given my health and the medicines I take?
• Could Multivitamins interact with any medicine or supplement I already take?
• What side effects should I watch for, and when should I stop or call you?
• Supplements aren't checked by the FDA before sale. Is there a brand or a third-party test seal you would trust?
• How would we tell whether it is helping, and when should we review it?