“Multivitamins” - What to consider when (and if) you have to choose

“Multivitamins” - What to consider when (and if) you have to choose

First of all, the fundamental warning: don't take “remedies” on your own, without guidance from a competent health professional, be they medicines, supplements or even teas - because many, depending on the dosage, can even do harm... A lot of harm.

Here are some points that I think it's important for you to think about if you still decide to “take a little vitamin”, with the best intention of feeling better:

1 - If you have to fill up your passenger car with almost 200 liters of fuel every month, is there any point in trying to put it all in the tank at once (so you don't have to fill up several times during the month)? Of course not, because most of the fuel will overflow and be lost. It's the same with commercially available vitamin and mineral complexes (a plethora whose names, at least the most common and famous ones, I'm sure you remember). With the exception of gradual release tablets (which, as far as I know, are not available in Brazil), the rest will release a large amount of vitamins and minerals at once into the intestine, which is why some of it won't even be absorbed; of the excess that is still absorbed, not much of it will actually be used by your body. What happens to what's left over? Either it accumulates where it shouldn't (which can lead to intoxication) or it is eliminated by the kidneys. The result? Either you have really big deficiencies that can even be met (depending on the quality of the formula prescribed) or you'll have really “expensive” and “vitaminized” stools and urine, since your medicine will almost all be there.

2 - If you need a part for your car, you can certainly buy it original from the dealership or “similar” from various stores. In addition to the price, the quality and durability of the product and its suitability for your needs should also vary. Again, the same is true of vitamin and mineral complexes: the quality of the compounds can vary greatly, which affects their bioavailability, i.e. the amount of each vitamin and mineral that will actually be available in your bloodstream after ingesting each tablet. For example, there are several ways of administering iron in a supplement (ferrous sulphate, ferrous fumarate, iron chelate, etc.), and they differ not only in price, but in the amount of the mineral your body will actually receive after each dose and even in the chance of causing unwanted effects, such as intestinal irritation. And believe me: it's not uncommon to find formulas that, in order to be cheaper, contain the forms of vitamins and minerals with the worst absorption and/or most side effects, which generally have a lower individual price.

3 - A formula full of vitamins and minerals, which seems very complete, may not actually be very good for a very simple reason: the quantity of active ingredients it contains. This is because it is very common for substances to appear in the same formula in such small quantities that they become insignificant for many organisms. And if you ask “then why do manufacturers put them in?”, the answer is simple: to be able to advertise that their supplement is “complete” (all the letters of the alphabet...), “has everything”.

4 - Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble, meaning they are best absorbed with food, more specifically, with the fats in it. Vitamins B and C, as well as minerals, are best absorbed in water, away from meals. Therefore, when you administer everything together, the absorption of some of the components will be better and that of others will be worse. So wouldn't it be better to take them separately?

5 - For the purposes of absorption in the intestine, iron competes with zinc, calcium competes with magnesium, folic acid with zinc and vitamin C with calcium. If these are just examples of negative interference between substances when taken together, imagine the number of possible interactions that mega vitamin and mineral complexes can cause. For those who self-medicate, without the support of a competent professional to recommend, guide and take responsibility, this can be problematic.

In short, it's best to get nutrients from a well-balanced and well-targeted diet, combined with other healthy lifestyle habits. But when this is not possible, supplementation should be individualized, with a well-trained health professional indicating what is necessary for each case, avoiding both insufficiency and intoxication. However, if you still prefer a “multivitamin and polymineral” on your own, considering what has been explained in this text, don't say you weren't warned.

Good thinking
Cheers and HEALTH!
Ícaro Alves Alcântara