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Multivitamin Benefits, Including 10 Reasons to Take a Multi

By Ethan Boldt

August 4, 2025

You eat a variety of foods and consume enough calories for your weight, but it’s still possible you have one or more nutritional gaps in your diet. It’s even more possible if you follow certain dietary restrictions, deal with certain health conditions or take medications that may diminish nutrients.

In other words, you may benefit from taking a multivitamin. Many consider this universally popular supplement a type of nutritional insurance, giving you coverage that you may not even need. Also, as you get older, your nutritional needs may change, which is another reason to consider a multivitamin.

However, on top of potentially addressing potential nutrient shortfalls (for women and men), there are multiple multivitamin benefits that may persuade you to take a “multi” each day. It starts with supporting overall health.

Let’s explore the benefits to taking a multivitamin along with suggested types to purchase.

As always, you should consult your healthcare professional prior to beginning any new dietary or lifestyle regimen, including dietary supplementation.

Why take a multivitamin?

There are many reasons to take a multivitamin:

• You eat a mostly processed food diet (lacking adequate daily quantities of vegetables, fruits and quality protein sources), which can lead to nutrient shortfalls.

• You’re a vegetarian or vegan, which can limit the diversity of certain nutrients in your diet.

• You’re over the age of 65.

• You’re consuming too little calories in general and/or are underweight.

• You have an allergy that means you avoid entire food groups, such as dairy.

• You’re a woman of reproductive age, pregnant or planning to become pregnant. Or you’re currently breastfeeding, which increases your calorie and vitamin needs.

• You’re experiencing low economic status and can’t afford quality foods.

• You spend most of your time indoors, away from sunlight — why multivitamins are particularly important during winter and fall, especially when sunlight isn’t as abundant and vitamin D levels could use a boost.

• You’re very active, which can increase your overall calorie and nutrient needs.

• Poor soil quality contributes to low nutrient levels among humans. In fact, modern agriculture practices can harm soil health and reduce the nutrients available to plants.

Multivitamin benefits

How can you benefit from taking a daily multivitamin? Depending on the ingredients and approach in producing them, here are the most common benefits:

1. Address nutrient shortfalls

Vitamin and mineral shortfalls are not just a third-world problem but also occur in developed nations. Factors like economic status, your social and cultural environment, personal habits, age, level of activity and genetics can all play a role.

Most multivitamins contain over 100 percent Daily Value* of the vitamins A, B12, D, E, folate, biotin, riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamin (vitamin B1) and pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and the minerals selenium and chromium. The percentage Daily Value of other vitamins and minerals can vary depending on the multi.

For example, the most common nutrient shortfalls for women include the vitamins B12, D and folate and the mineral iodine, Most multivitamins, such as Ancient Multivitamin Women's Once Daily as well as Ancient Multivitamin Women's 40+ Once Daily, can more than cover your daily requirement.

However, note that other common nutrient shortfalls for women include iron, calcium and magnesium; none appear in a significant amount in most multivitamins.

Meanwhile, the most common nutrient shortfalls for men include the vitamins D and B12. Most multivitamins, such as Ancient Multivitamin Men's and Ancient Multivitamin Men’s 40+, can more than cover your daily requirement.

Note that other common nutrient shortfalls for men include calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids. None of these appear in a significant amount in most multivitamins.

*Daily Value: Percentages are based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day.

2. Support overall health

By providing the essential vitamins and minerals the body needs, a multivitamin can potentially support overall health. While not a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle, studies indicate that multivitamins can help overall health in multiple ways, including:

• Promoting energy levels and restful sleep

• Providing nutrients that are important for cognitive health and cardiovascular function

• Supporting the maintenance of healthy homocysteine levels

• Helping to maintain strong bones and a healthy skeletal system

• Supports healthy cellular energy production

• Helping to maintain health of the eyes, plus supporting a healthy response to oxidative stress

3. Support healthy immune system function

A 2020 Nutrients study noted that older adults are at an increased risk for vitamin and mineral shortfalls that contribute to normal, age-related immune system function decline. Research suggests that taking a multivitamin may support healthy immune system function in individuals 55 and older.

4. Support prepartum and maternal health

Multivitamins also support a healthy pregnancy, postpartum health as well as healthy fertility. During the increased nutrient needs during pregnancy, a multivitamin can come in particularly useful.

Best multivitamins

When looking for a multivitamin, it's important to choose a highly absorbable multivitamin that can contribute the most benefits. For example, a fermented option helps to partially break down nutrients, so they are more absorbable once they reach your digestive system.

Another way to enhance the effects of a multivitamin is to choose one that features probiotics as well as additional herbs and superfood ingredients in order to support absorption and digestion.

Ancient Nutrition offers several options of potent, high-quality multivitamins intended to support the overall health of adult women and men. Here are some of the best multivitamins for women as well as men:

Ancient Multi Women's

• Formulated specifically for women under 40

• Provides 100% or more Daily Value (DV) of 14 essential vitamins and minerals, split into three daily doses to help support absorption and retention

• Contains iron, selenium, zinc and more to support prenatal health, postpartum health and healthy fertility

• Includes vitamins A, B, C, D, E and K in fermented, methylated or co-enzymated forms designed to support overall healthy absorption

• Helps support healthy sleep, energy levels and thyroid health

• Also see the Ancient Multi Women's Once Daily

Ancient Multi Women's 40+

• Formulated specifically for women in their 40s and beyond

• Provides 100% or more Daily Value (DV) of 12 essential vitamins and minerals

• To help support key nutrient absorption and retention, take in divided doses/3 capsules per day

• Includes vitamin D3 to support bone health and healthy immune system function, Vitamin K to support cardiovascular function, and methylated vitamin B12 to support healthy energy levels and cognitive health

• Includes antioxidant vitamins A, C and E to support healthy aging and a healthy immune system

• Features multi-kingdom ingredients inspired by TCM (Traditional Chinese Method), such as lycium (Goji) berry and fo-ti root to support healthy sleep, thyroid health and healthy energy levels

• Also see the Ancient Multi Women's 40+ Once Daily

Ancient Multi Men’s

• Formulated specifically for men under 40

• Provides 100% or more Daily Value (DV) of 13 essential vitamins and minerals, split into three daily doses to help support absorption and retention

• Features multi-kingdom ingredients inspired by traditional herbalism practices (including Traditional Chinese Method), such as organic fenugreek seed

• Made with beneficial mushrooms used holistically for centuries, including cordyceps

• Features bovine liver (high in B vitamins, iron, zinc and more)

• Supports cardiovascular health and healthy homocysteine levels, healthy energy levels and healthy sleep, plus support for healthy immune system function

• Also see Ancient Multi Men's Once Daily

Ancient Multi Men's 40+

• Formulated specifically for men in their 40s and beyond

• Provides 100% or more Daily Value (DV) of 15 essential vitamins and minerals

• To help support key nutrient absorption and retention, taken in divided doses/3 capsules per day

• Includes vitamin D3 to support bone health and healthy immune system function, Vitamin K to support cardiovascular function, and methylated vitamin B12 to support healthy energy levels and cognitive health

• Includes antioxidant vitamins A, C and E to support healthy aging and healthy immune responses

• Features multi-kingdom ingredients inspired by TCM (Traditional Chinese Method) to support overall immune response and healthy hormonal balance, such as Fo-Ti root extract, gingko leaf extract, turmeric root extract and green tea extract

• Also see Ancient Multi Men's 40+ Once Daily

Other Ancient Nutrition multivitamins include:

• Ancient Multi Prenatal, which is formulated specifically for women in their childbearing years, pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and throughout lactation or breastfeeding.

• Women's Fermented Multivitamin, which features real food and fermented ingredients, as fermentation makes it more absorbable; it supports a healthy immune system, cognitive and neurological health, as well as healthy bones and joint health.

• Men's Fermented Multivitamin, which is made with real food, sprouted and fermented ingredients to boost absorption; it supports a healthy response to oxidative stress, restful sleep and healthy energy levels, cognitive health and cardiovascular health, plus healthy joints.