Not too long ago, the conventional wisdom among medical experts was that individuals who eat a balanced diet are not at risk of developing vitamin deficiency, so they do not need multivitamins. After all, supplements are intended to make up for what you don't get from food. Today though, there is growing consensus in the medical community that anyone can benefit from taking one or two pills of a standard multivitamins each day.



So, what's changed? What's changed is that there is evidence that the benefits of daily multivitamins extend beyond protection against deficiency diseases. We now know that they can provide an extra dose of protection against infections and other common diseases. More importantly, they can lower your risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cancer.

If you do not eat a balanced diet - and majority of Americans fall in this category, you definitely need to take a multivitamins each day to prevent deficiency diseases, some of which can result in serious medical conditions and even death. In addition to low consumption of dietary vitamins, other factors and conditions may make it necessary for you to take multivitamins.

For example, you may need a daily multivitamins to prevent deficiency if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. A pregnant woman needs more of all nutrients, but she especially needs folic acid, iron, and calcium throughout her pregnancy. Folic acid protects her fetus against birth defects like neural tube defects. Iron protects her and her baby against anemia, and she needs extra calcium to support bone development for her baby.

Typically, menopause initiates a chain reaction in a woman that ultimately reduces her body's ability to store calcium. The drastic reduction in estrogen production after menopause, for example, accelerates bone loss in postmenopausal women. So, a daily intake of multivitamins that provide extra calcium makes sense for these women.

Women who experience heavy menstrual bleeding lose large amounts of iron each month. Iron is a component of hemoglobin, a protein found in red blood cells. Because iron is a trace mineral, meaning that iron is needed only in small amount, its body stores is easily depleted through bleeding. Therefore, these women may benefit from daily multivitamins.

Age is a major cause of vitamin deficiency. All individuals who are 50 or older need to take daily multivitamins for several reasons. First, older people eat less food, but they excrete more nutrients in urine and stool. Secondly, most of them absorb fewer nutrients from food. Furthermore, older adults have reduced ability to synthesize vitamin D in their skin. In a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, for example, 30 - 40% of older people with hip fracture were vitamin D deficient.

Strict vegetarianism is also a factor in determining who may need daily multivitamins. Vegetarian diets are low in vitamin B12, iron, and zinc. While fortified foods may provide these nutrients, the amount they provide may not be enough to prevent deficiency.

Smoking produces harmful toxins in the body, and vitamins and other essential nutrients are needed to neutralize them. For example, it is estimated that cigarette smoke reduces blood vitamin C levels by up to 50%, thus placing smokers at increased risk of vitamin C deficiency. For this reason, the Academy of Sciences recommends that smokers require extra 35 milligrams (or a total of 125 mg) of vitamin C over the amount needed by nonsmokers.

Excessive alcohol drinking also reduces the blood level of many nutrients because of decreased absorption and increased excretion. Also, heavy alcohol drinkers are more likely to substitute alcohol for food, which over time may lead to deficiency. They too may benefit from taking daily multivitamins.

Medical experts now agree that anyone can benefit from a daily intake of a standard multivitamins. This view is based on scientific evidence suggesting that multivitamins do more than simply replace what you don't get from food. They can provide extra protection against common diseases as well as reduce your risk of chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and diabetes.