Dr Amir Khan explained what most of us get wrong when it comes to multivitamins during an appearance on Lorraine
ITV’s Dr Amir Khan has shared advice for anyone who takes multivitamins. During a video appearance on Lorraine, which the NHS GP later shared on his Instagram, the expert explained lots of people might not need to take a multivitamin but don’t realise it.
Dr Khan said: “Lots of people are not going to be happy about this, but there is no real evidence that taking a multivitamin every day if you have a nutritionally balanced diet has any beneficial effect. There’s no evidence that it reduces your risk of heart disease or any other kind of illnesses because you’re taking that multivitamin.
“The one exception I always say is vitamin D during the winter months because we don’t get that from food, we get that from sunlight mainly, and there isn’t enough of that around, but everything else should be getting from food. The exceptions are pregnant women who need folic acid and sometimes iron for baby development.”
Sharing further exceptions, the expert said: “Older adults, particularly people over 60, 65, because their absorption may slow down so they may need supplements. If you’ve got a malabsorption or gut problem like Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, or you have a nutritional deficiency where your doctor or healthcare professional has said you do need to take a supplement.”
He went on to recommend healthy foods everyone would do well to incorporate in their diets. “The kind of foods you should be focusing on are dark green leafy vegetables, really nutrient dense,” the expert continued.
“If you’re not vegetarian or vegan, liver and eggs are super healthy and have lots of nutrients in them. Nuts and seeds, sweet potatoes are really good as well, and obviously omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish, like salmon and tuna, and walnuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds. They will do you the world of good. So get your nutrition through food, don’t pull out those pills, go and have some walnuts instead.”
Sharing further advice in his caption, Dr Khan clarified he’s not advising people to change if they’re happy with their current routine. He said: “Lots of people take multivitamins daily to help supplement their diet and nutrition- and if you feel it works for you, that’s good no need to change.”
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Dr Khan added: “The evidence may change in the future and there is the very real question about whether our food still holds the nutritional value it once did – but for now focusing on a diet made up of lots of plants and whole foods is probably best.”
