Avoid the Multivitamins!

I get asked time and time again if people should take multivitamins. My response is always "If you are eating over 2000 calories/day it is very easy to get all of your nutrients in even with a pretty poor diet. On much lower calorie levels it is hard, but possible- that's why it's important to eat healthy." Then I always go into how vitamins and minerals in isolation act differently than when in food, and if you are consuming too much of one mineral, that can inhibit the absorption of another. So, I usually advise against most supplements... and now the Annals of Internal Medicine have published a report consistent with my recommendations: “Enough Is Enough: Stop Wasting Money on Vitamin and Mineral Supplements.” The kicker is the recommendation to AVOID multivitamins... not just that you are wasting money, but you can potentially be causing harm.

Here is an article that summarizes the findings
http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/la-sci-sn-vitamin-supplements-waste-of-money-20131217,0,5499291.story