Although getting your nutrients from food is better than getting them from pills, not everyone eats a diet that contains sufficient amounts of all vitamins and minerals. Multivitamins can help you meet your recommended vitamin and mineral intake. Multivitamins come in formulas for children, men, women, adults and seniors. However, some minerals, including calcium, are too bulky to be included at 100 percent of the recommended dietary allowance.
Calcium
The recommended daily allowance for calcium is 1,000 mg per day for adults. However, most multivitamins only contain a fraction of this amount of calcium. You need to consume calcium-rich foods, including milk and dairy products, canned fish with bones and green leafy vegetables to get the rest of your recommended calcium, or take a separate calcium supplement. Your body can absorb only about 500 mg at a time, so take your calcium supplements equally spaced out throughout the day.
Calcium and Multivitamins
Do not take your daily multivitamin with your calcium supplement or at the same time you consume foods containing calcium. Your body can absorb only so much calcium at a time, and calcium interferes with the absorption of other minerals in the multivitamin, such as iron and zinc. Take your calcium supplement at a different time of day, at least two hours after you take your multivitamin.
Side Effects and Safety
Do not take more than one multivitamin each day, and do not take calcium supplements in amounts exceeding the tolerable upper intake level of 2,500 mg per day, as this could result in toxicity. Side effects from vitamin supplements include constipation, headache and upset stomach. High calcium intake may increase the risk for prostate cancer in men.
Considerations
Most people may not even need multivitamins, as a balanced diet provides sufficient amount of nutrients. In fact, there is no evidence multivitamins actually provide health benefits, according to an article in Consumer Reports Health. Check with your doctor before taking calcium or multivitamins, as these can sometimes interfere with certain medications. Choose supplements that have the U.S. Pharmacopeia symbol, as these have been tested to insure they dissolve well and actually provide the nutrients listed on the label without contaminants.
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