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Key takeaways:

Many people take a multivitamin to make sure they're getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. It seems like an easy way to fill in any potential gaps in nutrition - especially for people who can't always eat a balanced diet. But do multivitamins really work? Scientists have looked at whether they actually make a difference in your health. And the might surprise you.

Most on multivitamins are designed to look at their potential benefits in specific areas.

When it comes to multivitamins and heart health, the research findings are mixed.

One large looked at male doctors who were 40 years and older and who took a multivitamin for an average of 12 years. It made no difference in their risk for:

If the doctors took the multivitamin for 20 years or more, however, they did start to see a lower risk of heart disease and stroke, according to the study.

But another found that there may be more benefits for women. The results showed that women who took a daily multivitamin for more than 3 years had a lower rate of death from heart disease compared with those who didn't take a multivitamin.

One large scale analysis of other studies concluded that multivitamins aren't associated with decreased risk of heart attack, stroke, and dying from heart disease. And the United States Preventive Services Task Force does not recommend using multivitamins to prevent heart disease.

Scientists have also looked at whether multivitamins help protect the brain - and the results are more encouraging. Several suggest that multivitamins may improve memory in older adults.

In , participants who took a daily multivitamin for 3 years had improved memory. The average age of people in this study was 73 years old.

Another study saw similar results. The group that took a daily multivitamin were better able to recall things when tested 1 year and 3 years later. The average age in this study was 71 years old.

The research in multivitamins for eye health is also promising.

One suggests that certain mineral supplements may help protect long-term vision.

People ages 55 to 80 years who took a daily supplement for 6 years were better able to maintain their vision. More specifically, they were less likely to develop worsening age-related macular degeneration (AMD). This daily supplement included many ingredients in a multivitamin, such as:

Of note, a later found that beta-carotene wasn't a required ingredient to achieve the effects.

also suggests that a multivitamin can help decrease the risk of certain types of cataracts. In one , people ages 43 to 86 years who took a daily multivitamin for more than 10 years had a lower risk of cataracts. And another of 15,000 male physicians showed similar benefits.

Overall, it's not clear if a daily multivitamin increases or decreases the likelihood of developing cancer.

One looked at women ages 20 to 79 years who took a daily multivitamin for 10 years. The researchers found no difference in their risk of developing breast cancer.

Another looked at men who took a daily multivitamin for more than 10 years. The study found a very small decrease in risk for cancer in general. But when the researchers tried to break that down into specific types of cancers, they couldn't find any benefit.

One of both men and women ages 50 to 71 years who took a daily multivitamin for 16 years showed a decreased risk of colon cancer. But the same study also found that men taking a daily multivitamin had a higher risk of prostate cancer, lung cancer, and leukemia. And women had a higher risk of head and neck cancer.

So at the end of the day, a lot more research is needed to understand how multivitamins affect cancer risk.

For most people, especially those who eat a regular diet, a multivitamin won't or lead to any unwanted side effects.

But in some cases, taking a multivitamin may lead to side effects. This can happen if you're combining a multivitamin with additional vitamin supplements. Or if you're eating a lot of one food that's high in a certain vitamin.

In these cases, you may unintentionally overdose on vitamins. A few to watch out for include:

Vitamin D: Taking too muchvitamin D can nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and dehydration from excessive urination.

Vitamin C: Excess vitamin C can stomach cramps and diarrhea, and in some cases, kidney .

Iron: Taking too much iron can lead to an upset stomach, constipation, and vomiting. It can also interfere with the absorption of zinc, another important mineral for your body.

Vitamin A: Too much vitamin A (beta-carotene) can headaches, nausea, blurry vision, dizziness, and achy muscles.

Vitamin A also has a few more potential health risks. Large amounts of vitamin A the likelihood of developing lung cancer in cigarette smokers, former smokers, and people who have been exposed to asbestos. And too much vitamin A during pregnancy has been to birth defects.

If you're eating a healthy, balanced diet most of the time, you probably don't need a multivitamin. Research is still very mixed on whether they work, so multivitamins may not be worth the cost or effort.

But if you're at of not getting enough of a particular vitamin or nutrient, it may make sense. People who have restricted diets are at increased risk of nutrient deficiencies. For example, vegans and vegetarians who eat a plant-based diet often extra vitamin B12. This is because B12 is mostly found in animal-source foods.

Older adultsmay also from multivitamins because vitamin B12 absorption decreases as you age. It can also be harder for older adults to get enough vitamin D.

If you do decide that you'd like to take a multivitamin, be sure to read the label and choose one that makes sense based on your situation. For example, vitamins for older adults generally contain higher levels of vitamin B12. And prenatal supplements typically don't contain vitamin A in its retinol form, which may be harmful during pregnancy.

The best to take a multivitamin is right before a meal or during a meal with water. This is because food helps your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K vitamins). And water is needed to absorb water-soluble vitamins (B and C vitamins).

It's also best to take multivitamins during the daytime, because digestion slows while you sleep. So taking it at night could affect the way you absorb the nutrients from the multivitamin.

The bottom line

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Are Multivitamins Actually Good for You? - GoodRx

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Multivitamins are marketed as health boosters, but do they actually do anything? Here's what research says about the true benefits of a daily multivitamin.

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How does the article support the claims it makes?

Pick a claim and trace it back to the source. Does the claim in the GoodRx match the original source?

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Open up a new tab and look for answers outside of the source.

SIFT provides a framework for that outside investigation of credibility.

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What can you find out about the author(s)?

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Do some googling about the topic of the GoodRx article. What do other sources have to say?

Does there seem to be a consensus? What do sources agree/disagree about?

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Is this a credible source?

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Use the SIFT framework to evaluate the example source.

Work with your partner to find the answers to the guiding questions.

Create a short post reporting on what you did for each step.

Include links, if possible!

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First reaction: Overall format seemed legit but it seems like they are trying to sell me something. Written by 2 MDs

Easy to follow

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First, I saw that the website is by a provider company, so they are trying to sell their own products. This is an immediate bias and concerning. At the same time, it seems backed by science which is good.

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We thought it had small chunk of information that was well organized. A quick read about the different parts the multivitamin will help. Options to click on hyper links for different studies they have used.

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The article has the authors linked to their own page.

The authors have qualifications and experiences listed

the website's main purpose is to sell prescriptions

yes, they have a vested interest. they want us to buy their products.

In the article, they reference studies from reliable sources.

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The authors seem creditable. Cherilyn Davis is a pediatrician in New York. Several sources say this. Katie Golden is a physician listed in many sources as well including health US news.

Good RX claims that they have coupons for drugs. Reviews say that they are not credible. It isn’t compatible with insurance and could be a scam.

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Authors

Certified Pediatricians, went to med school, found through the link in the website.

Both writer and editor are MDs

Good RX wants to help people save money on their medications

They don't have very good reviews

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There is supporting evidence for multivitamins; however, there are also articles saying that there can be negative effects from taking multivitamins

There is a consensus on the effects of multivitamins that they do work.

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The very first thing that I saw were the bright colors it really brings people in.

Secondly is that two doctors were mentioned

It’s also by the same company that is selling the vitamins making it biased

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It looks like the information is mostly correct. They come to the consensus that multivitamins may be beneficial for some, but if you are eating a well balanced diet you don’t really need them.

This information is consistent across other sources, such as Hopkinsmedicine.org and Harvard health.

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They agree that multivitamins are good for you but can also cause harm in some people

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The article has attached about 26 sources from different medical journals

All of this data coincides with what they are claiming. The second article was the Journal of Nutrition, which talked about reducing cardiovascular disease with multivitamins.

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after looking up the MDs mentioned it shows that one of them is currently practicing medicine

GoodRX wants to help people and save the money, but looking at reviews in other website it says that they are an expensive place to get vitamins and not really work it.

Also the risks are not worth the price

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It is hard to say if this source is creditable. I think that some information can be used to validate answers from other sources. (Because it’s similar info) I don’t think you can trust this source by itself and you need to be aware of bias while reading.