If you eat a healthy diet you won't really need it. If you feel OK, and the doc says all your numbers are OK, then you really don't need them unless you want expensive pee.

Wish I could help you, I am turning 65 some time this year.

What's that old saying? -- Americans have the most expensive urine in the world.

My wife and I have been vegetarians for many years so just to try to avoid any should-have-been-avoided deficiencies, we take ten or so tablets and/or capsules each day. We feel more comfortable that way -- we don't take enough of anything to be toxic.

Most people don't eat well and could benefit from a bit of added insurance, but it can get complicated (take look at some of my replies to different comments below, and those are far from comprehensive). But if you eat primarily minimally processed foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, and no more than moderate amounts of animal foods, you will likely wind up ahead of the curve. To ensure further benefit, legumes (peas, beans, lentils) are excellent health promoting foods to include in your diet daily to replace some of the meat in your diet, eating 1 or 2 servings weekly of fatty non high mercury content fish would be highly beneficial for most (I hesitate to say all because of the biochemical variability of individuals, there are always outliers), and perhaps some vitamin D supplementation. Though I could do better with my supplementation if I wanted to get more complicated, to keep things simple, for now I only take daily half of a one-day-brand which provides close to the RDA in a whole pill, plus some additional vitamin D supplementation.

After all this, guess what just showed up in my mailbox!

"Multivitamins are not only ineffective, but dangerous"

[bigthink.com]

At 60 I take one generic multi vitamin, do not see where a brand name is much different from generic. I also eat very well, fruits, veggies, limit meat intake. Felling good.

Vitamins are only for people with diagnosed deficiencies or nutritional imbalances. For the rest of us, vitamins just make really expensive urine.

-The best is to eat the actual food, lean meat, brightly colored fruits and veggies and limit salt and fat. However, if you need a supplement, remember that most are only activated if you have already taken a bite of something, so your stomach acid is engaged. Also, iron is best taken separately. Otherwise just be sensible and triple check what can and cannot be taken along with any meds you may also be taking. I recommend reading the labels, talking to a nurse or your doctor and avoiding any hyped or "new" wonder pill.
I read the comments, all good, I would add that I take a separate B complex and a combo mineral vitamin from Centrum. Otherwise, without going overboard, I try to get my vitamins from the food I eat. Yougart is also very good, but not everyone likes it.
I'm cautious with my food because I am very allergic to the chemicals added to our meals. I ended up in the hospital in 2014 with a case of analeptic shock and an $8000. emergency bill for a $3.00 microwavable Hormel's spaghetti dinner.

I have always taken vitamins, (multi vita mineral). I am 78, take no meds and all blood work comes back, normal. No blood pressure or heart problems. And I do believe taking vitamins, has helped.

It's a legitimate excuse to suck gummies.

I take different supplements that effectively address specific issues, as well as a general supplement just to top everything off. Eat good, then target your annoying problems. My regimen is:

-timed release zinc for prostate. (Helps my "flow" immensely)
-GTF chromium for stabilizing blood sugar. Fixes me getting the "nods" after a meal.
-Rhodiola for depression and mental acuity. It's my "happy" pill.
-Glucosamine / Chondroitin for joint health. Really helps cut down my arthritic pain.

Not all of these work for everyone; it's taken me decades experimenting with the right natural supplements and dosages. I much prefer this over pharmaceuticals with secondary and tertiary effects that take two magazine pages of fine print to warn about.

I'm not a hypochondriac looking for a pill to fix every little ache and pain; rather, these above mentioned supplements immensely help me with issues that can be paindful and distracting.

the problem with vitamins is that we don't tend to disolve them in our system...so we waste so much...I grind my vitamins up...taste awful but you'll get more out of it....a suggestion that I tell people who have energy issues...take between a table spoon to half a cup of whey powder every day....if you aren't active, don't do it....you will gain weight....but if you live an active life, you may see an increase in your energy levels....I used to train mixed martial arts and before that lifted weights (after reading a good article on the correlation between blood flow to the brain and exercise to maintain mental acumen when I was in middle school)...I would try it for a month....maybe even talk to your doc before doing it...I don't know of any medical dangers, but that doesn't mean there aren't any...

Except for lower doses for children, is there really a difference between the vitamin/mineral requirements of men and women?

In fact, is there a need for supplements at all for those who have an adequate diet?

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

It depends; why does your friend say that? Perhaps you should ask your doctor.

Not sure, what did your doctor say?

Vitamins are either fat souble which can build up in the body or water souble which goes out in urine. Almost all vitamins need your stomach acid engaged which is why the label will state taken with food. Otherwise, it just makes expensive urine.
Of course it is better to eat a good balanced diet. However, for those of us not perfect, supplements can be a good safeguard.

Look up which vitamins are best absorbed by the body. Most vitamins ont eh market just get fluished out via th ekidneys.

Brands I like are
Nature Made
Trader Jow's
Life Extensions

those three are rated well for godo body absorbtion, and also for actually contaiing the amounts indicated on the labels.

You shoud lonly worry about vitamin deficiencies if you eat mostly the same thign over and over again. If you eat a wide variety of foods in their natural states, you will get pretty much all the nutrients you need.

The best thing you can do is purchase some food-grade diatoms. They contain all the essential minerals and also filter/cleanse all your body's tissue.

Useful site with information on vitamin quality [labdoor.com]

I have just started taking a woman's multi vitamin and some calcium with Vitamin D added. Thanks for post it reminds me how important it is to take as I am liable to forget.

I am leary of big brand name multi vitamins. As others have posted good nutrition comes from unprocessed food. I take joint supplements and acidophilus and a B complex. There is a doctor on YouTube, Eric Berg, who has great in depth nutritional lectures.

do you eat well?.... if i was to take vitamins and, i do ...also don't eat alll that well so been taking Dr Tobias... they are really good vits

I take one Tesco A-Z Multivitamin and Mineral tablet each day. This contains 100% of all recommended requirements except calcium and magnesium (they would have to be the size of horse pills to do that) and they contain 200% of the recommended intake of vitamin D3 (which is still only 10 micrograms).

Obviously I will also get vitamins and minerals from my diet but I can eat what I want while knowing that I'm not deficient in anything. My diet only has to provide protein, carbohydrates, fibre and essential lipids.

I consider this an insurance policy and a way of making sure my body has everything it needs to maintain itself in a state of health. There is no logic in taking mega-doses of anything else.

Taking vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies, special foods,etc, to treat or ward off specific diseases (except those which are the results of chronic deficiency such as scurvy and beri-beri) is illogical.

Before believing things (adverts, bloggs by nutters, the latest trend) I suggest getting a subscription to a medical online database (your work or organisation may already give you access - check it out - almost nobody does) and, after learning how to do a search, read the original papers by the original authors - not what is reported about them in the media.

I thought we were not into just believing things on here just because someonne says it and it seems plausible.