Multivitamins aren't magical substitutes for a healthy lifestyle. But they could be a part of one.

• A multivitamin feels like an easy health insurance policy. But most health professionals say healthy, whole foods are still the best bet, Ashley May writes.

💡 Most research on multivitamins shows they're low-risk — but also low-reward. For older adults, there are some documented benefits.

• "When we've seen actually quite consistent findings for potential benefits of a multivitamin on cognition, I would say that applies to men over 60 and women over 65," says Howard Sesso, an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who has led multivitamin clinical trials.
• In one study of men 50 and older, daily multivitamin use had a "very modest" reduction in cancer, as well as certain eye diseases, Sesso says.

🔬 Between the lines: Research on multivitamins, and really everything, has been conducted on more men than women.

If you do want to try a multivitamin, Sesso has tips:

1. Avoid products with botanicals and a long list of additives. Those don't always mix well with medications such as GLP-1s or blood pressure meds.
2. Skip the pricier "specialized formulations" and go with a major brand.

Case in point: While Sesso agrees that benefits are minimal, he decided to start taking a multivitamin at age 50 himself ("once I hit the eligibility criteria for the studies that I've been conducting"), on top of eating a healthy diet and staying active.

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