In This ArticleView AllIn This ArticleHow Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Show?How Does This Apply to Real Life?
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In This Article
How Was This Study Conducted & What Did It Show?
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
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While we want most of our nutrients to come from food, many people—about 1 in 3 adults in the United States—take a multivitamin to help fill nutritional gaps in their diet. And while it has been shown that taking a multivitamin may helpdelay cognitive declineand improve brain function in older adults, many take multis hoping they will help them be healthier and live longer. But will they?
What Happens to Your Body When You Take a Multivitamin Every Day
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health wanted to know, too. Here’s what they found from their study published on June 26, 2024, inJAMA Network Open.
Researchers took data from three large U.S. cohort studies: the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study (NIH-AARP); the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial; and the Agricultural Health Study (AHS). A total of 390,124 participants were included, about 55% of them male and 45% of them female, with an average age of about 62.
Participants were in good health with no history of major chronic diseases at the beginning of the study and were followed for up to 27 years. During that time, 164,762 participants died—49,836 to cancer, 35,060 to heart disease and 9,275 to cerebrovascular diseases.
In addition to questions about multivitamin use, age and sex, participants also responded to questions about race and ethnicity, education level, smoking status, BMI, marital status, physical activity level, alcohol intake, coffee intake, diet, other individual supplement use and family history of cancer.
After several statistical analyses were run, including before and after adjusting for demographic variables (confounders), the researchers concluded that daily multivitamin use is not associated with longevity. In other words, taking a multivitamin won’t help you live longer.
Interestingly, during the first 12 years of follow-up, researchers found that compared to those who didn’t take multivitamins, those who took multivitamins actually had a 4% increased risk of dying. That risk disappeared, though, during the last 15 years of follow-up.
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And if you just want to make sure you’re covered, it’s OK to take one, too. Just remember that multivitamins are intended to supplement a balanced diet, not replace it. And take only the recommended dose. It’seasy to overdo it on vitamin and mineral supplements. Over time, as they build up in your body, it could cause toxicity—especially the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, as well as calcium and iron.
If you do decide to take a multivitamin, choose one that has been independently verified to ensure that what the label says is what you’re actually getting. Some stamps of approval to look for includeConsumer Lab,NSF InternationalandUS Pharmacopeia (USP).
And although a multivitamin may not add years to your life,certain lifestyle habits might—like frequentlymoving your body, eating a plant-forward diet, avoiding smoking and fostering positive relationships.
The Bottom Line
While regularly taking a multivitamin might not help you live longer, it probably doesn’t hurt to take one to ensure you’re getting the nutrients you need for your brain and overall health. We recommend having a conversation with your health care practitioner or a registered dietitian first to make sure taking one is right for you. If you decide to take one, choose one that has been independently verified. And above all, engage in healthy habits and keep a smile on your face.
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SourcesEatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.CDC National Center for Health Statistics.Dietary Supplement Use Among Adults: United States, 2017-2018.Loftfield E, O’Connell C, Abnet C, et al.Multivitamin use and mortality risk in 3 prospective US Cohorts.JAMA Network Open. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18729
Sources
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.CDC National Center for Health Statistics.Dietary Supplement Use Among Adults: United States, 2017-2018.Loftfield E, O’Connell C, Abnet C, et al.Multivitamin use and mortality risk in 3 prospective US Cohorts.JAMA Network Open. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18729
EatingWell uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable and trustworthy.
CDC National Center for Health Statistics.Dietary Supplement Use Among Adults: United States, 2017-2018.Loftfield E, O’Connell C, Abnet C, et al.Multivitamin use and mortality risk in 3 prospective US Cohorts.JAMA Network Open. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18729
CDC National Center for Health Statistics.Dietary Supplement Use Among Adults: United States, 2017-2018.
Loftfield E, O’Connell C, Abnet C, et al.Multivitamin use and mortality risk in 3 prospective US Cohorts.JAMA Network Open. 2024. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.18729
