Journal of Nutrition Science Research
Open Access

A multivitamin may be a preparation intended to function a dietary supplement with vitamins, dietary minerals, and other nutritional elements. Such preparations are available within the sort of tablets, capsules, pastilles, powders, liquids, or injectable formulations. A side from injectable formulations, which are only available and administered under medical supervision, multivitamins are recognized by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (the United Nations’ authority on food standards) as a category of food.

In healthy people, most scientific evidence indicates that multivitamin supplements don’t prevent cancer, heart condition, or other ailments, and regular supplementation isn’t necessary. However, specific groups of individuals may enjoy multivitamin supplements, for instance, people with poor nutrition or those at high risk of degeneration [1].

There is no standardized scientific definition for multivitamin. Within the us, a multivitamin/mineral supplement is defined as a supplement containing three or more vitamins and minerals that doesn’t include herbs, hormones, or drugs, where each vitamin and mineral is included at a dose below the tolerable upper intake level as determined by the Food and Drug Board, and doesn’t present a risk of adverse health effects [2].

For certain people, particularly the elderly, supplementing the diet with additional vitamins and minerals can have health impacts; however, the bulk won’t benefit. People with dietary imbalances may include those on restrictive diets and people who cannot or won’t eat a nutritious diet. Pregnant women and elderly adults have different nutritional needs than other adults, and a multivitamin could also be indicated by a physician. Generally, medical advice is to avoid multivitamins during pregnancy, particularly those containing vitamin A, unless they’re recommended by a health care professional. However, the NHS recommends 10 μg of vitamin D per day throughout the pregnancy and whilst breastfeeding, also as 400 μg of vitamin Bc during the primary trimester (first 12 weeks of pregnancy). Some women may have to require iron, vitamin C, or calcium supplements during pregnancy, but only on the recommendation of a doctor.

In the 1999–2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 52% of adults within the us reported taking a minimum of one dietary supplement within the last month and 35% reported regular use of multivitamin-multimineral supplements. Women versus men, older adults versus younger adults, non-Hispanic whites versus non-Hispanic blacks, and people with education levels versus lower education levels (among other categories) were more likely to require multivitamins. Individuals who use dietary supplements (including multivitamins) generally report higher dietary nutrient intakes and healthier diets. Additionally, adults with a history of prostate and breast cancers were more likely to use dietary and multivitamin supplements [3].

The amounts of every vitamin type in multivitamin formulations are generally adapted to correlate with what’s believed to end in optimal health effects in large population groups. However, these standard amounts might not correlate what’s optimal in certain subpopulations, like in children, pregnant women and other people with certain medical conditions and drugs [4].

The health advantage of vitamins generally follows a biphasic dose-response curve, taking the form of a bell curve, with the world within the middle being the safe-intake range and therefore the edges representing deficiency and toxicity. For instance, the Food and Drug Administration recommends that adults on a 2,000 calorie diet get between 60 and 90 milligrams of vitamin C per day. This is often the center of the bell curve. The upper limit is 2,000 milligrams per day for adults, which is taken into account potentially dangerous [5].

In particular, pregnant women should generally consult their doctors before taking any multivitamins: for instance, either an excess or deficiency of vitamin A can cause birth defects. Long-term use of beta-carotene, vitamin A, and vitamin E supplements may shorten life, media and increase the danger of carcinoma in people that smoke (especially those smoking quite 20 cigarettes per day), former smokers, people exposed to asbestos, and people who use alcohol. Many common brand supplements within the us contain levels above the DRI/RDA amounts for a few vitamins or minerals [6].