Which Vitamins Do You Really Need?

We all need vitamins, but that doesnt mean you need totakea vitamin.

Vitamin pills may be necessary if you have certain health conditions.

If youve been eatingnothing but ramen all semester, you might want to stock up on Emergen-C. ## Dont we need vitamins?

Even if you eat a pretty crappy diet, chances are youre still getting plenty of the good stuff.

Even your greasiest cheeseburger has plenty of B vitamins and other important nutrients.

Add a few veggies to the mix and youre not doing too shabby.

What are vitamins, anyway?

Youve heard of macronutrientsfat, protein, and carbsbut then there are micronutrients.

We only need our micronutrients in small quantities, but without certain important ones, our bodies dont work.

Vitamins are organic molecules, made of carbon and other atoms connected together.

Your typical multivitamin contains both vitamins and minerals.

Too much vitamin A can increase smokers risk of lung cancer, for example.

Studies of vitamins are also tricky to do.

Indeed, some studies have shown increased risk of cancers in relation to using certain vitamins.

Both paint a picture of vitamin and mineral supplements as necessary but oh so confusing.

No overwhelming aisles of fine print, Care/of says.

No more cobbling together a complicated regimen or neglecting your nutrition because of information overload, Ritual promises.

These companies, and hundreds more, craft their pitches to imply thatof coursevitamins are necessary.

Babe magazinesums up the appeal: Here at babe, were constantly talking about how to make ourselves better.

You know, without doing any work at all.

Popping a vitamin is easy, and it makes you feel like youre doing something important for your health.

Okay, you might.

Some of us do.

But you wont know that just from feeling some vague, could-be-anything symptoms like tiredness.

Maybe vitamins will help, but maybe youve got something else going on.

Iron deficiency is an issue for 9.5 percent of women aged 12 to 49.

Vitamin D: There is some controversy over whether low blood levels of vitamin D actually mean youre deficient.

If you think you have an issue, consider talking to your doctor or a registered dietitian.