Adding a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement to your diet has been debated for many years. The on-going debate has two sides. The anti-vitamin side believes that a multivitamin is unnecessary for healthy individuals. Some experts claim that eating a well-balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and proteins can provide the body with all the essential nutrients it needs to function at a healthy level.

Unfortunately, very few people in the United States are considered well nourished. In my experience, a majority of Americans don’t come close to following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, to ensure they’re getting enough of the essential vitamins and nutrients they need.

For years, I have done serum and red blood cell vitamin and mineral testing on my patients. On initial testing, over 80% of my patients are deficient in one or more vitamins and minerals. Often, when patients do try to eat right, they may still be low, largely due to soil depletion of nutrients from over-farming. As a rule, most fruits and vegetables grown today contain 30%-80% less vitamins and minerals than those grown just 50 years ago.