# Multivitamins **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 1, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655 "2006-03-01T19:39:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/21 "2006-03-02T16:11:10Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > Cite? I know what, “they say,” “they,” say lot of things. But where are the studies to back it up? > > Here are some that suggest no or minimal effect: > [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list\_uids=15741380&query\_hl=1&itool=pubmed\_docsum](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15741380&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum) > This is a review which states: “Therefore, in clinical, longitudinal, retrospective, and cross-sectional studies, neither increased consumption of dairy products, specifically, nor total dietary calcium consumption has shown even a modestly consistent benefit for child or young adult bone health. CONCLUSION: Scant evidence supports nutrition guidelines focused specifically on increasing milk or other dairy product intake for promoting child and adolescent bone mineralization.” What for the calcium? Well, the stuff about it not really helping older women came out really recently. I tried to find the specific article that suggested young women continue with it but can’t. There is debate about the protective effects of dairy. If you look at Asian countries, they have very little osteoporosis and also consume very little dairy. They do get some calcium through leafy greens and, more importantly, they don’t eat nearly as much protein which can cause calcium to be excreted. Here, where everyone eats half a pound of meat at each meal, a little extra calcium might be warranted. I’d say get it from a supplement (something cheap like Tums) and not extra dairy unless you have a problem with kidney stones. But everyone needs to make up their own mind. Here’s a recent [article on calcium](http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/calcium.html) from the Harvard School of Public Health. I’d still recommend the multivitamin (which is really whatt the OP asked about, all the rest of this stuff is kinda a hijack) but, definitely improving one’s diet and adding exercise is the ultimate way to go. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/22 "2006-03-02T16:32:59Z")
One thing to take into consideration is that Vitamins and supplements aren’t regulated. They can make just about any claim, and due to the paucity of any real studies they can get away with it. Baby aspirin has been studied (My dad was one of the ones involved in the massive Phyicians Study) and been shown to be beneficial, but aspirin is also a regulated drug, so there is alot more research. There is a little more information on fish oil due to the recent interest in statins and cholesterol, mostly showing it to be beneficial. But keep in mind. Any study that shows even the slightest improvement is so over-hyped by these companies that one would think they are fountain of youth pills. I’d say that the best multi vitamin for you is the one that is on sale. And if it isn’t on sale the next time, buy the one that is. Also, don’t confuse ‘daily recommended’ as meaning you have to stuff your pie-hole with all that in one day. Eat a big steak today? Well, don’t tomorrow. Eat a pile of broccoli? Well, you’re covered for a few days. Look to average out over time what your daily intake would be. And for gawds sake, don’t forget your vitamin beer. ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/23 "2006-03-02T18:27:49Z")
> [@ryobserver](#): > > > [@QuickSilver](#): > > > > I don’t disagree. It’s best to get your nutrition from whole foods than supplements. But I don’t know very many people who can consume the required 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables in one day in addition to the grains, fats, proteins that are also necessary. > > And even fewer people can consume all those servings without ending up overweight. Which is also unhealthy. I disagree with this. I track what I eat on [Fitday.](http://fitday.com) To lose weight, I eat 1400-1600 calories a day, and I do fine on getting my RDA of nutrients. I have to keep an eye on my weekly averages and be sure to choose a balanced diet, and to get enough calcium I usually have to eat a cup of nonfat yogurt a day, whether I want it or not. When I eat junk food, obviously, which has a lot of calories and no nutrients, I get screwed. But, honestly, it’s not _that_ hard to get all the nutrients you need at 1600 calories a day. When I was eating 1800-1900 calories a day to keep my weight stable, I didn’t have think about nutrients at all. I just ate reasonably healthy foods, and when I looked at the nutrient totals at the end of the day and I was at or over 100% in just about everything, and if not, if I checked my weekly average, I was fine. A “serving” of chopped fruit or vegetables is only half a cup, and a cup of raw spinach or salad greens is a serving, too. Have a large apple or pear or banana for breakfast, and you’ve got two servings right there. For lunch, a cup of vegetable soup _or_ a salad is a third serving. For dinner, have some stirfry with meat and vegetables for two more servings, and you’re at the recommended 5. If you had a soup _and_ a salad at lunch, and/or a healthy snack of baby carrots or yogurt with berries stirred in, there’s another serving or two. You have to seriously work to fit in nine, but five’s not a problem, even on a restricted diet. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/24 "2006-03-02T18:32:34Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I see your problem. You’re forgetting beer. I always knew that **Frank** was a smart guy. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/25 "2006-03-02T19:35:08Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > And for gawds sake, don’t forget your vitamin beer. So true, so true. For god-sakes, how could I have left that out? ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/26 "2006-03-02T20:31:59Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Oh, Hey! Me too!!! > > I switch it up with some Greens+, kefir and a martini or two on the weekend. 😃 I read this as **Greens+ _reefer_.** Some diet, huh. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/27 "2006-03-02T20:34:50Z")
> [@NurseCarmen](#): > > And for gawds sake, don’t forget your vitamin beer. Caffeinated Vitamin Beer. _Do Stupid Things at a Faster Rate!_ Brilliant! ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2006, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/28 "2006-03-02T21:24:32Z")
How about one of those fortified cereals, like Total? It’s like eating AND taking a multivitamin. If you’re on a budget, it’s like getting something for nothing. Sort of. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2006, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655/29 "2006-03-03T00:09:38Z")
Contact you University Health Service. Students can get (somewhat lightweight) health care & plenty of good advice. Ask about vitamins. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/multivitamins/346655.md?page=1)