What’s the difference between a vitamin and a multivitamin?

The difference between a vitamin and a multivitamin is that a multivitamin contains more than one particular vitamin or nutrient. A vitamin will be something specific, like Vitamin B12. A multivitamin contains a variety of vitamins in a single pill. You could take multiple vitamin pills, but it can be easier to find a multivitamin that includes everything you need in a single dose.

Do I need a prescription for vitamin or multivitamin supplements?

There are prescription vitamins and multivitamins, but most are available over-the-counter without a prescription. Prenatal vitamins and folic acid supplements will typically require a prescription, as well as higher doses of more common vitamins like Vitamin D. You can always talk to your doctor about whether a prescription supplement would be necessary.

Why do we need vitamins?

The human body requires a variety of nutrients to perform all its basic functions. Different parts of the body might require different nutrients to grow and to perform their biological tasks. A deficiency of certain nutrients can cause health problems and even lead to death. Scurvy is one such example of a disease caused by the lack of Vitamin C. These conditions are rarer today with greater access to food and with modern foods having more diverse nutrients included in them. While food sciences have made searching out specific vitamins and nutrients less important these days, people can still suffer from deficiencies for a variety of reasons. Certain illnesses may affect a person’s ability to effectively absorb some nutrients, and modern medicines often have side effects that can cause nutrient deficiencies. This is referred to as “drug-induced deficiency”. Since people need these medicines to deal with serious health conditions, they will often look to supplements as a way of getting more of the vitamins and nutrients they need to make up for the effects of their medication.

Do vitamins cause weight gain?

Vitamins cannot directly cause weight gain. Generally vitamins have no calories. However, some may contain a small number of calories depending on their delivery mechanism. For example, sweet vitamin gummies contain mostly sugar and can have around 15 calories per gummy. This is still too little calories to have a meaningful effect on a person’s weight, however.

Is it possible to overdose on vitamins?

It is possible to overdose on vitamins, but would typically require taking very large quantities of vitamin supplements. Most symptoms of taking too many vitamins are not particularly severe, but there are some very rare cases of people dying from vitamin overdoses. Usually side effects of getting too much of a particular vitamin includes nausea, diarrhea, stomach cramps or fatigue.

There is very little risk of getting too much of a vitamin through eating normal meals. Very high dosages would be needed to cause health issues. When taking supplements, be sure to follow the recommended doses and keep bottles out of reach of children.