Vitamins are good for you, right? They are supposed to keep you mentally and physically healthy; but do they actually work? Vitamins are meant to fill nutrition gaps that you are not able to fulfill in your own diet. They directly benefit a person who is deficient in certain areas. With that being said, what are vitamins doing for the healthy person who does not have deficiencies? I take a multivitamin every night because it just always seemed like a good idea, but is it actually helping me?

Vitamins are found in the foods we eat and are essential to our immune system, organs and cell activity. When we chew our food, saliva breaks it down and moves it to our stomach to be further broken down. After food arrives in the stomach and is broken down further, it then moves to the small intestine where most of our vitamin absorption occurs. There are two types of vitamins: fat-soluble (A, D, E, and K) or water-soluble (B and C) both which act differently in the body. Fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed in fat globules and travel through the lymphatic system, which is how the fatty-acids are moved into the circulatory system and stored in our tissue. On the other hand, water-soluble vitamins are dissolved in water and transported through the body.

Now that we understand the role vitamins have in our health, the question is proposed as to what is the benefit behind taking a vitamin supplement? The key word here to look at is “supplement.” Supplement means, as quoted from Dictionary.com is, “something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or reinforce or extend a whole.” A vitamin’s primary function is to fill nutrition gaps, not replace them. Robert Anding (MS, RD), a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and director of sports nutrition at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston said, “ They can plug nutrition gaps in your diet, but it is short-sighted to think your vitamin or mineral is the ticket to good health-the big power is on the plate, not in a pill.” Food contains phytochemicals and fiber that are hard to be replaced by a supplement. Phytochemicals are found in plant foods which are you vegetables, fruits, beans, and grains. Common phytochemicals you have most likely heard of are antioxidants, flavonoids, beta-carotene, and about 4,000 more exist.

Studies on vitamins have always been controversial, as many different conclusions have been drawn from the different studies done. So how do we know what to believe? Most studies agree that vitamins have a direct benefit to the deficient person. However, doctors and other experts are finally saying that enough is enough; vitamin supplements don’t make a healthy person any healthier. Many studies in fact show that harm is done if a healthy person is taking a daily supplement. This is addressed in a video on CNN, that demonstrates how some of the vitamins are still stuck on the pill no matter what studies show. In a study conducted by six well qualified experts in December of 2013, as quoted from their abstract, “After reviewing 3 trials of multivitamin supplements and 24 trials of single or paired vitamins that randomly assigned more than 400 000 participants, the authors concluded that there was no clear evidence of a beneficial effect of supplements on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, or cancer.”

After all of the research and consultation from experts, I have come to a personal conclusion that my multivitamin may just be a waste of money. I am highly reconsidering my daily intake of this supplement because there seems to be no benefits for the healthy person. Instead, I am going to try to have a more well-balanced diet that allows me all of my nutrients through the food itself. Therefore, I advise all healthy beings to stick to the plate and forget the pill.

Works Cited:

Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Annals of Internal Medicine. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=1789253>.

“Immune and Lymphatic Systems.” Inner Body. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.innerbody.com/image/lympov.html#full-description>.

Jaslow, Ryan. “Multivitamin researchers say ‘case is closed’ after studies find no health benefits.” CBSNEWS. N.p., 16 Dec. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/multivitamin-researchers-say-case-is-closed-supplements-dont-boost-health/>.

“Phytochemicals.” American Cancer Society. N.p., 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/herbsvitaminsandminerals/phytochemicals>.

“Vitamin Supplements: Healthy or Hoax?” American Heart Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Vitamin-Supplements-Healthy-or-Hoax_UCM_432104_Article.jsp>.

“Water Soluble Vitamins Vs. Fat Soluble Vitamins.” MedicineNet.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10736>.

Zelman, Kathleen M., MPH, RD, LD. “What Vitamin and Mineral Supplements Can and Can’t Do.” WebMD. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Oct. 2014. <http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/nutrition-vitamins-11/help-vitamin-supplement>.