Many products are marketed as dietary supplements, and it is important to remember that supplements include not only vitamins and minerals, but also herbs and other botanicals, probiotics, fish oil, and other substances. Some supplements may help ensure that you get adequate amounts of essential nutrients or help promote optimal health and performance if you do not consume a variety of foods. However, dietary supplements are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure disease. In some cases, dietary supplements may have unwanted effects, especially if taken before surgery or with other dietary supplements or medicines, or if you have certain health conditions. Work with your health care provider to determine how best to achieve optimal health. Also check with your health care provider before taking a supplement, especially if you take any medicines or other dietary supplements or if you have any health conditions.

In most cases it’s best to get nutrients from food first, if you can, before taking supplements. Multivitamin/mineral supplements (MVMs) cannot take the place of eating a variety of foods that are important to a healthy diet. But people who don’t get enough vitamins and minerals from food alone, are on low-calorie diets, have a poor appetite, or avoid certain foods (such as strict vegetarians and vegans) might consider taking an MVM. Health care providers might also recommend MVMs to patients with certain medical problems. Check with your health care provider before taking a supplement, especially if you take any medicines or other dietary supplements or if you have any health conditions.

Talk with your health care provider for advice. Your provider can help you find an appropriate multivitamin. Consider choosing a multivitamin designed for your age, sex, and whether you are pregnant or breastfeeding. The recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals differ from person to person, and many multivitamin manufacturers take this into account when formulating products. For example, multivitamins for women usually have more iron and folic acid than those for men. Multivitamins for older adults usually provide more calcium and vitamins D and B12, and less iron than those for younger adults. Prenatal multivitamins often provide vitamin A as beta-carotene and have higher amounts of iron. Most children’s multivitamins have smaller amounts of many nutrients.

It depends on how much protein you’re already getting from the foods you eat. Athletes need about 0.5 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight a day. This works out to about 90 to 160 grams for someone weighing 175 pounds. This is more protein than less active adults need, but it is still possible to get this amount from protein-containing foods. These include meats, seafood, and poultry (a 3-ounce chicken breast has 27 grams of protein), eggs (one egg has 6 grams of protein), dairy products (1 cup of milk has 8 grams of protein), beans (1/2 cup of black beans has 7 grams of protein), and nuts (1 ounce of peanuts has 7 grams of protein). If needed, protein supplements and protein-fortified food and beverage products can help you get enough protein. The other thing to consider is the “quality” of protein. Protein is made from amino acids. Your body makes some amino acids but needs to get others (known as essential amino acids or EAAs) from food. Animal foods contain all of the EAAs, but plant foods don’t. So if you consume mostly or only plant foods, eat a variety of them to make sure you’re getting all EAAs. Most protein powders and drinks contain whey, a protein in milk that provides all of the EAAs.

There are a number of factors including price, quality, and availability that may influence your buying decision. The Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) does not test, analyze, or rate dietary supplements, nor can we recommend certain brands. You may wish to ask your health care provider to make a recommendation. If you have questions about a specific brand of dietary supplements, you can contact the manufacturer for more information. Ask to speak to someone who can address your questions.