Should You Take Vitamins or Are They A Waste of Money?

There’s always a trending must-have supplement for immunity, brain health, longevity, or anti-aging. If you follow all the supplement trends, you’ll be taking handfuls of vitamins each day. Even the options in daily multivitamins are overwhelming. On the flip side, some medical experts believe that most dietary supplements are a waste of money. So, should you take vitamins or make other changes to your health and wellness routine? Let’s dive in.

Do We Really Need Vitamins?

Yes! You require vitamins and minerals to perform the functions your body completes on autopilot. Ideally, you should obtain all essential nutrients from the foods you consume, but it’s not that simple. There are a variety of factors that can minimize the amount of nutrients in the foods you consume.

So much so, that regardless of food security, approximately 90% of Americans are deficient or near-deficient in at least 1 vitamin.

Below are the top factors that may increase your need for daily, weekly, or as-needed supplementation:

Poor Nutrition: If your diet is high in processed foods, you’re consuming too many “empty calories”. This means you’re consuming lots of calories, but you may be lacking in micronutrients and macronutrients. This is why it’s possible to be overweight or obese, but nutrient deficient. However, not all nutrients can come from supplementation.
Nutrient Diversity: Eating a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and low-processed dairy and protein sources are required to obtain the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals your body requires. This is the difference between eating 3 to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day and aiming for 20 to 30 different fruits and vegetables per week.
Crop Depletion: How food is farmed and whether crops are properly rotated contributes greatly to the nutrient value. As such, you may not always be obtaining the full spectrum of nutrients your produce would contain if properly farmed.
Season of Life: Your body has different needs during different seasons of life. For example, you require an increase in folic acid if you are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, or breastfeeding. Or how your body requires more calcium during menopause.
Overall Health: You may have a medical condition that increases your need for certain nutrients. Or you may be taking a prescription that increases or decreases your need for certain nutrients. Your lifestyle and environment also influence your individual nutrient requirements.

All these factors must be considered when deciding if you should take vitamins, and what vitamins you should consume. No need to guess, as we can complete a health assessment and vitamin deficiency test to determine what nutrients you should be supplementing.

What Are Micronutrients and Macronutrients?

When we speak of macronutrients, we’re referring to fiber, carbohydrates, and protein. Your intake of each macronutrient should be personalized, and you should count your grams of each per day.

Fiber

Most Americans obtain between 10 and 15 grams of fiber per day. This is nowhere near enough. Women should aim to get closer to 25 grams per day, and men should aim for about 38 grams per day. However, some gut health experts believe 50 grams per day is best for optimal gut health.

Carbohydrates

Carbs get a bad rap, but they’re an essential energy source. That said, where you get your carbs from matters. Carbs should come from whole foods and whole grains, not from processed foods. When you overconsume carbs, your body processes the excess as sugar. This causes your insulin to spike. Consistently consuming too much sugar increases your risk for weight gain, obesity, internal inflammation, and a lengthy list of health concerns.

Protein

Although most Americans consume enough protein, most aren’t obtaining the protein diversity required to obtain all 9 amino acids. Where most diets fall short is that most protein comes from meat, when there should be a balance of protein sources, including nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains. We take a deep dive into protein in this article.

What Do Vitamins Do in the Body?

Vitamins and minerals work together synergistically in your body. Once you determine which vitamins you need to supplement, you must consider the dose and how frequently you need to consume them. Whether from food, nutritional supplements, spray, or injection—some vitamins stay in your body for days, while others stay in your body for weeks or months. This is because some are fat-soluble, and others are water-soluble.

Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Fat-soluble nutrients are stored in the liver and fatty tissues. They remain in your body for multiple days, weeks, or months.

Vitamin A (retinol)—essential for vision and eye health, bone growth, immunity, skin health, and minimizing the risk for lung and prostate cancer. Foods to eat include carrots, potatoes, orange and yellow squash, and mangoes.
Vitamin D (cholecalciferol)—works synergistically to maintain calcium and phosphorus levels for healthy bones and teeth. You can absorb vitamin D with 5 to 30 minutes of sunlight every other day. You can also increase your consumption of fatty fish and fortified milk or cereal.
Vitamin E (tocopherol)—a powerful antioxidant that minimizes cellular damage and helps to maintain vitamin A levels. Foods to eat include sunflower seeds, almonds, peanuts, avocado, and seafood.
Vitamin K (phylloquinone)—activates calcium and proteins to minimize bruising and blood clotting. Foods to eat include eggs, milk, spinach, and all leafy green vegetables.

Water-Soluble Vitamins

Water-soluble nutrients circulate in your bloodstream for 1 to 2 days before passing through, so you need to consume them more frequently.

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)—one of the most powerful nutrient sources for your immunity. It is also beneficial for eye health, antiaging, connective tissue, brain health, and minimizing the risk for a variety of diseases. Foods to eat include all citrus, strawberries, bell peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, and spinach.
B1 (thiamine)—essential for converting food into energy and essential for brain function, nerve function, and healthy muscles, hair, skin, and fingernails. Foods to eat include ham, pork chops, brown rice, soymilk, and watermelon.
B2 (riboflavin)—helps power you throughout your day and supports brain health and healthy blood, skin, and hair. Foods to eat include dairy products, meat, leafy greens, and whole grains.
B3 (niacin)—aids in day-to-day endurance and supports healthy skin, blood cells, brain, and nervous system. Foods to eat include meat, fish, whole grains, mushrooms, and peanut butter.
B5 (pantothenic acid)—provides an energy boost and produces lipids, hemoglobin, neurotransmitters, and hormones. Foods to eat include chicken, egg yolks, whole grains, broccoli, tomato, avocado, and mushrooms.
B6 (pyridoxine)—essential for brain health, immune function, creating red blood cells, and producing the mood-boosting hormone serotonin. May decrease the risk of heart disease. Foods to eat include meat, fish, tofu, legumes, bananas, potatoes, and watermelon.
B7 (biotin or vitamin H)—helps to convert food to energy, maintain glucose levels, and supports healthy bones and hair. Foods to eat include whole grains, organ meat, egg yolks, soybeans, and fish.
B9 (folate or folic acid)—essential for creating new cells, which is why B9 is best known as a prenatal vitamin. It may also reduce the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and colon cancer.
B12 (cobalamin)—aids in the production of red blood cells, regular cells, and DNA. It protects nerves and nerve growth and lowers the risk of heart disease. Foods to eat include meat, fish, dairy, and fortified cereals.

What About Mineral Supplementation?

Once you determine if you should take vitamins, you must also consider the essential or trace nutrients your body requires. Many daily multivitamins also contain minerals. They are formulated in a manner that addresses the most common deficiencies for their target demographic. That’s why it is important to select a multivitamin designed for your gender, age, or other relevant demographics.

Including the vitamins above, the human body requires just over 100 different nutrients. Of the vast list of minerals you should consume, there are a few your body needs almost daily.

This includes:

Calcium
Chloride
Chromium
Copper
Iodine
Iron
Manganese
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Selenium
Sodium
Sulfur
Zinc

Is There A Downside To Taking Vitamins or Supplements?

There certainly can be. We might call them “vitamins”, but the Food and Drug Administration considers dietary/nutritional supplements to be a subcategory of food. As such, they must meet strict quality control guidelines. Although vitamins aren’t FDA-approved drugs, most are formulated in FDA-approved facilities. This means that the facility meets or exceeds the FDA’s quality control standards.

Be Aware of What “Natural” Means

A common selling point that many dietary supplement brands make is stating that their product is formulated with “natural” ingredients. This might mean that only a few of the ingredients are natural. You’ll have to read the label to identify if the ingredients are truly all-natural. Also, be mindful that “natural” does not mean “organic-certified”.

Be Mindful of Fillers

Some vitamins contain the nutrients you want, but they may also contain toxic fillers or unnecessary additives. This could be for color and flavor, but it could also be to water down the active ingredients and increase the profits per supplement. Again, read the label.

Take As Directed

Like most things in life, more is not better, and some supplements are designed for short-term use. For example, you may only supplement vitamin D in the winter and may increase your antioxidants during cold and flu season.

If the quality is questionable, the daily intake is too high, or you don’t take your vitamin or supplement as directed—you could experience a range of side effects. Or no side effects, but no added benefits.

Quality Matters

Ever heard that vitamin capsules aren’t absorbed by the body? Or that liquid, spray, or injected vitamins are better? While your body can digest and absorb some vitamins, some pass right through your stool. This could be that you aren’t taking them as directed with food or enough water to dissolve.

To ensure quality, purchase your supplements from Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa—or explore our range of vitamin injections that release nutrients quickly into your tissues and bloodstream.

Results Take Time

Most of the scientific studies that measure the effectiveness of vitamin, mineral, and herbal supplements don’t deliver full benefits for at least 90 days.

What About Herbal Supplements?

Herbal supplements have the potential to increase the plant-based nutrients in your diet without consuming more plants. Plants are one of the top ways to consume the trace minerals your body requires less frequently. They may also offer a chemical-free method of addressing your unique health and wellness needs.

Be mindful of the same guidelines above.