What Does Research Say About Multivitamin Usage in Men?

By Arthur Kavanaugh


Guys, what's your take on men's multivitamin supplements? Good, bad or pointless? Many males are questioning their daily habit of supplementing with a men's multivitamin because of the study that appeared in "Journal of the North American Medical Association".

Called "Physicians' Health Study II", male volunteers were given either a multi-vitamin or placebo and monitored from 1997-2011. Researchers discovered that guys that received multivitamins were as susceptible to heart problems as the group who took placebos.

The object of the trial study was to assemble proof on whether or not a men's multivitamin reduced the chance of "site-specific cancer incidence or mortality". The doctors who participated in the study 1) ate nutritious diets 2) body mass indexes were low 3) exercised regularly 4) took baby aspirin daily.

Or, as Duffy MacKay VP Scientific and Regulatory Affairs, Council for Responsible Nutrition summed it up, "The undeniable fact that the individuals were already engaging in these healthy behaviors would have made it extra hard for a multivitamin to meaningfully contribute towards reducing any additional likelihood of coronary disease. "

Nevertheless the investigators reported an 8% reduced risk on all cancer types for study participants who took a men's multi-vitamin. The study focused only on linking men's multi-vitamins with reducing risks of cancer. Although findings show vitamins do not "meaningfully" make a contribution to reducing chances of heart problems, it did not address the vital reason for supplementing with multiple vitamins.

Fundamentally, vitamins take up the slack caused by dietary deficiencies. Were you aware that an insufficiency in one vitamin can endanger your total body?

It is possible you eat the "right" foods as part of a well balanced diet. In that case , it's possible you get all the vitamins you require. Maybe but not probable, as most people eat out often, eat ready-made foods and snack on fast foods. Only a few people have the time or incentive to watch every mouthful they eat!

What about Enriched Foods?

Do you know what enrichment of foods actually means? It implies some vitamins are put into the processed food that were removed through processing! However not really. Take white flour as an example. Of 22 natural nutrient elements that were removed due to heat, storage, for example. "enrichment" replaces them with vitamin D, 3 of the B vitamins, calcium and iron salts. You do the maths!

Any Guidelines for the Best Multivitamins for Men?

To avoid vitamin toxicity, do not supplement with over 100% of daily recommended requirements of any single vitamin. Your multi should not contain iron. Men only require about 8 mg iron and almost always get enough from eating meat.

If you work in an office, you may not get sufficient daylight; make certain you get 1,000 IU vitamin D each day. For a healthy heart, men need 400 mcg (micrograms) of folate daily. For brain health, the recommended amount of B12 is 2.4 mcg. For vision and to support your immune system, 3,000 IU of Vitamin A is advised. Men need 90 mg of the antioxidising agent Vitamin C daily.

These are bare bones of contents in the best multivitamins for men. The final word is: irrespective of studies, most males will find advantages in a men's multivitamin.




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