Today I will talk about whether you really need to take vitamin and mineral supplements. Many people have this habit, so they use all vitamin and mineral supplements. Today we will provide scientific advice on whether you need them, whether they help you, whether you should take them or not.
If we look at health experts, what is their opinion? If your dietary restrictions are not there, if your diet is absolutely fine and you have no deficiency, then this type of supplement has no role. If you have a balanced diet in which you take the right amount of protein, consume vegetables, take fats, if you take all these in the right amount, then what’s in these juice supplements, these vitamins, they have no role.
Influence of Advertising Vitamin and Mineral
The most important reason behind why many people keep taking vitamin supplements is actually advertising in the market. You see advertisements for these products daily in newspapers, you see them in the media, you see them on television, and they actually motivate you for this thing. Are these vitamins and minerals really necessary? If you take a balanced diet, then it is always put forward that why you should take vitamins, why you should take supplements, that these points are that these vitamins and mineral supplements are necessary for your body. This point is absolutely correct, it is put forward that these things, your body, your liver cannot make them. This is absolutely correct.
Role of a Balanced Diet of Vitamin and Mineral
So these are your body’s needs, and your body cannot manufacture them in sufficient quantity. But it is true that the food you eat, if you take a balanced diet, this diet adequately meets your body’s needs, giving your body an adequate amount of vitamins and minerals, so maybe there is no need to take them. Look at the statement given by Dr. John, professor at Harvard Medical School, what is not what, that supplements can never be a substitute for a balanced diet, this nutrition that a diet provides cannot be substituted.
Misconceptions About Supplements
It cannot be that you take supplements and now I don’t need to eat anything. It is true that if you depend too much on supplements, then actually your brain gives a negative feedback that I am taking vitamins, so you don’t need to worry too much about your diet. This means that a healthy lifestyle, a healthy diet, from this you will see, if you take vitamin supplements internally, then it is absolutely true that it is believed that if you take supplements, your health will improve, many functions of your body will improve.
Lack of Scientific Evidence Vitamin and Mineral
But as far as research is concerned, it has been repeatedly clarified that the way you take supplements, the way you take vitamins, they have nothing to do with your health, with your body spots. This means that if you take supplements, it is a waste of money. There is no logic in this. Those who take supplements, what facts do they put forward? They put forward this point. First, their belief is that our life is busy, and in this busy life, we don’t have enough time to pay attention to whether we are getting adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals.
Busy Lifestyles and Vitamin and Mineral Supplement Use
Their point is that in our daily lives, we cannot ensure that our diet meets everything, these vitamins, these vitamin supplements are meeting. So that’s why we use some supplements. Day by day, our life has changed. These busy people, we cannot miss that we don’t get any particular nutrient, vitamin. Therefore, supplements are considered the solution. So they put forward this point that if we take supplements, the problems we face will be solved, without any attention, without any consultation, we change them with such juice supplements, with such vitamins.
Risks of Overusing Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
Without realizing that we are harming our biological system, we are doing injustice, and we keep doing this Google account. If we look carefully, if you take too many vitamin and mineral supplements, what do you do wrong? You do this wrong: if you take them, then many micronutrients that you get from your diet, you deprive your body of them. The most important thing apart from protein, carbohydrates, is fiber. You keep taking supplements, your body will stop getting fiber, and if your body stops getting fiber, many side effects will come to your body.
Importance of Fiber
Fiber is very essential for many functions of the human body. For proper functioning of the body, a balanced diet is needed, not just vitamins and supplements. If you take supplements, they will make you healthier, if you take more vitamins, you will become stronger, if you take more vitamin D, your bones will become stronger—this is not the truth. In the sense that anything that goes into your body in balance, the possibilities are that it will come out.
Potential Side Effects of Excess Vitamin and Mineral
Vitamins, minerals, they cause damage in this way, they have the power to damage. So this is a possibility in your body, if you take too much calcium, then you always move toward kidney stones. If you take too much vitamin A, it becomes toxic. The thing is that kidney function updates will happen, there is always a risk of damage. If you take too much vitamin B6, which is part of birth, it accumulates, then there is always a danger of nerve damage. Similarly, if you take too much beta-carotene, it is believed that if beta-carotene is consumed in excess, the possibilities of lung cancer, lung cancer always increase.
Need for Caution with Supplements
If you take supplements in this way, if you specify them, then do you really need to stop them immediately? It is believed that their side effects do not appear very quickly, the visible side effects always take a little time to appear. Therefore, people who consume vitamin supplements in this way are not canceled by doctors, it is not logical. If you have to take vitamins, if you have to take any supplements, if you have to take any advanced supplements, then you really need to consult your doctor.
Evidence of Adverse Effects
These types of supplements, if you use them, then see what problems arise. A publication from the United States of America, it was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2001, it showed that 2300 patients who were treated were admitted due to adverse reactions to dietary supplements. A survey collected data from 63 emergency departments from 2002 to 2015, due to dietary supplements, due to adverse events, 2300 emergency visits were made by people due to their side effects. This means that these types of supplements, vitamins, their adverse effects are not completely safe.
Supplements and Children
And if you look carefully, among the adverse effects, children as young as four years old were also admitted to the emergency department due to dietary side effects and allergic reactions to vitamin supplements. If you look carefully, we assume that it is very safe, this is not the truth. Not only is it a complete waste of money, if you look carefully, it may not even be safe.
When Supplements Are Unnecessary
It depends on who is consuming it. For example, if you are a completely healthy individual, you have no medical conditions, you have no dietary restrictions, you don’t have any nutrient deficiencies, if these four things are there, then you don’t need any supplements. And if you are taking supplements, then you are actually wasting money. In other ways, companies are pumping things into your body that are not needed.
When Supplements May Be Needed
If you have some other diseases, comorbidities, due to which you take a lot of medicines, due to problems, doctors have restricted a lot of food, you are vegetarian or vegan, or your age is advanced in the geriatric group, due to which your dietary intake is restricted. If you fall in these categories, then maybe you need supplements, but for that, you should consult your doctor. Apart from this, pregnant females sometimes need supplements to provide for nutrient deficiencies.
Conclusion and Recommendation
As far as vitamin supplements are concerned, if there are no deficiencies, if there is no other issue, there is no need for them. This is my request, if you take supplements today, they can cause problems in your body again, they can harm your body. If you are vegetarian, if your doctor has prescribed it, then you need to take them, otherwise there is no point in harming your body. Taking vitamin supplements unnecessarily, unwanted recommendations, is not logical. If this article helps you understand, please share it. I am Dr. V.K. Mishra from Gas Liver Hospital, Swaroop Nagar, Kanpur. Thank you very much.
Best Vitamins and Minerals Supplements in India 2025
| Supplement Name | Type | Key Nutrients | Approx. Price (INR) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutrabay Pro Active Multivitamin for Men | Multivitamin | 25 vitamins & minerals (Vitamin C, D, B12, Zinc, Magnesium) | 600–800 (60 tablets) | Nutrabay |
| Nutrabay Pro Active Multivitamin for Women | Multivitamin | Iron, Calcium, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Antioxidants | 600–800 (60 tablets) | Nutrabay |
| Vlado’s Himalayan Organics Whole Food Multivitamin for Men | Multivitamin | Natural Vitamins, Minerals, Plant Extracts | 719 (60 capsules) | Nutrabay |
| Vlado’s Himalayan Organics Whole Food Multivitamin for Women | Multivitamin | Iron, Calcium, Vitamin D, B12, Plant Extracts | 729 (60 capsules) | Nutrabay |
| Supradyn Daily Multivitamin Tablets | Multivitamin | 12 Vitamins, Zinc, Vitamin C, D3, Methylcobalamin | 500–600 (60 tablets) | Amazon India |
| TrueBasics Advanced Multivitamin for Men | Multivitamin | 23 Vitamins & Minerals, Omega-3, Ginkgo Biloba | 900–1,200 (90 tablets) | Hindustan Times |
| Apollo Multivitamin for Women | Multivitamin | Vitamins, Minerals, Panax Ginseng, Curcumin | 400–600 (30 tablets) | Apollo Pharmacy |
| Swisse Ultiboost Iron Supplement | Single Mineral | Iron, Vitamin C, B6, B12 | 800–1,000 (30 tablets) | Nutrabay |
| GNC Calcium Plus 1000mg | Single Mineral | Calcium, Magnesium, Vitamin D3 | 1,000–1,300 (60 capsules) | Nutrabay |
| Vlado’s Himalayan Organics Zinc Citrate | Single Mineral | Zinc (13.2mg per serving) | 500–700 (60 tablets) | Nutrabay |
| Naturaltein Iron Bisglycinate + Vitamin C | Single Mineral | Iron, Vitamin C | 600–800 (60 tablets) | Nutrabay |
| Dr. Morepen Calcium+ Advanced Tablets | Mineral Blend | Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, D3, B12, K2 | 700–900 (60 tablets) | Nutrabay |
