Many people take daily vitamin supplements in the form of multivitamins as a means of improving health and preventing sickness and other illnesses. Multivitamins should not completely replace the presence of vitamin-rich foods in your diet, and you also shouldn't consume them excessively -- even too much of these nutrients can have bad results.
Importance of Vitamins
Vitamins are nutritional, organic compounds found naturally in many types of food and essential to the all living things for growth and sustenance of health. Each vitamin plays its own role in the support of bodily processes -- vitamin C regulates the skin's production of collagen to maintain elasticity and overall health, while vitamin D maintains the levels of phosphorus and calcium in the blood. Although vitamins should be consumed primarily through diet, it can be difficult to get all of these in ideal amounts. Multivitamins are formulated to provide you with the vitamins you need regardless of your diet.
Multivitamin Function
Multivitamins are supplements that provide a variety of vitamins in liquid or pill form in amounts approximating the recommended daily intake. These vitamins are often combined in different formulations and marketed cater to specific groups of people, such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. Multivitamins are generally recommended to make sure you are getting vitamins in the proper amounts and not developing any deficiencies.
Warnings
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, vitamins shouldn't be consumed beyond the recommended dosing offered by a multivitamin manufacturer. Going overboard with your consumption can lead to nauseousness and other uncomfortable symptoms. Too much vitamin E, for example, can make you feel ill and damage your liver. Additionally, a study conducted by ConsumerLab.com found some multivitamins to contain unhealthy levels of unwanted elements, such as lead. However, this study's finding are rare in comparison to other studies measuring multivitamin safety.
Considerations
Multivitamins may be taken with a vitamin D supplement, which is often not included in high dosages in many multivitamins. If you find that one multivitamin tends to make you feel queasy, consider changing multivitamin brands -- Health.com reports that the recipes used to make multivitamins vary from one company to the next, so finding one that doesn't upset your stomach is a matter of trial and error. The use of multivitamins should not be used as a replacement for foods rich in vitamins and minerals -- you should always attempt to eat healthily and consume these nutrients through your diet whenever possible.
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