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.".
