My kitchen counter has started to resemble the vitamin aisle of a health food shop. With dusty, half-finished multivitamin bottles jostling for space with collagen, vitamin D and vitamin C (to name but a few), I’m more likely to offer you a vitamin cocktail than a margarita if you pop over.
I’m seemingly not alone. The supplements market in the UK is now estimated to be worth £568 million and is predicted to grow by 10% this year. And while all of this is a reflection of how increasingly health-conscious we’re becoming, it has also started to feel like hard work now that there seems to be a buzzy new ‘super’ supplement launching every week.
Like many, I want clinically proven formulations that take me beyond the ceiling of simply a healthy diet (although that’s important, too). But is a one-and-done multivitamin the answer?
Do multivitamins really work?
In an ideal world, we would have a food first approach to getting all our vitamins and minerals and we wouldn’t need to pop a pill unless a medical condition or a proven deficiency had been diagnosed.
“Our bodies constantly require vitamins and minerals to run effectively and most of these can be obtained from a well-balanced, healthy diet,” agrees pharmacist Shabir Daya, the formulator behind supplement brand DoSe and co-founder of Victoria Health. “However, because of poor soil quality and modern farming practices, many nutrients are not present in the soil and, hence, not in the foods.”
What’s more, fresh vegetables and fruits are often days old before reaching the supermarket shelves, he notes, “which can result in oxidation of some of the nutrients within them.” Our modern lifestyles – and stress, in particular – can also affect how well our bodies absorb vitamins due to issues with digestion, Shabir adds.
Of course, numerous studies do indicate that many of us in the UK have a vitamin deficiency. According to Shabir, 60% of the UK population are thought to have low levels of vitamin D (essential for strong bones and immunity) and magnesium (good for sleep and managing stress).
“The National Diet + Nutrition Survey in the UK found that females in the UK also had significantly lower intakes of riboflavin, vitamin B6, B12 and folic acid in comparison to males aged 20–59 years,” says Rhian Stephenson, nutritionist, naturopath and founder of Artah.
Another key reason to supplement is that our bodies can’t produce certain nutrients or we struggle to boost levels naturally – as is the case with vitamin D because of an absence of year-round sunshine. While vitamin C and B vitamins are classed as ‘water-soluble’, meaning that your body can’t store them so they are easily lost through urine.
For all these reasons, Shabir believes “multivitamin tablets are absolutely imperative no matter how healthy you are or even how well you eat. All our organs perform chemical reactions through the use of enzymes and co-enzymes. Vitamins act as co-enzymes and allow these reactions to take place.”
Multivitamins aren’t a magic wand
While there is certainly an argument for levelling up your health and immunity with a multivitamin, it comes with a caveat.
“It’s also important to view a multi-nutrient for what it is – a supplement, not a cure all,” says Rhian. “If you expect a multivitamin to add 10 years to our lifespan, it’s not going to happen. But using it to fill nutrient gaps and optimise energy, immunity, mood and reproductive health is a good bet.”
Your choice of supplement also makes all the difference. According to Rhian, the definition of the ideal multivitamin is one that has “a variety of vitamins and minerals, in bioavailable forms, enhanced with various nutrients that are supportive to health.”
If you’re wondering what ‘bioavailable’ means, it’s essentially a supplement derived from whole foods, so the vitamins and minerals are in their natural state. Both Rhian and Shabir agree that this is better than synthetic versions, which aren’t as easily absorbed by the body (this is the reason Shabir created DoSe Daily Multivitamins One-A-Day).
Shabir also cautions against seeking out high-strength, one-a-day vitamin supplements. “They often use mega strengths of certain vitamins and much lower strengths of others,” he explains. “The problem with mega strength vitamins is that, in many cases, they may compete with another vitamin for absorption and that is not ideal.”
So given ‘multivitamin’ is such a woolly term, what key vitamins and minerals should your pill contain?
The 8 key nutrients your multi-vitamin should have:
Vitamin D3
According to Rhian, 90% of absorbable vitamin D comes from sunlight, as a result of UVB rays interacting with a protein in the skin and converting it into vitamin D3. The consensus among experts, however, is that supplementing vitamin D3 is just as effective as sun exposure – and it doesn’t come at the cost of healthy skin, either.
Vitamin D3’s importance for overall health shouldn’t be underestimated. Scientists have found that vitamin D influences over 200 genes in our body; it keeps our immune systems healthy, regulates our sex hormones and is essential for the body to absorb calcium in order to strengthen bones and teeth. “Nearly every gland in the body requires vitamin D3,” Shabir adds.
It is also key for regulating sleep. “Low vitamin D levels increase the risk of sleep difficulties, including shorter sleep duration, increased nocturnal awakenings and delayed sleep onset,” says Rhian.
Vitamin A
While we often think of vitamin A in relation to skincare, when taken orally, it supports the immune system, says Shabir. This is because it is involved in the production of infection-fighting white blood cells. “Vitamin A also helps to promote healthy vision,” he adds.
Zinc
Zinc is present in every cell and is the second most abundant trace mineral in your body (the first being iron). “It is an absolutely essential mineral involved in over 200 different functions within our bodies,” says Shabir, who cites how it supports the development of immune cells to help you ward off sickness and helps with digestion, metabolism and the balance of blood sugar levels.
The trouble is, your body can’t produce or store zinc. So it’s a good idea to get a a steady amount from your diet (good sources include shellfish, dairy products, beans, lentil, nuts and seeds) and to top up reserves with a multivitamin containing it.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C comes with a laundry list of health benefits. Numerous studies show that vitamin C acts as an important antioxidant to protect cells in the immune system. “It also helps promote tissue growth and cell repair,” says Shabir. Specifically, it helps the body produce collagen – a protein used to make cartilage, ligaments, skin and blood vessels – and helps with wound healing.
Magnesium
It’s thought that magnesium may play a role in regulating a neurotransmitter called GABA, which is why it can calm the nervous system and act as a sedative to promote sleep. “Magnesium is required for a healthy cardiovascular function [it also regulates blood pressure],” says Shabir, plus magnesium is crucial for maintaining bone density.
Calcium
The main role of calcium, says Shabir, is for building and maintaining strong, healthy bones. This is especially important for women as hormonal changes mean we lose bone density faster than men, which can lead to osteoporosis.
Vitamins B & folate
B vitamins are like an eight-strong girl band (made up of thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, folate and cobalamin) who each have their own role but are basically “essential for the immune system, metabolism, energy production, cell growth and healthy muscle and nerve function,” says Shabir.
Collectively, B vitamins also help your body’s skin, blood and brain cells to develop and they convert food into energy.
Rhian namechecks folate (or folic acid) as being an especially beneficial B vitamin for adult women – and not just during pregnancy to aid fetal development, or during breastfeeding. “I think that all women who are cyclical should take a fertility focused multi-nutrient,” she says. “Taking care of our hormonal and menstrual health is important for fertility but it also a key vital sign for women and impacts how we experience energy, mood and more on a weekly basis.
“So focusing on it proactively will not only give you a better chance of having good levels of key nutrients for conception should you decide to go down this route, but it also helps to optimise your menstrual health regardless,” she adds. (Good multi-nutrient options containing folate include Artah Enhanced Fertility and Inessa Pregnancy Multinutrient).
Coenzyme Q10
“When it comes to multivitamins for women looking for prenatal support, look for a good dose of CoQ10, a fat-soluble compound that is abundant in almost every cell in the body,” says Rhian. “It’s required for energy production in the ovaries and is an important reproductive antioxidant because it prevents the oxidation of cell membranes and DNA.”
Vitamin E
Last but not least, “vitamin E helps to support the cardiovascular and circulatory system, it also serves as an antioxidant,” says Shabir, making it an important nutrient for the health of your blood (vitamin E also helps your body make red blood cells) and skin, as well as protecting against serious diseases including heart disease.
And the mineral your multivitamin supplement shouldn’t contain…
Iron is essential in making haemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that helps carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of your body (it plays a key role in energy production, strengthening the immune system and better brain function, among other things).
However, Rhian recommends avoiding multivitamins that contain it, unless you’ve had your levels tested and a doctor has prescribed iron supplements.
“While iron is incredibly important, we have no way to excrete it from our bodies, so it’s important that we only supplement with iron when needed – this can be done with a single iron supplement so you can control the dose and timing,” she says.
