Most people are aware of how important it is to take care of your body and pay attention to your health. This includes, among other things, regular exercise, a varied and healthy diet, no cigarettes, and moderate alcohol intake.
One way to ensure you are getting the micronutrients you need is to follow the official Dietary Guidelines. But it can be difficult to always follow this advice, cook properly, or afford the healthiest choices every day.
Therefore, many Danes choose to supplement with nutritional supplements, such as multivitamin pills, to get the necessary vitamins and minerals. But is this necessary?
Most likely not
Sundhed.dk has an article written by Lotte Juul (consultant, dietician, Hjerteforeningen), Bo Christensen (professor, PhD, general practitioner, Department of Public Health – General Medicine, Aarhus University) and Randi Tobberup (candidate scientist in clinical nutrition ), leading clinical dietician, PhD student, Aalborg University Hospital. These experts clearly conclude: For most people, dietary supplements are not necessary.
They explain that the typical Danish diet mostly covers the need for vitamins and minerals, and although many people take multivitamins just to be safe, it is often unnecessary.
The experts warn that there is a risk of overdosing on vitamins and minerals with dietary supplements – a risk that does not exist if you get the nutrients through food.
The best advice is to get vitamins and minerals through your diet. This is without risk of side effects and includes other bioactive substances that are not necessarily found in dietary supplements.
However, it can be a challenge to get all the necessary nutrients through diet alone, especially for those with special diets such as vegetarians. In such cases, supplements may be necessary, and here it is recommended to speak to a doctor or dietitian to find out which supplements may be necessary.
