he term multivitamin used in this sheet designates a combination of several vitamins and minerals in nutritional doses. These supplements contain a concentration of nutrients corresponding to approximately 0.5 to 2 times the Recommended Dietary Allowance.

The authors of a review published in 2002 concluded that, as a precaution, all adults should take a daily multivitamin to prevent certain diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Indeed, according to them, the diet of much of the American population does not provide the optimal amounts of vitamins and minerals necessary for the maintenance of good health.

They point out that multivitamin supplements are an economical and safe way to meet the needs of the population. A position shared by other scientists, including Dr. Walter Willett, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard University's School of Public Health, who designed his own food pyramid in which he includes daily multivitamins.

American medical authorities are less convinced. However, according to the National Institutes of Health, while all of the data on multivitamins do not support a recommendation to take them, they do not allow them to be discouraged either.

According to experts from the School of Public Health at the University of California, people who take multivitamins tend to be the ones who need them the least. However, they recommend taking a multivitamin that does not provide more than the recommended nutritional intake for the following people:

• people over 60;
• women of childbearing age;
• pregnant or breastfeeding women;
• vegans (strict vegetarian diet, without any animal products);
• heavy smokers;
• heavy drinkers;
• people on a weight loss diet;
• people whose diet is not balanced.