Vitamin and mineral supplements

Vitamins and minerals are essential to your health. Although they do not give you energy, they do assist in energy-yielding reactions and promote body growth and development. Vitamins and minerals are vital for human function, each one playing a different role.

Vitamins and minerals are substances your body needs in small but steady amounts for normal growth, function and health. Together, vitamins and minerals are called micronutrients. Your body can't make most micronutrients, so you must get them from the foods you eat or, in some cases, from supplements.

Many people don't receive all of the nutrients they need from their diet because they either can't or don't eat enough, or they can't or don't eat a variety of healthy foods. For some people, including those on restrictive diets, multivitamin-mineral supplements can provide vitamins and minerals that their diets often don't. Pregnant women and older adults have altered nutrient needs and may also benefit from a supplement.

Vitamins.

Vitamins are needed for a variety of biologic processes, among them growth, digestion, mental alertness and resistance to infection. Vitamins can be either water-soluble or fat-soluble.

Water-soluble vitamins. Vitamin C, biotin and the seven B vitamins — thiamin (B-1), riboflavin (B-2), niacin (B-3), pantothenic acid (B-5), pyridoxine (B-6), folic acid (B-9) and cobalamin (B-12) — dissolve in water (water-soluble) and aren't stored in your body in any significant amounts. Surplus water-soluble vitamins are simply excreted in your urine.

Fat-soluble vitamins. Any extra vitamin A, D, E or K not used by your body right after ingestion is stored in your body fat and liver. Excess fat-soluble vitamins can accumulate in your body and become toxic. You're especially sensitive to excess amounts of vitamins A and D. Because vitamins E and K affect blood clotting, talk with your doctor before taking a supplement that contains either of these vitamins if you're taking a blood thinner, such as warfarin (Coumadin).

Minerals.

Minerals are the main components in your teeth and bones, and they serve as building blocks for other cells and enzymes. Minerals also help regulate the balance of fluids in your body and control the movement of nerve impulses.

Major minerals. Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur and chloride are considered major minerals because adults need them in larger amounts - more than 250 milligrams (mg) a day.

Trace minerals. Chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium and zinc are considered trace minerals because your body needs them in smaller amounts - fewer than 20 mg a day.

Choosing and using supplements.

Check the supplement label.

Avoid supplements that provide "megadoses." In general, choose a multivitamin-mineral supplement - for example, Centrum, One A Day, others — that provides about 100 Percent Daily Value (%DV) of all the vitamins and minerals instead of one that supplies, for example, 500%DV of one vitamin and only 20%DV of another. The exception to this is calcium. You may notice that calcium-containing supplements don't provide 100%DV. If they did, the tablets would be too large to swallow.

Look for expiration dates.

Store supplements in a dry, cool place. Avoid hot, humid storage locations, such as the bathroom.

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