"Should I take a multivitamin?" is probably the most common question I've been asked in 30 years of health retail, and it's the one where my answer surprises people most. I sell supplements for a living, so you'd expect an automatic yes. You're not getting one. The honest answer is: it depends, and for a lot of people the money is better spent elsewhere. Here's how I'd talk you through it if you were standing at the counter.
What the evidence actually says about multivitamins
Large studies on multivitamins in generally well-nourished adults keep coming back with the same finding: for most people eating a reasonable diet, a daily multivitamin doesn't make a measurable difference to long-term health outcomes. That's not a fringe opinion, it's the mainstream reading of the research, and any retailer who tells you otherwise is selling, not advising.
But that finding comes with two big caveats. First, "generally well-nourished" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Plenty of people in the UK aren't, particularly for vitamin D in winter, and for specific groups, iron, B12 and folate. Second, the multivitamins used in a lot of research are the cheap, everything-at-token-doses type. Which brings me to my main gripe with the category.
The fairy-dust problem
Most supermarket multivitamins are what I call fairy-dust formulas. They list 25 nutrients on the front, but look at the doses and half of them are sprinkled in at levels that let the manufacturer print the name on the label and not much else. They also tend to use the cheapest forms available: magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, cyanocobalamin B12. These are the forms your body absorbs least well. You get a long label, a small cost, and not much biology.
A good multivitamin does exist. It uses better forms, sensible doses, and it costs more, because those ingredients cost more. Brands like Terranova and Viridian, which we stock precisely for this reason, build their multis this way. If you're going to take one at all, take one built like that.
Who actually benefits from a multivitamin
There are groups of people for whom a multi genuinely earns its place:
- People whose diet is honestly poor or very limited, whether through appetite, budget, shift work or just life. A multi is a backstop, not a fix, but a backstop has value.
- Older adults, where appetite drops and absorption of some nutrients, particularly B12, declines with age.
- Vegans and vegetarians, who need reliable B12 at minimum and are often short on iron, zinc and iodine.
- People in heavy training phases, dieting hard, or recovering from illness, where demands are up and intake is down.
If that's you, a properly formulated multi makes sense. If you're eating a decent varied diet and you're not in one of those groups, you're mostly buying reassurance.
The targeted alternative
Here's what I actually suggest to most customers instead: skip the scattergun and spend the same money on the two or three nutrients you're most likely to be genuinely short of, at doses that do something.
Top of the list in the UK is vitamin D. Government advice is that everyone should consider a supplement through autumn and winter, because our sunlight simply isn't strong enough for skin synthesis for half the year. Vitamin D contributes to the normal function of the immune system and the maintenance of normal bones and muscle function. Something like LSC D3 4000iu gives you a meaningful daily dose in one capsule.
View in the shop
Next, B12 if you're plant-based, over 50, or on long-term acid-reducing medication, all groups where absorption or intake commonly falls short. B12 contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and the reduction of tiredness and fatigue, and the methylcobalamin form in LSC B12 Methylcobalamin 1000mcg is the form I'd choose over the synthetic cyanocobalamin in most multis.
Add magnesium if sleep, stress or muscle cramps are part of your picture, and you've built something more useful than most multivitamins for similar money. You'll find all of these in our vitamins and minerals collection.
If you do want a multivitamin, choose it like this
- Turn the tub around and read the doses, not the front label. Look for nutrients at or near 100% of the reference intake, not 15%.
- Check the forms: methylcobalamin rather than cyanocobalamin, and citrates, picolinates or bisglycinates rather than oxides.
- Be suspicious of 30-a-month multis that claim to do everything. Good raw materials have a cost.
- One a day you'll actually take beats a six-a-day protocol you'll abandon by February.
FAQ
Q: Are multivitamins a waste of money?
A: For a well-fed adult taking a cheap one, mostly yes. For someone with a limited diet, an older adult, or a vegan, a well-formulated multi is a sensible backstop. The product quality and the person both matter.
Q: Can a multivitamin replace a bad diet?
A: No, and I'll say that plainly even though I sell them. Food provides fibre, protein and thousands of compounds no capsule contains. Supplements supplement. The name is the job description.
Q: Is it possible to overdo it with a multivitamin?
A: With one sensible multi, unlikely. The risk comes from stacking: a multi plus a zinc product plus a fortified protein powder can quietly push some nutrients, like zinc or vitamin A, higher than intended. Count everything you take, and stick to the label dose.
Q: What's better, a multivitamin or targeted supplements?
A: For most people I'd rather see vitamin D, B12 where relevant, and magnesium at proper doses than 25 nutrients at token doses. Targeted wins unless your whole diet needs the backstop.