Like many, with the pandemic still in full swing, I’ve been keeping up on my vitamin game to protect myself from any little thing that might occur when I’m out of my house. I have vitamins for my hair, digestion, iron, potassium, B12, collagen production, eye sight, and everything in between. I also have countless multivitamin to choose from. Seriously, the top of my fridge looks like a GMC.

It’s very overwhelming looking at it and also confusing navigating a wellness shop to decipher which vitamins you actually need. Some have buzzy new ingredients I want to try, others have tried-and-true doctor-approved ingredients. Some improve your mood or are formulated with CBD to improve mood and joint pain. Others make you feel more calm and balanced.

Lately, I’ve been wondering if you actually need different types of vitamins for different functions or if you really can get it all in one daily multivitamin. Wondering the same? Read below.

What is a multivitamin?

According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition, 53% of U.S. adults take a multivitamin, a vitamin intended to serve as a dietary supplement packed daily minerals and other essential nutrients. You can receive a multivitamin in a tablet, capsule, powder, liquid, or injectable. The daily multivitamin is most commonly used to get all the nutrients that we often miss in foods, regardless of how healthy your diet is.

So can a multivitamin work for everything?

Now for the sad truth, a multivitamin will not address specific nutrient deficiencies resulting from dietary preferences, lifestyle factors, or prescription medication use. According to some doctors, by taking individual vitamins or supplements you lower your chance of getting too much of something your body doesn’t need. This is a good thing. Or worse, something could be toxic for you and you would unknowingly be inserting it into your body.

Luckily, water soluble vitamins like C or B complex can easily be eliminated through urine if you ingest too much. However, fat soluble vitamins like E, D, and K complex can be trickier to get through your body if you have too much of it because they are stored in the body. Over time they can cause build up and lead to health problems like nausea and dizziness.

When you take these excess doses, it can duplicate the nutrients. For example, you might be taking something for iron, sleep, and gut health but if you take those daily you could reach the max daily dose and potentially cause toxicity.

If you do want to take individual vitamins, we recommend taking at least Vitamin D to support immunity, bone health, and blood sugar balance. It’s also important to take B12 for energy, Magnesium, and Omega-3 for total health.

That’s not to say you have to completely ditch your multivitamin. It’s best to figure out what works best for you and what your body is actually lacking in so you can fill it in correctly.

If you are looking for other ways of self-care, try some methods that involved cannabis.