From Cleveland Clinic
It’s easy to get confused with the alphabet selection of vitamins. With all those Bs, Ds, and other vitamin letters, plus random numbers (D3, we’re looking at you) we can find ourselves dodging a confusing mishmash of pills on the road to good health. Do we need to choke down a handful of supplements to stay healthy?
According to Neha Vyas, MD, a family medicine physician with Cleveland Clinic, you probably can skip the vitamin aisle and its confusing assortment of pills, as long as you pay attention to what you eat.
“I tell my patients that if you have a healthy diet and you yourself are a healthy adult, you really don’t need to supplement with any vitamins,” says Dr. Vyas. “That being said, if you are pregnant or are considering conception, then a prenatal vitamin is a good place to start.”
Dr. Vyas says that those who have trouble getting the right nutrients from their diet, they may want to consider taking a multivitamin. However, it’s best to consult with your physician first. In cases where individuals don’t have access to a lot of sunlight, she would recommend taking vitamin D. If they’re at risk for osteoporosis, she would suggest calcium.
Dr. Vyas says there are different tests available to determine what a person might be deficient in, which can be very helpful. Ultimately though, nothing can replace a healthy diet.
“A good diet is one that incorporates a lot of different colors into the foods that people eat,” she says. “If you want to follow a particular diet, the Mediterranean diet has a good number of healthy fats, healthy grains, and a good variety of fruits and vegetables, and that’s a great place to start.”
Dr. Vyas said it’s important to tell your physician about the vitamins you’re taking, especially if you are on other medications, since there could be drug interactions you may be unaware of.
