Multivitamins and their ingredients

Multivitamin

A multivitamin is a preparation intended as a dietary supplement containing vitamins,dietary minerals,and other nutrients. Such preparations are available in the form of tablets,capsules,lozenges,powders,liquids or injectables.With the exception of injectables,which should only be used and administered under medical supervision,multivitamins are recognized as a food by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (the United Nations food standards authority).In healthy people,most scientific evidence shows that multivitamin supplements do not prevent cancer,heart disease,or other diseases,so regular supplementation is not necessary.However, certain populations may benefit from multivitamin supplementation,such as those who are malnourished or those at high risk for macular degeneration.There is no standardized scientific definition of a multivitamin.In the United States,a multivitamin/mineral supplement is defined as a supplement containing three or more vitamins and minerals,excluding herbs,hormones or drugs,where each vitamin and mineral is present at a dose lower than Tolerable upper intake limit, as established by the Food and Drugs Commission,and presents no risk of adverse health effects.

Products and components 

Many multivitamin formulas contain vitamins C, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12, A, E, D2 (or D3), K, potassium, iodine, selenium, borates, zinc, calcium, Magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, beta-carotene and/or iron. Multivitamins often come in multiple formulations based on age and gender, or (as with prenatal vitamins) more specific nutritional needs; a men's multivitamin may contain less iron, while a senior multivitamin may contain extra vitamin D. Some formulations emphasize the inclusion of additional antioxidants.Some nutrients, such as calcium and magnesium, are rarely included at 100% of the recommended allowance because the pills can become too large.Most multivitamins come in capsule form; tablets, powders, liquids, and injectable formulations also exist. In the U.S., the FDA requires that any product marketed as a "multivitamin" contain at least three vitamins and minerals; in addition, dosages must be below the "tolerable upper limit," and multivitamins must not contain herbs, hormones, or drugs.

Uses

For some people, especially older adults, supplementing the diet with extra vitamins and minerals can have health effects; however, most people will not benefit.People with unbalanced diets may include those on restricted diets and those who are unable or unwilling to eat a nutritious diet.Pregnant women and older adults have different nutritional needs than other adults, and your doctor may recommend a multivitamin.In general, medical advice is to avoid multivitamins, especially those containing vitamin A, during pregnancy unless recommended by a healthcare professional.However, the NHS recommends 10 micrograms of vitamin D per day throughout pregnancy and while breastfeeding, and 400 micrograms of folic acid in early pregnancy (first 12 weeks of pregnancy).Some women may need to take iron, vitamin C, or calcium supplements during pregnancy, but only on the advice of a physician.In the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 52% of U.S. adults reported taking at least one dietary supplement in the past month, and 35% reported regular use of multivitamin-multimineral Substance supplements.Women vs. men, older vs. younger, non-Hispanic white vs non-Hispanic black, and people with higher vs. lower levels of education (among other categories) were more likely to take multivitamins.People who use dietary supplements, including multivitamins, often report higher intakes of dietary nutrients and healthier diets. Also, adults with a history of prostate and breast cancer were more likely to use diet and multivitamin supplements.

Precautions

The amount of each vitamin in a multivitamin formula is usually associated with the amount believed to produce the best health effects for a large number of people.However, these standard amounts may not relate to optimal amounts for certain subgroups, such as children, pregnant women, and people with certain diseases and medications.The health benefits of vitamins typically follow a biphasic dose-response curve, a bell-shaped curve with the middle area representing safe intake and the edges representing deficiencies and toxicity.For example, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends 60 to 90 mg of vitamin C per day for adults on a 2,000-calorie diet.This is the middle of the bell curve. The upper limit for adults is 2,000 mg per day, which is considered potentially dangerous.In particular, pregnant women should usually consult their doctor before taking any multivitamin: too much or too little vitamin A, for example, can cause birth defects. Long-term use of beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E supplements may shorten lifespan, and increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers (especially those who smoke more than 20 cigarettes per day), ex-smokers, people exposed to asbestos, and those who use alcohol. In the United States, many common branded supplements contain higher levels of certain vitamins or minerals than the DRI/RDA levels.Severe vitamin and mineral deficiencies require medication and are difficult to treat with common over-the-counter multivitamins. In such cases, special forms of vitamins or minerals with higher potency may be used, either as individual ingredients or as specialized formulas.

Due to the toxicity of some ingredients (mainly iron), multivitamins may pose a risk of acute overdose when taken in large quantities.However, compared with iron tablets, which can be fatal to children,multivitamin overdose toxicity is very rare.Supplement users appear to be at minimal risk of acute side effects due to excess micronutrient intake.There are also strict limits on the retinol content of vitamin A during pregnancy, and prenatal formulas specifically address these limits.As noted in the 2008 Dietary Guidelines from the Harvard School of Public Health, multivitamins should not replace a healthy diet, or compensate for an unhealthy the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force analyzed studies that included data on approximately 450,000 people. Analysis found no clear evidence that multivitamins prevent cancer or heart disease.

Should I Take a Daily Multivitamin?

Nearly half of U.S. adults and 70 percent of those over age 71 take vitamins; about a third of them use a comprehensive multivitamin pill.But is this really a necessity? There are certainly diseases caused by a lack of specific nutrients in the diet.Typical examples include scurvy (vitamin C deficiency), beriberi (vitamin B1), pellagra (vitamin B3) and rickets (vitamin D).But these conditions are rare in the U.S. and other developed countries, where people often have better access to a wide range of foods, some of which have fortified vitamins. Vitamin supplementation alone may also be essential in some cases, such as deficiencies caused by chronic malnutrition or malabsorption caused by an improperly functioning body's digestive system.This page is devoted to the use of multivitamins, which typically contain about 26 different vitamins and minerals and typically provide 100 percent of the daily recommended intake of these micronutrients.We'll look at how multivitamins might boost your health, and whether taking extra nutrients in pills is beneficial or harmful if your diet is already adequate.

Best Men’s Multivitamin

Multivitamins are an easy way to keep your supplements on your toes. About one-third of adults and one-quarter of children in the United States take them, making them the most popular supplement. The reasons people take them are as varied and nuanced as the individuals themselves:

               • Age starts to affect them.

               • They have dropped another dietary modification.

               • They decide to work on their health.

               • Maybe they just don't feel as good as they used to. But whatever the reason, multivitamins are one of the best options to start experimenting with supplements.

              • Men's health has specific dietary requirements, whether they are always apparent or not.These demands become more pronounced as you age, when your body may not be working as well as it used to.With such specific health needs and increasing popularity, there has emerged a vast field of dozens of multivitamins formulated specifically for men.

               • We've done the research and picked the seven best multivitamins for men.In this guide, we'll take a look at their safety, ingredient profiles, cost, and more.