As someone who swallows six multi-vitamin tabs every day, I was dismayed to read that “Multivitamin Use May Offer No Benefit in Postmenopausal Women,” the headline of a report that was published this week in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Does that mean everyone, myself included, should stop taking a multi-vitamin?
The short answer appears to be no, or at least not necessarily. Though the study concluded there really is no reason to take a multivitamin if you have an adequate diet, the study’s authors acknowledge that the women participating in the study were not typical of the general public. At least 80 percent finished high school, 40 percent had a college degree or higher, and overall, they had better health habits than the public at large. So they concluded that multivitamin use “just doesn’t seem to make that much of a difference in this population,” explained Dr. Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, the principal investigator of the WHI study, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
So that still leaves me and others with the question – do we eat well enough that we can do without multivitamins? In my opinion, if a woman is dieting or exercising furiously to lose weight, or is too busy or stressed to prepare well-balanced meals, than she would likely benefit from a multivitamin supplement.
As the study’s authors noted, multivitamin use “confers no additional benefit but it also does no harm.” In other words, it can’t hurt.
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This is quite surprising to me. I take several supplements along with a multivitamin to prevent future problems. For example, I can’t eat salmon 3 times a week, so I take fish oil supplements. I eat a lot of vegetables, but they are seasonal, and it’s been proven that the off-season ones don’t have the nutritional value. So, does anyone really know what to eat each day to maintain balance? I say no. I’m keeping my multi.
Thanks for your comment, Tomima. I’m with you. I’m sticking to my daily multivitamin along with all the other supplements I take!
A good quality multivitamin should have chelated minerals, including selenium. A number of studies have shown benefits from selenium such as decreased all cause mortality and reduced cancer mortality.
Jeffrey Dach MD
Vitamin E is important for menopausal and post menopausal women who experience ongoing hot flashes. Vitamin E does not inhibit hot flashes but it protects the arteries from the oxidative stress produced by the hot flash.
The oxidative stress causes LDL cholesterol to brew leading to inflammation and eventually plaque build-up.
Enhancing intake of vitamin E through certain foods such as unsalted sunflower seeds, olive oil is cardio-protective for women with hot flashes.
Where do I begin? Firstly, this study did not indicate which multi’s were used. There’s a huge difference between commercial drugstore varieties and a reputable multi vitamin from a health food store. For examples, B vitamins at the RDA level are miniscule and this is usually what you’ll find in a lesser quality multi. Besides, a quality multi is just a drop in the bucket and should serve merely as a base to assure balance in supplementation. I take approximately thirty supplements a day including a good high potency multi, coq 1o, fish oil, calcium, magnesium and extra D. I specifically mentioned these because I believe they are essential to the health of every woman over fifty. I would also suggest replacing coffee with green tea, eating copious amounts of organic vegetables, some organic fruit, legumes and nuts. Some Tempeh and wild salmon couldn’t hurt either, nor could some ground flaxseeds. Also, all kinds of regular exercise is really important. I’m a breast cancer survivor so any kind of HRT is not an option despite Suzanne Summers’ advice. All I have at my disposal to help me feel OK at this age is healthy living. I say this as much to myself as to you.
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