People in the United States have taken multi-vitamin/mineral (MVM) and multivitamin (MV) dietary supplements since the early 1940s, when the first such products became available. MVMs, in particular, are popular supplements, currently taken by an estimated one-third of all adults in the United States, and one-quarter of children and adolescents take an MVM or MV
MVM and MV supplements have no standard or regulatory definition, such as what nutrients they must contain or in what amounts. Therefore, these terms refer to products that have widely varying compositions. These products go by various names, including “multis” and “multiples,” and manufacturers determine the combinations and levels of vitamins, minerals, and other ingredients in them.
In theory, it seems logical to compound all of our necessary vitamins and minerals into one convenient pill. In reality, however, multivitamins are a far cry from a cure all. For one, relying on a multivitamin for something relatively easy to find in food (such as vitamin C) is like nutritionally taking one step forward and a few steps back. The vitamins or minerals found in real foods are often easier to absorb.
Food is always the best place to get the vitamins we need. Many times you can tell what vitamins a food contains by it’s color; vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients and chlorophyll also affect color. Let’s go through the rainbow: Red fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals such as lycopene. Orange and deep orange such as citrus and carrots), contain vitamin C and beta-carotene. Yellow fruits and vegetables have enzymes which promote healthy digestion, as well as vitamin C. Green fruits and especially dark green vegetables, contain vitamin K, but also large amounts of vitamin C. Blue and purple fruits and vegetables are high in vitamin C, as well as other antioxidants.
Additionally, vitamin E is a combination of oils, and it can be found in nuts. B vitamins are found in animal-based products. Vitamin D3 is found in some animal-based foods, but it can be hard to get enough from food. But most people don’t eat all of these things every day so supplements are almost always completely necessary to meet our RDV.
The most popular nutrient supplements are multivitamins, calcium and vitamins B, C and D. Calcium supports bone health, and vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium. Vitamins C and E are antioxidants—molecules that prevent cell damage and help to maintain health.
Vitamins help your body perform optimally and multivitamin supplements can help ensure you are also getting the dosages of each mineral that you need. It is important to remember that vitamins and minerals don't work in isolation and consuming too much of one nutrient can have wide-reaching effects and actually become harmful. Also, since many vitamins and minerals work together, if an individual is low on one, body function as a whole is not optimal.
It is important to remember that “stress” can refer the emotional phenomenon of stress or cellular oxidative stress from free radical formation that we may not feel that is causing stress and damage to our cells. As our bodies are made up of many cells, over time cellular oxidative stress can manifest into damage and conditions that can be seen on the whole body level.