But what is the point of taking a daily multivitamin? Are there any benefits that we have to gain from them? Can they protect us against chronic diseases?
Those are the questions that this article seeks to answer. So keep reading and find out what multivitamins have to offer you and how they can elevate your life and wellness.
What Are Multivitamins?
Before we dive into what multivitamins have to offer, let's first define our terms. What exactly are vitamins?
Vitamins are natural compounds that are required for our bodies to function, but we cannot create them ourselves. We must get them from foods we eat, or from supplements.
Even though we have a wide variety of foods available to us year-round these days, many people struggle to get enough of certain nutrients in their diets, such as selenium, potassium, and vitamin D.
A multi-vitamin is a combination of many micronutrients formulated for daily use to help fill the gaps in your diet to support the overall health of your body, helping you build greater wellness.
Manufacturers typically will extract specific vitamins and minerals from foods or other sources and compress them all together into the form of a pill, gel capsule, or gummy. The point is that, with one simple serving, you can fill in the gaps in your nutrition to support the health of your body and its various systems.
What Are the Potential Benefits?
What is the purpose of supplementing 10 to 20 different nutrients into our diet? Well, there are five main health benefits that might make you consider adding a multivitamin to your daily rituals and routines. Let’s dive in.
Fill in the Gaps of Nutrition
First of all, dietary supplements can help fill in any gaps in your nutrition.
Eating a balanced diet is crucial. However, healthy diets are expensive, and getting enough fruits and vegetables that contain all of the essential nutrients is often easier said than done.
Even if you eat a fairly healthy diet, you still might not be getting the recommended amounts of various nutrients every day. Researchers have found that the nutritional value of fruits and vegetables has gone down over the decades, most likely because of farming practices, and so the foods we eat today don't contain as many vitamins and minerals as the ones our grandparents enjoyed at their meals.
Add to that the fact that we aren't as physically active as people just a few generations ago--many of us work at desk jobs and drive to the store--and we don't need to eat as much food as our ancestors did, either.
All of this means that we need to add nutrition above and beyond what we get from our healthy meals each day.
That's where a multivitamin comes in. A multivitamin can fill in the gaps so you can have peace of mind that your body is getting the nutrition it needs to support itself.
Your body needs all sorts of different vitamins and minerals to function. While carbs, proteins, and fats are the fuel that your body runs on, vitamins and minerals are the tools that your cells use to do their various jobs, and sometimes they’re the building blocks of certain parts.
Nutrition is incredibly important, and a multivitamin supplement can help you get the essential vitamins and essential nutrients you need to function.
For People With Limiting Diets
Vitamin supplements can be especially helpful for people with limiting or restricting diets. It can be especially difficult for people with vegan, vegetarian, keto, and other diets to get proper nutrition.
Many people are also restricted by allergies. Dairy, gluten, and other significant allergies can severely restrict the food sources you’re able to eat.
Multivitamins help to give you the freedom you need to eat the diet that best suits you, whether your goal is weight loss, sustainable eating, protecting animal life, or just avoiding an allergen.
Work To Prevent Deficiencies
Multivitamin use can also help to prevent certain vitamin deficiencies that can adversely affect your health. Believe it or not, vitamin deficiencies are one of the more common health conditions for Americans, and they can get in the way of good health.
Calcium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin D, and vitamin B12, in particular, are five nutrients that many of us don’t get enough of. Most multivitamins contain all of these vitamins and minerals, so vitamin and mineral supplements can help to give you a lower risk of vitamin deficiency.
Support a Healthy Mood
A multivitamin supplement can help support a healthy mood and overall health. One study shows that supplementing vitamins for just four weeks may significantly improve your mood.
This is thought to be largely due to B vitamins, in particular. Getting proper nutrition helps to keep your brain and mood supported.
An Aging Body
As your body gets older, you become more and more prone to vitamin deficiencies that can affect the health of your immune system. This is why many doctors will recommend vitamin supplements for people over the age of 55.
Studies show that vitamin supplements can make a positive difference even in healthy older adults, making vitamin supplementation an important part of life as you get older.
What Should I Look For in My Multivitamin?
If you want to get everything you need out of your multivitamin, the product you choose should contain all the nutrients required to give you the benefits we’ve talked about. Here are some of the most important nutrients to look for.
Omega-3s
If you are lucky enough, you can find a multivitamin that is also formulated with omega-3 fats--a truly winning combination, since just like vitamins, omega-3 fats are required for your body to function properly, yet the human body cannot make them itself.
Omega-3 fatty acids are an incredibly important nutrient for your body. They play a major role in building healthy cell membranes, they provide energy for your body, and they are specifically important to support healthy brain cells.
Omega-3s are mostly found in fatty fish like salmon or tuna, but it can be tough to get enough of them in your diet, especially if you’re vegetarian or vegan. So if you need a plant-based source of Omega-3s, look for an algae-based supplement like ours here at iwi life.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an incredibly powerful vitamin. Not only does it support eye health, but it also works for the immune system and supports reproductive health.
Some multivitamins contain a precursor to vitamin A, beta-carotene, which the body converts into fully-formed vitamin A. Beta-carotene is generally safe even in very high amounts, but the fully-formed retinyl palmitate form has a daily upper limit of 3,000 IU for men and 2,333 IU for women. When selecting a daily multivitamin, check which form of vitamin A it contains and compare with any additional supplements you take to be sure you stay within the daily recommended range.
B Vitamin Complex
Any quality multivitamin is going to have most of the members of the B vitamin complex. B1 (thiamin) helps to turn carbs into energy, B2 (riboflavin) helps the body use oxygen and supports energy levels, B3 (niacin) supports your nervous and digestive systems, B6 (pyridoxine) helps to create important neurotransmitters like serotonin and norepinephrine, and B7 (biotin) helps with hair and nail growth.
Vitamin B9 (also known as folate or folic acid) is incredibly important for producing red and white blood cells, and it is quite important during pregnancies. B12 supports nerve cells and blood cells, and it’s an especially important supplement for vegans, as it is mostly found in animal products.
As mentioned before, B vitamins have been shown to support brain function for emotional wellness, making it an important addition to your multivitamin.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is a powerful antioxidant that helps to protect your body and cells from damage from free radicals. Vitamin C also works to support the health of the immune system.
Calcium, Magnesium, and Zinc
These are three of the most important minerals needed by your body. Calcium is used all over your body, but it is most important for the health and function of your musculoskeletal system. Magnesium supports the health of your muscles and your nerves, and zinc helps to maintain the integrity of the skin.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, especially vitamin D3, is another necessary vitamin for vegans and people with plant-based diets. Dietary D3 is mostly found in animal products, making it difficult for people who exclusively eat plants to get enough of it.
D3 helps your body utilize the calcium you consume, so it is a vital vitamin for bone and muscle health.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is another important antioxidant that can work to minimize damage from free radicals in your body. Not only that, but vitamin E plays an important role in the skin, supporting the integrity of the epithelial barriers.
What Are Your Needs?
At the end of the day, you need a multivitamin that supports you and your specific needs. If you know that you have a specific vitamin deficiency, find a supplement that can help you reach your goals with that vitamin.
You should also look for vitamins and brands that align with your priorities. If you follow a plant-based diet, you may want to look specifically for plant-based vitamins and sustainable products.
Here at iwi life, we offer high-quality vitamin supplements that are made sustainably. With our products, you can cover your nutritional needs without compromising the health of our planet.
Support Your Health With iwi life
Multivitamins are a great way to support your health. They can fill in the nutritional gaps in your diet and help you meet your nutrition goals to support your health across all of your body’s different systems.
Here at iwi life, our multivitamins contain the top essential vitamins and minerals, as well as Omega-3 for added cardiovascular support. If you are ready to step up your wellness routines, iwi life can help.
Sources
Nutrient Deficiencies Adults Shouldn't Ignore | GWR YMCA
Omega-3 Fatty Acids Fact Sheet for Consumers | National Institutes of Health
