If you don't take vitamins, you may be missing out on essential nutrients that will compliment your diet and help you stay healthy. According to MayoClinic.com, vitamin supplements are not a substitute for eating whole vegetables and fruits. They may help make your diet more nutritious, especially if you don't eat as healthy as you should. Consult your doctor before taking multivitamins or any other vitamin supplements.
Benefits
Vitamin supplements are especially beneficial for individuals that do not get their recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables. Women who are breastfeeding, pregnant or trying to become pregnant; who experience heavy menstrual periods; and women who are postmenopausal may especially benefit. Individuals who consume 1,600 calories or less per day, those with medical conditions that interfere with the absorption of nutrients in the body, and those who have had digestive tract surgery and can no longer absorb all nutrients during digestion are also at risk of vitamin deficiencies and may require supplementation.
Types
In the article "Vitamins," the University of Maryland Medical Center website recommends that strict vegetarians take vitamin B12 supplements and a multivitamin. Additionally, some vegetarians may lack riboflavin and vitamin D. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin B12 is 2.4 mcg, or micrograms per day, for teenagers and adults age 14 and older. The RDA for riboflavin is 1.3 mg per day for teenage boys and men age 14 and older, and 1.1 mg per day for teenage girls and women age 14 and older.
Considerations
According to the article "Vitamins and You" on Oprah.com, different vitamin supplements are necessary depending on the gender and age of the individual. For example, women between the age of 20 and 40 require 400 mcg of folate twice a day, while men age 20 to 35 require 200 mcg twice a day. Other supplements, like calcium, are the same dosage, 500 mg twice a day divided into a few doses, for both men and women age 20 to 35.
Misconceptions
According to MayoClinic.com, a good multivitamin offers mostly 100 percent of the recommended daily value of most vitamins. However, a multivitamin will not offer 100 percent of the recommended daily value of calcium. A multivitamin that contained this much calcium would be too large and difficult to swallow, notes MayoClinic.com.
Expert insight
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, women who are pregnant or breastfeeding require different vitamins than women who are not. For example, breastfeeding women require 500 mcg of vitamin B12, while women who are pregnant require 600 mcg. Prior to conceiving, the University of Maryland Medical Center recommends taking 400 mcg of vitamin B12.
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