If you were to open your medicine cabinet right now, there’s a fair chance that you’d find at least one bottle of vitamins alongside the painkillers, plasters and cough syrup.

After all, people are definitely buying vitamins: in 2020, the global market for complementary and alternative medicines, which includes multivitamin supplements, had an estimated value of US$82.27 billion. The use of natural health products such as minerals and amino acids has increased – and continues to rise, partly driven by consumers’ buying habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People sought out vitamins C and D, as well as zinc supplements, as potential preventive measures against the virus – even though the evidence for their efficacy was, and remains, inconclusive.

Multivitamins and mineral supplements are easily accessible to consumers. They are often marketed for their health claims and benefits – sometimes unsubstantiated. But their potential adverse effects are not always stated on the packaging.

Collectively, vitamins and minerals are known as micronutrients. They are essential elements needed for our bodies to function properly. Our bodies can only produce micronutrients in small amounts or not at all. We get the bulk of these nutrients from our diets.

People usually buy micronutrients to protect against disease or as dietary “insurance”, in case they are not getting sufficient quantities from their diets.

There’s a common perception that these supplements are harmless. But they can be dangerous at incorrect dosages. They provide a false sense of hope, pose a risk of drug interactions – and can delay more effective treatment.

Benefits

Vitamins are beneficial if taken for the correct reasons and as prescribed by your doctor. For example, folic acid supplementation in pregnant women has been shown to prevent neural tube defects. And individuals who reduce their intake of red meat without increasing legume consumption require a vitamin B6 supplement.

But a worrying trend is increasing among consumers: intravenous vitamin therapy, which is often punted by celebrities and social media marketing. Intravenous vitamins, nutrients and fluids are administered at pharmacies as well as beauty spas, and more recently “IV bars”.

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