Multi-Vitamins are the most common dietary supplement taken by the broadest range of people. The thinking makes sense right? One pill…. a days worth of good… simple.
But what is inside the pills?
Multi-Vitamins, for the most part, do back up their claims of packing upwards of 200% of your RDI (recommended Daily intake). If you look at the label of the bottle that you probably have in your cabinet, you will see that all the major points are hit .
1) Energy.
2) Metabolism.
3) Immunity.
4) Muscle Function.
Fun fact: Some minerals like Magnesium, zinc an calcium are omitted from daily Multi-Vitamins because the amounts are too big to put inside the pills.
Did you know that some Multi’s have been linked to cancer risk?
I have heard about this phenomenon for some time when It comes to supplements. When you look a the RDI and the mg dosage goes above 300-400%, then you run the risk of damaging cells and organs inside the body. Pre workouts are the worst at this. Hence the reason why there are warning labels on many of them. For example, when you take Vitamin E at extreme doses, it can do much more harm than good. The condition is called ‘hypervitaminosis’ and yes folks… it’s a real thing with big consequences.
Do you actually need to take the Multi?
If you are eating a clean diet that is full of variety, color and protein then maybe you are just doing more harm than good. Dietary supplements are good for adding value to your existing nutrition. That is why I encourage the use of magnesium, Vitamin D, prebiotics and probiotics because they are either missing in our lives or our consumer nutrition. Being honest with yourself is key to answering this question and by no means should a pill substitute a healthy diet.