When should you take daily vitamins?

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – New research shows that taking a daily multivitamin may not be as beneficial as many people think.

A study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that taking a daily multivitamin supplement did not reduce the risk of death or prolong life in healthy adults.

Dr Thao Tran, GP at Kettering Health, said that we get most of our daily vitamin intake from the food we eat, as long as we eat a balanced diet.

“For people who can eat the colors of the rainbow, this is absolutely the best way to get vitamins because they are absorbed naturally,” Tran said.

Tran said when it comes to vitamins, the body has reached its limits and anything beyond that is too much.

“If you just think about the pickup truck scenario, once a pickup truck is fully loaded, the loading capacity of the truck is limited, no matter how much cargo you put on it,” Tran said.

Not all multivitamins are the same. Tran said gummy bears in particular may not contain all the vitamins and minerals you’re looking for.

“Many of them may not contain iron, you know, many of them may not contain calcium, which may be in a separate gummy bear, so it’s very important to look at the nutrition label,” Tran said.

Tran said some people may benefit from taking supplements, such as pregnant women, adults over 65, vegetarians and people with certain medical conditions or vitamin deficiencies.

For this reason, according to Tran, it is extremely important to have regular check-ups.

“When you come in for your health checkups, we can determine if a vitamin might help you if you are indeed deficient,” Tran said.