Do you need a daily multivitamin? A UK guide

Does everyone need a multivitamin?

No. A varied diet already supplies most of what a multivitamin contains. If you eat a varied diet with enough fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, protein and some dairy or fortified alternatives, you are getting most of what you need from food, and that is the goal. A daily multivitamin earns its place when there is a real gap: a diet that misses whole food groups, a busy stretch when meals slip, or a stage of life with higher needs. It provides cover for occasional gaps, and no capsule compensates for a consistently poor diet.

The one thing nearly everyone in the UK should take

Vitamin D is the exception to the rule that food supplies what you need. Between about October and March there is not enough sunlight in the UK for your skin to make it, whatever the weather does, so the NHS suggests adults and children over one consider 10 micrograms a day through the darker months. Some people are advised to take it all year: those who are rarely outdoors, who cover their skin, or who have darker skin and make less from the sun. Of everything on this page, vitamin D is the one to prioritise. Our vitamin D guide covers the dose.

Who a daily multivitamin helps

A multivitamin helps people whose diets leave a real gap, and adds little for those who already eat well. It tends to help if you eat a restricted diet such as vegan or dairy-free, where a few nutrients need planning; if your eating is patchy from week to week; or at higher-need life stages, which we cover in the pregnancy, new-mum and over-50 guides. If none of those is you and you eat well, you can probably skip the multivitamin and just take vitamin D in winter. For a well-fed adult, food and winter vitamin D cover it.

Can you take too many vitamins?

With some, yes. Water-soluble vitamins like C and the B group are passed out in the urine when you take more than you need, so the main cost of overdoing those is your money. The ones to respect are the fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E and K, and minerals like iron, which the body stores and can build up. This is why a sensible daily multivitamin keeps to everyday amounts near the reference intake. Each of our ingredient guides flags where the ceiling matters.

What a good daily multivitamin contains

Reading the label tells you more than the length of the ingredient list. A sensible daily multivitamin covers the everyday vitamins and minerals at amounts near the reference intake, in forms your body uses well, without a wall of mega-doses you do not need. The label also lists other ingredients, which we explain in our guide to what is in a supplement. A simple daily formula you keep up with does more for you than an elaborate one you soon stop taking.

Choosing a simple daily routine

A multivitamin only does its job if you take it regularly, so choose a sensible dose in a form that suits you. If you have decided a daily multivitamin is right for you, our one-daily essentials range keeps it to a single capsule a day, and the whole-food range shows what is inside before you buy. In our one-daily essentials range, vitamins C and D, zinc and folate contribute to the normal function of the immune system.