Consistency is key Forgetting your daily dose of vitamins won't cause any serious problems, but taking vitamins inconsistently will affect the effectiveness of the supplements. Consistently taking supplements can help provide a steady supply of essential nutrients for the body. Vitamin C gained its current popularity thanks to the sadly misguided efforts of Linus Pauling, who published a book in 1970 in which he recommended large doses of vitamin C to prevent the common cold. Although Pauling was a brilliant chemist (and Nobel Prize winner), he was completely wrong about vitamin C, as Paul Offit explains in detail in his new book, Do You Believe in Magic? Evidence shows that supplementing your diet with any of these 5 vitamins has little or no benefit and may harm you. However, taking high levels of vitamin B6 in supplement form for a year or longer can cause serious nerve damage and cause people to lose control of their body movements.
Ultimately, taking a multivitamin is a personal choice that you must make in collaboration with your doctor based on your specific nutritional and health needs. The only exception to this rule is vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin. Consider monitoring your vitamin D level and, if it's low, refill it. Even if none of your supplements separately exceed the maximum limit for a given nutrient, combining several pills (such as a multivitamin) and an additional vitamin D capsule, for example, can increase recommended doses.
According to the National Institutes of Health, taking high doses of vitamin C can cause stomach cramps and diarrhea. Vitamin A plays an important role in vision, but too much vitamin A can be toxic and cause multiple serious side effects. Your doctor will help you determine your nutritional needs and advise you on the right vitamin. This applies to all supplements, as skipping a day, regardless of the vitamin, is unlikely to cause substantial harm, provided you take them for a non-medical reason.
Taking vitamin supplements, especially iron, vitamins B12 and D, and folic acid, can make most people feel better, even though they aren't 100% necessary. Scientists know that people who eat a lot of vitamin- and mineral-rich foods tend to live longer and healthier lives.
