How long do multivitamins take to work? That question is among the most frequently asked on our page about the best multivitamin for men. In this article, we’ll attempt to give you a definitive answer to that question.
Despite multivitamins being the most widely and frequently-used supplement type, people still seem to have a lot of questions about how they work, who needs to take them, and how long they take to work.
This shouldn’t be surprising; multivitamins are often marketed to people in a very general way. We’re all told that vitamins and minerals are “good for us”, and that taking a multivitamin is an effective way to promote “health” and “vitality”. But these are very abstract, generic claims. There isn’t much substance to them.
This is a shame as the best multivitamins can have a profound impact on several different aspects of your health and performance. Different minerals and vitamins have different roles in the body, but together they can dramatically improve cognitive function, power output, stamina, recovery time, sleep, mood, and immune system function.
If deployed intelligently, a men’s multivitamin can act as a kind of natural performance-enhancing supplement.
But how long do they take to work exactly?
How long after you start taking a multivitamin before you start seeing benefits?
Let’s take a closer look at the vitamins and minerals in the top multivitamin supplements and figure out how long it takes to see benefits.
How long does it take for multivitamins to work?
Multivitamins are not a ‘quick fix’ kind of supplement. unlike energy pills, fast-acting nootropics, or pre-workouts, multivitamins don’t have effects that you can really feel in the immediate to short term.
So how long do multivitamins take to work?
This depends on the specific composition of the multivitamin.
Some vitamins and minerals do actually have some immediate effects on the body. While you probably wont feel these the way you might feel a pre-workout, they do have a significant effect on your body. For example, Vitamin B6 can significantly increase energy metabolism almost as soon as you have digested and processed it. Consuming a large dose of B6 right before training will improve energy levels, even if you don’t notice it.
Similarly, some minerals like zinc and magnesium have some immediate effects on the body, including bolstering the immune system (zinc) and aiding sleep (magnesium).
On the other hand, most vitamins and minerals commonly found in multivitamin supplements only produce meaningful, noticeable benefits when taken on a regular basis over a fairly long period of time. Most men’s multivitamin ingredients don’t have performance-enhancing properties of their own; rather, it is a deficiency in these vitamins and minerals which hinders performance.
So taking a zinc supplement once wont promote greater testosterone synthesis. But being deficient in zinc – even for short periods of time – will completely sap your testosterone levels without you realizing it (at least until the effects of low testosterone become apparent).
Similarly, consuming some extra Vitamin E once every few months isn’t going to completely protect your from free radical damage. It wont supercharge your immune system as you try to fight off a cold or virus. But being chronically low on Vitamin E will leave you at greater risk of free radical damage while also leaving your immune system in worse condition than it might otherwise be.
So what’s the answer to our question? How long does a multivitamin take to work?
Some of the ingredients in a multivitamin will start to produce benefits immediately. These benefits might not be perceptible, but they are there. Other ingredients take longer to start having a meaningful impact on your health and performance. For most of the common ingredients in men’s multivitamins, the “benefits” come from avoiding deficiency rather than from the properties of the vitamins or minerals themselves. As such, you never really see benefits; you just avoid seeing the side effects of deficiencies.
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