Do You Need A Multi - Vitamin? 3 Reasons Why You May Not Need One.

About a third of Americans take a multivitamin regularly, according to a 2016 Memorial Sloan Kettering study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. 

That might seem like a good thing—you can never get too much of those superstar vitamins and minerals, right?—but research tells a different story. "I used to take multivitamins and recommend them to my patients, but no more," says Dana Simpler, MD, an internal medicine specialist at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. Here's what you need to know before you swallow your next pill.

They Don’t Help You Live Longer

"Multiple large epidemiologic studies have actually demonstrated an increased risk of death among people taking a daily multivitamin compared to those who do not," says Joshua Russell, MD, regional director of quality and education for Legacy-GoHealth Urgent Care in metro Portland, Oregon. The Iowa Women's Health study, for example, surveyed over 38,000 women in their 50s and 60s and found that those who regularly popped a multi actually had a slight (6%) increased mortality rate than those who didn't.

They're poorly regulated.

Because there's little to no quality control, you may get much more or less than what you bargained for, says Tania Dempsey, MD, an integrative medicine specialist in Armonk, NY. When supplement watchdog group ConsumerLab.com surveyed 41 multivitamins sold in the U.S. and Canada, they found almost a third flunked tests needed to get ConsumerLab.com approval. Some of them had more niacin, vitamin A, folate, and magnesium than the Institute of Medicine deems safe, while others didn't provide as much vitamin A and niacin as they stated on the label. Spending big bucks didn't protect consumers either: Some cheap multis that cost less than a dime a day passed with flying colors, while more expensive ones that cost more than 40 cents daily flunked.

They're just not as good as the real thing.

"Most multivitamins sold in drugstores and even health food stores contain synthetic versions of vitamins, which are poorly absorbed and not utilized by the body efficiently," stresses Dempsey. They also contain fillers, food dyes, and other ingredients that can affect vitamin absorption as well as the quality and may even in some cases be toxic.

"If you have a balanced and healthy diet, most of the time they're unnecessary," says NYC-based nutritionist Rachael Link, RDN. "You can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from food, so you're really just throwing away money on multivitamins."  

Link rarely recommends multis or even individual vitamin supplements to clients, but there are a few noteworthy exceptions. "If you have a medical condition that puts you at risk for vitamin deficiencies, such as inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, or if you've had gastric bypass surgery, then a multivitamin may be necessary to help you meet your needs," she says. Meanwhile, vegans and vegetarians may be lacking in some micronutrients, like vitamin B12 or iron.

She also notes that many people are vitamin D deficient (more 40% of us are, according to research); in that case, you may need a D supplement. Just don't take a pill on a whim. Your doctor can test your levels of D, B12, iron, and other key nutrients to let you know if a supplement is really in order. 

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