For college students and young adults deciding whether to spend money on vitamins, nutrition experts say a balanced diet can provide benefits that routine supplements do not. Food supplies vitamins and minerals along with fiber and other compounds that work together in ways a pill cannot fully reproduce.
Welma Stonehouse, a nutrition expert and professor at Deakin University, said she recently reviewed a dietary powder purchased online by her brother. She concluded that it was unlikely to have a meaningful effect on his liver or cholesterol. Stonehouse is a former president of the Nutrition Society of Australia.
“Food is the original supplement, providing nutrients along with fibre and other compounds that work together to support health in ways that cannot be replicated in a pill,” Stonehouse said.
The supplement industry is large in Australia, with sales reaching $3 billion, according to the information provided by the nutrition experts. The popularity of these products has helped place multivitamins and other supplements prominently in supermarkets and pharmacies, where they are often marketed as a form of protection against an imperfect diet.
What experts say about multivitamins
Multivitamins commonly contain vitamins A, C, D, E and K, the B-complex group, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and selenium. Some products also promote claims related to energy or general health.
Lauren Ball, a professor at the University of Queensland and a director of Dietitians Australia, said multivitamins are generally unnecessary for people who already receive adequate nutrition through their diet. She described them as “surplus to requirements” for those people. The body typically removes excess amounts of these vitamins through urine, she said.
- Multivitamins: Often combine a wide range of vitamins and minerals, but may provide little added value when a person’s diet already supplies those nutrients.
- Whole foods: Provide nutrients together with fiber and other compounds that supplements do not replicate in the same way.
- Dietary restrictions: People who restrict foods or have other nutrition-related needs may not fit general guidance about routine multivitamin use.
The experts’ broader point is that supplements should not be treated as a substitute for a varied eating pattern. Meals built from nutritious foods can deliver several types of nutrients at once, rather than isolating individual vitamins or minerals in a capsule, tablet or powder.
That distinction matters for students and other young adults who may be attracted to products promising more energy, disease prevention or benefits for a specific organ. The experts cited in the coverage said those claims should be considered carefully, particularly when a product is purchased online or promoted as a broad solution to a health concern.
People with dietary restrictions are an important exception to blanket assumptions about supplements. Their nutritional needs may differ, and the experts’ comments do not establish that every vitamin or supplement is unnecessary for every person. The guidance presented here is general nutrition information, not individualized medical advice.
