If you’ve read our guide to the best multivitamin for men, then you probably know that we recommend taking a high-quality multivitamin on a daily basis. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is optimal for you to take multivitamins every single day. Nor does it mean that every single multivitamin is meant to be taken every day.
Is it good to take a multivitamin supplement every single day?
Which vitamin and mineral supplements are ideal for daily use, and which should be avoided?
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of using multivitamins every day.
Taking a multivitamin every day
Should you be taking a men’s multivitamin every day?
The answer to that question depends on numerous factors, including the multivitamin in question, why you are taking it, your diet, and your activity levels.
Some examples might illustrate our point better than just explaining it.
If, for example, you are an older man looking to support good health, energy levels, and vitality as you get older, then you do not necessarily need to be taking a multivitamin every day. Avoiding deficiencies usually doesn’t mean you have to be taking a vitamin stack every day; a high-quality, powerful multivitamin two or three times per week should be plenty to supplement your diet (which should be high in vitamins and minerals anyway).
On the other hand, if you’re an athlete who is training three or four times per week, or you are chronically stressed from work, then a daily multivitamin is probably a good idea for you.
A lot of guys feel extremely healthy; they think their diets are optimal and they assume they’re in better shape than most because they are lean and strong. But a lot of guys – especially younger guys who work long hours and then pound the gym after work – are slowly becoming chronically deficient in key nutrients. You quickly deplete key minerals if you are pushing your body to the limit, but the typical Western diet (even one full of lean meat and broccoli) isn’t enough to completely avoid becoming deficient in those minerals. Few young men regularly eat oysters and liver!
You also need to consider your diet when deciding whether or not you need to be taking a multivitamin every day.
If your diet is generally well balanced and healthful, you probably do not need to take a daily men’s multivitamin.
But if you have a restricted diet, you often fast or skip meals, or you know you aren’t great at eating for performance, then ensuring you never become deficient in any vitamins or minerals might be a good idea.
So do you need to take a multivitamin every day?
The aim of the game here is avoiding deficiencies. You don’t want to be suffering from sub-optimal performance for years because your body doesn’t have everything it needs to function properly. You also don’t want to be in a position where you have to fix a deficiency, as it can sometimes take time to build stores back up, and by the time you do your health or performance could have suffered a lot.
So work out how at risk of dietary deficiencies you are and decide whether you need a daily men’s multivitamin, or just a top up now and again.
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