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Vitamins are essential to life. They contribute to good health by regulating the metabolism and assisting the biochemical processes that release energy from digested food. They are considered micronutrients because the body needs them in relatively small amounts compared with nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water.
If the likelihood of a person being deficient in a particular nutrient (based on RDA requirements) is 2%, then multiplied across 40 nutrients the chance of being deficient in at least one of them becomes 55%. Considering that the likelihood of some nutrient deficiencies is much greater than 2%, the chance of the average person being deficient in at least one nutrient is almost certainly higher. Taking a multiple supplement for insurance purposes is therefore wise. Additionally, if optimal health is a practical and reasonable goal, why settle for less with a marginal nutrient status?
Treatment & Prevention
Select populations will benefit from specific supplementation as in the following examples: - Prenatal vitamins are important for pregnant women
- Folate supplementation with early pregnancy reduces the risk of neural tube defects in newborns
- Daily vitamin/mineral supplements with antioxidant nutrients can reduce infections in the elderly by enhancing immune function
- Premature infants need supplemental iron and vitamin K to maintain health
- People on poor diets or selected medications which deplete key nutrients, or who abuse alcohol or narcotics are likely to be deficient in micronutrients and should see improved health with supplementation
- A 1989 study found calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese were low in teenage girls. Calcium, magnesium and iron were low in adult women. Calcium, magnesium and zinc were low in older women. Calcium and zinc were low in the diets of two year olds. Magnesium was low in the diets of teenage boys and older men.
Supplementation does not mean you are free to eat as poorly as you like. Supplements do just that - they supplement a good diet.
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Conditions that suggest Multiple Vitamin Need:
Risk factors for Multiple Vitamin Need: | | | | | Addictions |  Alcohol-related Problems | An interesting study showed significantly decreased levels of anxiety among a group of alcoholics treated with megavitamins. Over a 21-day period, the group took approximately 3gm of vitamin C, 3gm of niacin, 600mg of B6, and 600 IU of vitamin E per day. A comparison group received only inert gelatin capsules. None of the subjects in either group took antidepressants or antianxiety drugs. Anxiety levels among both groups were measured three times over the 21 days. They fell dramatically only in the group on megavitamin therapy. |
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Diet |
Consequences of Poor Diet
Counter-indicators:
 A Healthy Diet |
Supplements and Medications |
No/discontinued multiple vitamin use| | There's a long-standing debate among nutrition and health experts when it comes to answering the question, "Do we need to take vitamin supplements?" One clear fact amongst all the confusion is that “Where western diet and farming practices go, chronic disease soon follows.”
One hundred years ago diet alone would have been sufficient to obtain adequate amounts of nutrients. Apart from increased individual requirements, it is still possible today, but more difficult. Many today believe that optimal health, not just adequate health requires careful diet planning and the use of organically grown foods. Modern farming techniques have led to soil depletion when farmers constantly replenish the soil with nitrogen and phosphates, but do little to replace the minerals that are being removed. Plants need these minerals to produce the vitamins they naturally contain. As a result, vegetables no longer contain the vitamin content they once did.
There is no substitute for the health effects that can be gained by a varied and healthy diet. But how many people do you see who routinely consume devitalized or highly sweetened foods for the sake of convenience and pleasure?
Supplementation may be necessary to bring our nutritional standards back to the level of our forefathers, to insure against any nutrient dependencies any individual may have, and to make-up for our often poor choice of foods. |
Counter-indicators:
Multiple vitamin use| | There's a long-standing debate among nutrition and health experts when it comes to answering the question, "Do we need to take vitamin supplements?" One clear fact amongst all the confusion is that “Where western diet and farming practices go, chronic disease soon follows.”
One hundred years ago diet alone would have been sufficient to obtain adequate amounts of nutrients. Apart from increased individual requirements, it is still possible today, but more difficult. Many today believe that optimal health, not just adequate health requires careful diet planning and the use of organically grown foods. Modern farming techniques have led to soil depletion when farmers constantly replenish the soil with nitrogen and phosphates, but do little to replace the minerals that are being removed. Plants need these minerals to produce the vitamins they naturally contain. As a result, vegetables no longer contain the vitamin content they once did.
There is no substitute for the health effects that can be gained by a varied and healthy diet. But how many people do you see who routinely consume devitalized or highly sweetened foods for the sake of convenience and pleasure?
Supplementation may be necessary to bring our nutritional standards back to the level of our forefathers, to insure against any nutrient dependencies any individual may have, and to make-up for our often poor choice of foods. |
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Symptoms - Food - Beverages |
 (High) coffee consumption| | Research has shown that drinking coffee causes a significant loss of several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B and C, calcium, iron, and zinc. |
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Symptoms - Food - General |
Short-term/long-term low-carb dieting or discontinued low-carb diet| | Atkins followers risk a number of serious nutrient deficiencies [Journal of the American Dietetics Association 86 (1985): p.460]. When cutting calories, it’s especially important to eat nutrient-dense diets, but the Atkins Diet presents a double whammy; it restricts the healthiest foods like fruit and unrestricts some of the unhealthiest. The American Heart Association states: "Individuals who follow these diets are therefore at risk for compromised vitamin and mineral intake..." [Circulation 104 (2001): p.1869]
Diets such as Atkins' maximize the consumption of disease-promoting substances like the cholesterol and saturated fat, and industrial pollutants and carcinogens in meat, yet restrict one’s intake of fiber and the literally thousands of antioxidants and phytochemicals found exclusively in the plant kingdom (like the carotenoids, lycopenes, bioflavenoids, phytic acid, indoles, isothiocyanates, and so on) that have "anti-aging, anti-cancer and anti-heart disease properties" [Obesity Research 9 (2001): p.1S]. As a 2004 medical review concluded, the Atkins Diet is so "seriously deficient" in nutrition that "there is real danger of malnutrition in the long term." [Journal of the American College of Cardiology 43 (2004): p.725]
Realizing that this diet is so deficient in nutrients, Atkins prescribes no fewer than 65 nutritional supplements to help fill the nutritional gaps created by this diet - available on the Atkins web site. "Who needs orange juice," Atkins wrote, "when a Vitamin C tablet is so handy?" [Atkins, RC. Dr. Atkins Diet Revolution. David McKay Company, Inc., 1972] |
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Multiple Vitamin Need suggests the following may be present: | | | | | Addictions | Alcohol-related Problems| | An interesting study showed significantly decreased levels of anxiety among a group of alcoholics treated with megavitamins. Over a 21-day period, the group took approximately 3gm of vitamin C, 3gm of niacin, 600mg of B6, and 600 IU of vitamin E per day. A comparison group received only inert gelatin capsules. None of the subjects in either group took antidepressants or antianxiety drugs. Anxiety levels among both groups were measured three times over the 21 days. They fell dramatically only in the group on megavitamin therapy. |
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Diet |
 Consequences of Poor Diet |
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Recommendations and treatments for Multiple Vitamin Need:
KEY | | Weak or unproven link | | | Strong or generally accepted link | | | Proven definite or direct link | | | Strongly counter-indicative |  | | May do some good |  | | Highly recommended |  | | May have adverse consequences |
GLOSSARY
Antidepressant (Antidepressants)
Literally, substances meant to oppose depressions or sadness, and generally heterocyclic types such as Elavil, MAO inhibitors like phenelzine, or lithium carbonate. This category of substances formerly included stuff like amphetamines and other stimulants. Botanical examples include Hypericum, Peganum and Oplopanax.
Antioxidant (Antioxidants)
A chemical compound that slows or prevents oxygen from reacting with other compounds. Some antioxidants have been shown to have cancer-protecting potential because they neutralize free radicals. Examples include vitamins C and E, beta carotene, the minerals selenium and germanium, superoxide dismutase (SOD), coenzyme Q10, catalase, and some amino acids.
Anxiety
Apprehension of danger, or dread, accompanied by nervous restlessness, tension, increased heart rate, and shortness of breath unrelated to a clearly identifiable stimulus.
Calcium
The body's most abundant mineral. Its primary function is to help build and maintain bones and teeth. The body also needs calcium to carry nerve signals, keep the heart functioning, contract muscles, clot blood and maintain healthy skin. Calcium helps control blood acid-alkaline balance, plays a role in cell division, muscle growth and iron utilization, activates certain enzymes, and helps transport nutrients through cell membranes. Calcium also forms a cellular cement called ground substance that helps hold cells and tissues together.
Carbohydrates (Carbohydrate)
The sugars and starches in food. Sugars are called simple carbohydrates and found in such foods as fruit and table sugar. Complex carbohydrates are composed of large numbers of sugar molecules joined together, and are found in grains, legumes, and vegetables like potatoes, squash, and corn.
Cholesterol
A waxy, fat-like substance manufactured in the liver and found in all tissues, it facilitates the transport and absorption of fatty acids. In foods, only animal products contain cholesterol. An excess of cholesterol in the bloodstream can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.
Chronic (Chronicity)
Usually referring to chronic illness: Illness extending over a long period of time.
Gram (gm, gms, Gramme, Grammes, Grams)
A metric unit of weight, there being approximately 28 grams in one ounce.
Iron
An essential mineral. Prevents anemia: as a constituent of hemoglobin, transports oxygen throughout the body. Virtually all of the oxygen used by cells in the life process are brought to the cells by the hemoglobin of red blood cells. Iron is a small but most vital, component of the hemoglobin in 20,000 billion red blood cells, of which 115 million are formed every minute. Heme iron (from meat) is absorbed 10 times more readily than the ferrous or ferric form.
IU (mIU, uIU)
International Unit: An arbitrarily defined but agreed upon unit that depends on what is being measured.
mIU: 0.001 or one thousandth of an IU.
uIU: 0.000001 or one millionth of an IU.
Magnesium
An essential mineral. The chief function of magnesium is to activate certain enzymes, especially those related to carbohydrate metabolism. Another role is to maintain the electrical potential across nerve and muscle membranes. It is essential for proper heartbeat and nerve transmission. Magnesium controls many cellular functions. It is involved in protein formation, DNA production and function and in the storage and release of energy in ATP. Magnesium is closely related to calcium and phosphorus in body function. The average adult body contains approximately one ounce of magnesium. It is the fifth mineral in abundance within the body--behind calcium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium. Although about 70 percent of the body's magnesium is contained in the teeth and bones, its most important functions are carried out by the remainder which is present in the cells of the soft tissues and in the fluid surrounding those cells.
Manganese
An essential mineral found in trace amounts in tissues of the body. Adults normally contain an average of 10 to 20mg of manganese in their bodies, most of which is contained in bone, the liver and the kidneys. Manganese is essential to several critical enzymes necessary for energy production, bone and blood formation, nerve function and protein metabolism. It is involved in the metabolism of fats and glucose, the production of cholesterol and it allows the body to use thiamine and Vitamin E. It is also involved in the building and degrading of proteins and nucleic acid, biogenic amine metabolism, which involves the transmitting of nerve impulses.
Metabolism (Metabolic, Metabolize, Metabolizes, Metabolizing)
The chemical processes of living cells in which energy is produced in order to replace and repair tissues and maintain a healthy body. Responsible for the production of energy, biosynthesis of important substances, and degradation of various compounds. Also defined as the sum total of changes in an organism in order to achieve a balance (homeostasis): Catabolic burns up, anabolic stores and builds up; the sum of their work is metabolism.
Milligram (mg, Milligrams)
0.001 or a thousandth of a gram.
Mineral (Minerals)
Plays a vital role in regulating many body functions. They act as catalysts in nerve response, muscle contraction and the metabolism of nutrients in foods. They regulate electrolyte balance and hormonal production, and they strengthen skeletal structures.
Narcotic (Narcotics)
A substance that depresses central nervous system function, bringing sleep and lessening pain. By definition, narcotics can be toxic in excess.
Neural Tube
The tube of tissue that lies along the central axis of the early embryo. It gives rise to the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the central nervous system.
Niacin (B3, B-3, Niacinamide, Vitamin B3)
A coenzyme B-complex vitamin that assists in the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Essential for the health of the skin, nerves, tongue and digestive system. It is found in every cell of the body and is necessary for energy production. Niacin is also needed for DNA formation.
Phytochemicals (Phytochemical)
Substances such as vitamins and minerals that occur naturally in plants and have been shown in research to possibly prevent or cure disease.
Protein (Proteins)
Compounds composed of hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen present in the body and in foods that form complex combinations of amino acids. Protein is essential for life and is used for growth and repair. Foods that supply the body with protein include animal products, grains, legumes, and vegetables. Proteins from animal sources contain the essential amino acids. Proteins are changed to amino acids in the body.
RDA (RDAs, US RDA, USRDA)
Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins or other nutrients as determined by the FDA. U.S. RDAs are more widely used than RDAs, and focus on 3 age groups: Infants of 0-12 months; Children of 1-4 years; Adults and children of more than 4 years.
Saturated Fat (Saturated Fats)
A type of fat that is readily converted to LDL cholesterol and is thought to encourage production of arterial disease. Saturated fats tend to be hard at room temperature. Among saturated fats are animal fats, dairy products, and such vegetable oils as coconut and palm oils.
Vitamin B6 (B6, B-6)
Influences many body functions including regulating blood glucose levels, manufacturing hemoglobin and aiding the utilization of protein, carbohydrates and fats. It also aids in the function of the nervous system.
Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)
A water-soluble antioxidant vitamin essential to the body's health. When bound to other nutrients, for example calcium, it would be referred to as "calcium ascorbate". As an antioxidant, it inhibits the formation of nitrosamines (a suspected carcinogen). Vitamin C is important for maintenance of bones, teeth, collagen and blood vessels (capillaries), enhances iron absorption and red blood cell formation, helps in the utilization of carbohydrates and synthesis of fats and proteins, aids in fighting bacterial infections, and interacts with other nutrients. It is present in citrus fruits, tomatoes, berries, potatoes and fresh, green leafy vegetables.
Vitamin E
An essential fat-soluble vitamin. As an antioxidant, helps protect cell membranes, lipoproteins, fats and vitamin A from destructive oxidation. It helps protect red blood cells and is important for the proper function of nerves and muscles. For Vitamin E only, 1mg translates to 1 IU.
Vitamin K
Helps the blood clot when the body is injured.
Zinc
An essential trace mineral. The functions of zinc are enzymatic. There are over 70 metalloenzymes known to require zinc for their functions. The main biochemicals in which zinc has been found to be necessary include: enzymes and enzymatic function, protein synthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. Zinc is a constituent of insulin and male reproductive fluid. Zinc is necessary for the proper metabolism of alcohol, to get rid of the lactic acid that builds up in working muscles and to transfer it to the lungs. Zinc is involved in the health of the immune system, assists vitamin A utilization and is involved in the formation of bone and teeth.
Last updated: Jun 01, 2008
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