To think we don't need daily vitamins

[user87382294757]

Just been reading about how taking day multivitamins might not be necessary and even cause harms in some - I have taken them for a while, quite expensive and not even sure any use. Had Vitamin D test a while back at the GPs which was a bit low so maybe just take that as is ultra cheap and discard the others.

I don’t take them but then I have very low iron and very low vit D so I am on very strong amounts of both - perhaps if I had been taking a steady dose I wouldn’t have felt so awful!

Well the day to day ones might not have enough of those specific things so not sure. yes getting tested for specific things I guess is they way to go.

Surely it depends on your diet

As long as your diet is healthy, balanced and has variety then you shouldn't need vitamins.

I’m a qualified food scientist. Bought vitamins and minerals are a complete waste of time. Every child & adult is able to get the required amounts via a balanced diet.

If you eat a really good diet you shouldn't need any vitamins. The only vitamin I've ever taken is prescribed iron due to severe heavy bleeding which I've had operations for and currently waiting for a hysterectomy.

Yes that's another thing. I sometimes feel it's easy to think you are taking a vitamin so don't need to bother so much about what you eat.

And yes should be able to get them through food really. Even veggies / vegans can get things like B vitamins from say Marmite and the like.

Oh and of course iron /folic acid being important for pregnancy / new mothers

I’d be surprised if fruit and veg contain the same level of nutrients they did in the past, given intensive farming methods, and long time spent in transportation, etc. On the other hand, we now have access to a much greater variety of produce than our ancestors did. It is hard to know the truth of it.

I have felt better, personally, when on a really good quality vitamin and mineral supplement. The two that spring to mind are Zita West’s conception vitamins, and Paul Clayton’s bundle of carefully-researched supplements. I haven’t found cheaper brands have had the same effect, though I can’t rule out a placebo/nocebo effect here.

Most of us don’t get enough vitamin D, in winter it is impossible to in the UK, so I would always supplement that. Otherwise, you can have blood tests done, but through the GP it will only be for a very limited amount of vitamins, and they will possibly tell you you have a ‘normal’ range, when actually your levels are sub-optimal.

Do you have a restricted diet? Are you likely to have any deficiencies? Any symptoms suggestive of deficiencies? Heavy periods possibly causing anaemia, etc?

I don’t think we have good enough testing or research to be definitive on this yet. I guess you can only take an educated guess based on personal circumstances and go from there.

I actually struggle to see how you can get your requirement through diet alone. If you look at the amount of iron, vit C, D, calcium etc you need daily it would mean a very prescriptive diet really only based around foods that provide those vitamins in high numbers, and you’d have to do that every day.
I think it’s often quoted that a days worth of RDA vitamins and minerals would be around 3000 calories which is too much food.

I tried to do it with iron once (and don’t forget you don’t even know how much of that RDA iron you are absorbing) the only practical way to do it was to eat liver or steak daily. Which obviously you wouldn’t want to do, when you can ingest large amounts of iron via supplement

I think it depends.

Obviously people with anemia should take iron.

People with low Vitamin D who can't increase their sun exposure should take Vitamin D supplements as it's difficult to get enough from food alone.

I know people who have diagnosed issues processing calcium who need quite high doses that would be completely unobtainable through food alone.

However, I would say for the most part people should be able to get everything they need from food directly, but, as always, there are exceptions.

I take vitamin d and magnesium as was constantly getting leg cramps without them, even when eating a healthy diet. I was also low iron. In general I think vitamins should only be needed where you can't get enough of something for whatever reason, rather than as standard

On the NHS guidance it just says about possible Vitamin D and over 50s taking B12 as they can't absorb it as well. I wonder about those RDAs. Do we really need those amounts? Who knows..

My doctor said vitamins supplements just make very expensive wee.

The human body can only process/absorb at a certain rate so taking a multivitamin is only slightly effective. The rest is passed out of the body. Useless and a waste of money.

It is perfectly possible to get enough vitamin D if you spend enough time outdoors.
And yes if you eat a reasonably healthy diet you should get all your vitamins and minerals from your food.
Lots of foods are higher in iron than steak unpeeled potatoes, prune juice, etc.

2.4mg in 100g steak, 0.8mg in 100g potatoes

It’s fairly accepted that it’s not possible to get enough vit D from the sun in Northern Europe/ Scandinavia. Unless that’s a myth...

It is perfectly possible to get enough vitamin D if you spend enough time outdoors.

The issue of course being if you can't spend enough time outdoors.

It seems Marmite is full of B vitamins and a daily high dose Vitamin D supplement is cheap, think might stick to that for now.

I've only ever taken them when pregnant.

Depends if you’ve had all the tests to see if you can absorb all the vitamins from food. Most people can’t. And this is one area where private GPs differ from NHS ones - they do recommend proactively taking vitamins, while the NHS seems to be designed to aim at the lowest common denominator.

I have a severely disabled son, a paediatric consultant once told me, if a child isn't eating enough green, leafy vegetables - they need a vitamin supplement. My problem was, my DS had pica and was eating leaves, roses, grass - the kind of green leafy matter that had him ending up in A&E on numerous occasions. Not to mention the cat poop, shampoo, glue - I could go on...

I've never felt the need to take them.. have a decent diet and am outdoors a lot as I work in school so am on playground duty!
I was quite surprised to find , after going to the doctors because I felt so rough, that I was severely Vit D deficient...and am now on prescribed doses and will be forever.

I guess my body just doesn't make enough!

I have thyroid issues and supplements have helped hugely.

I give them to the DC when they're run down and tired, and it always seems to pull them through. DS1 had a terrible accident last year and was hospitalised for a long period and his consultant recommended particular supplements to help him recover.

I think they have their place, but that they also can't/shouldn't be used as a main source of nutrients for healthy people.

It's £7 for 270 value tabs.

I don't take them daily, but I'm on a calorie restricted diet, and though that includes huge amounts of veg, the amounts are low enough that I take a few a week as an insurance policy - esp. for vitamin B2, which I've been advised assists migraines.

It’s fairly accepted that it’s not possible to get enough vit D from the sun in Northern Europe/ Scandinavia. Unless that’s a myth...

We can get plenty of vitamin D in the summer months though sunscreen can hinder vitamin D absorption. We can't get enough in the winter months. I supplement in the winter and take magnesium alongside it because otherwise the vit D gives me migraines. I take iron for a couple of days following my period as I have had anaemia in the past and start feeling symptoms of it when I have my period. Though taking it during my period makes the flow heavier, so I take the iron as soon as it ends.

I take fish oils and glucosamine when my joints feel stiff or when I know I'm going to be doing something that pushes the bounds of my normal flexibility.