Who Should Take Vitamin Supplements?
About 40% of Americans take at least one vitamin or mineral supplement daily and another 20% take them occasionally. In a large study that examined the death rates of 11,000 people, however, there was no difference in mortality rate between those who took vitamin supplements and those who didn’t. Pregnant and Breast-Feeding Women Women who are pregnant or who are breast-feeding generally need additional vitamins. The B vitamins are particularly important. Folic acid reduces the risk for neural tube defects and possibly facial abnormalities, such as cleft palate. Multivitamins also appear to protect against certain heart birth defects. In order to be protective, however, both folic acid and multivitamin supplements must be taken before a women actually becomes pregnant. Folate levels from even healthy diets may not be protective enough for pregnant women and supplements are needed. The RDA for folic acid prior to conception and during pregnancy is 400 mcg. During breast feeding between
