Is it necessary for us to take vitamins on a daily basis?

From what I’ve read, it’s absolutely not necessary if you eat relatively healthy (meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, not too much junk food). Consuming more vitamins that your body needs or can process is really flushing money down the drain (if you catch my meaning).

@Austinlad Yes I have said exactly the same thing to my friends. But perhaps they something we don’t know!

Many dietitians call vitamins expensive pee. Not needed unless you have specific deficiencies in your body chemistry to address.

I tend to eat a very healthy diet with very little from critters with a face, but I’m not very good at making sure that all bases are covered every day. When I take vitamins, I emphasize the Bs and I swear I feel better. Maybe just thinking it works makes it work…but it works! besides, it’s such a pretty yellow when I do! ;-)

I take fish oil, folic acid and a single aspirin tablet each day in addition to my prescription meds on the recommendation of my doctor. I don’t bother with other vitamins, as I eat a reasonably balanced diet.

@Cruiser That’s exactly what I was thinking, but how do you know you may have a deficiency?
@JilltheTooth critters with a face . If ever anyone could turn me vegetarian, if must be what you have just typed. Why are the B vitamins good for you?
@stranger_in_a_strange_land So I presume the fish oil is for your bones, and the aspirin is to thin your blood. What is the folic acid for? Do these vitamins help?

I take vitamin C and E each day,they’re not necessarily to cover my deficiency but to improve my health(secondary value). I got silky skin and fresher life with these from these vitamins. I’m also a vegy so I got almost all kind of nutrition that my body needs.

@partyparty The aspirin and fish oil are supposed to have heart benefits, the folic acid is supposed to be beneficial in preventing stroke.

@partyparty : The B’s are prevalent in meats and I’m not sure I get enough from a twigs and weeds diet.

By the way, I recently started taking 2 fish oil capsules daily after reading several really interesting articles about its benefits… so guess I’m not taking my own advice above. ;-)

Just had my annual physical at the age of 66. doctor states that i am in good health and he will see me next year.

I take a multi-vitamin each day, along with extra vit. C and E. are these vitamins a contributor to my good health? i do not know. i do know that i feel much better, while taking the vitamins, than i do without them.

Not really knowing the truth here, i will continue to take a multi-vitamin each day. they are not that expensive and i look forward to another year of good health.

I wouldn’t consider going a day without taking at least 2 kinds of vitamins. The “expensive pee” , propagated by doctors who want us to stop buying them,(I wonder why?) is really this: the body takes and uses what it needs from the vitamins and THEN the REMAINDER is eliminated.”
Fish oil (krill oil ) is fantastic for your body.
If shiny hair and strong fingernails after fifty are any indication of the benefits I’m benefiting. I also take ubiquinol for heart health-too many to list.
I’m never sick, no flu, no allergies, no colds.
Best place to do research is pubmed.com .

So long as you eat a varied diet including a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables and proteins, consuming a vitamin tablet is unnecessary.

@partyparty I guess you could be tested…but I think you should be able to do your own guesstimations. Just pull up a recommended RDA of foods, vitamins and minerals and you should be able to tell where you are strong or week in your nutritional needs. If you cook your own food and eat smart you are probably doing OK. If you eat boxed foods, prepared foods even frozen bagged stuffs you may need supplements. My understanding is you may even have too much of certain minerals as cereals and boxed foods are fortified and things like salt sugar and preservatives are present in copious and unhealthy amounts.

My understanding is woman do need to supplement Iron but I am not a doctor or nutritionist so consulting with either would be prudent on your end.

I think eating a diet rich in nutrients is more important but if there is something you need to supplement (most people don’t get enough vitamin D, for example), then you should take a supplement. Another point is that every multi isn’t like others…there are some better than others and you should ask a nutritionist which they prefer.

It all depends on how well you eat, what kind of variety you have in your food.

Usually I do not take vitamins but I have bouts of serious cramping and sometimes uncontrollable hiccups, both signs of potassium deficiency. When it starts, I take a potassium supplement for a couple of days and eat a couple of extra potatoes. Usually, though, this problem is controlled by diet.

I would think that, unless someone has an absolutely abhorrent diet, a multivitamin would not be needed.

Most of us don’t eat well. Vitamins help fill in the gaps.

@Austinlad Ha ha… thanks for your honesty!
@john65pennington Well you certainly seem to be in good health. Someone else mentioned vitamin C and E. How do they benefit your health?
@Aster So is fish oil good for hair and nails?
@Arisztid Gosh my SO has serious cramp. I might try a potassium supplement for him. Thanks
@Facade How very true that is. thanks

I don’t but I do my daughter because she is growing and doesn’t eat as well as she should sometimes. I think it all depends on your diet. I might start when I feel like my body is slowing down and I am missing something. I’ll probably need some B-12 soon. LOL at the rate I am going.

The only way to know for sure if you have a deficiency is to be tested. Without a test you can cover your grounds by eating healthy and taking a balanced vitamin. Vitamins also help wash out free radials from your body. Sure, you don’t need them but why not cover all your bases by taking them? I doubt that most of us are really eating the correct way for our bodies unless you are eating a specific diet that was customized for you. Vitamins are not bad for you. Just make sure you drink enough water to flush out the left overs.

It’s necessary to get certain vitamins everyday, whether you take a supplement or get them from your diet. Supplements aren’t required for good health, but they help insure you get the minimum amounts necessary when you don’t eat that well.

@Frenchfry Yes good idea to supplement your daughters diet, thanks. What is B12 for?
@judochop Thanks for your answer. What are free radicals please?
@perspicacious GA :-)

@partyparty B12 is necessary for your red blood cells and a deficiency caused anemia. It is also necessary for healthy nerve tissue. The only natural source is meat; if you don’t eat meat you need to take a supplement.

Vitamin tablets should not suppliment a healthy diet.

@shelley Yes I totally agree with your answer, thanks