Michael Pollan takes this complement every day

“Our bodies evolved to get nutrients from food, not from pills. So it’s no wonder that supplements generally don’t work, unless you have a very specific deficiency,” Pollan instructed Business Insider.

Pollan says when you’re contemplating taking a complement, to eat extra greens as an alternative.. Particularly, Pollan suggests consuming crops from a household of cruciferous greens known as brassicas, or cole crops, due to their plant compounds that may assist decrease danger of most cancers, heart disease, and different age-related diseases. These vitamin- and mineral-rich crops embrace broccoli, cabbage, kale, cauliflower, collared greens, and Brussels sprouts.

There’s a gaggle of chemical compounds inside these greens known as glucosinolates that may be thanked for his or her bitter taste. It’s additionally prone to be the rationale why individuals who eat these veggies have lower rates of certain forms of cancers. However placing the compound that types when these chemical compounds break down right into a capsule isn’t the identical as consuming the meals instantly, says Pollan.

“There are things we don’t understand about the structure of food and the relationship of the chemicals within the food that is very important,” he says. Dietary supplements additionally aren’t regulated by the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) for security and effectiveness.

Nonetheless, there may be one complement Pollan says he takes every day: a multivitamin.

“But that’s it,” he says.

Why take a multivitamin?

The enchantment to multivitamins is that it’s a one-size-fits-most capsule.

“While individual nutritional needs vary from person to person depending on age, sex, health status, and lifestyle, many multivitamin supplements provide nutrients that play crucial roles in various physiological processes to prevent deficiencies that would otherwise cause health problems,” Jamie Lee McIntyre, RD beforehand instructed Fortune.

Most multivitamins include nutritional vitamins A, D, E, K, C, B, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, selenium, manganese, and chromium, says McIntyre.

Multivitamins may also help complement these with dietary restrictions, like vegetarians, with nutritional vitamins and minerals they may be lacking from simply their eating regimen. They aren’t a cure-all, although. Combining a balanced eating regimen with train is the easiest way to combat towards dangerous ailments and handle weight, however including a every day multivitamin into the combination isn’t a nasty thought—simply do your analysis and seek the advice of a physician first.

“Overall, while multivitamins can be a convenient way to support overall health, they should be used judiciously and in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle and dietary habits,” says McIntyre.