The Best Vitamins List

Author:
Julian Ghadially, MPH
April 12, 2023

Summary

A vitamin list based on literature reviews

On this page, we cover the vitamins with the strongest evidence, sourced from our review of 300+ studies. The study data we draw from is based on peer-reviewed systematic reviews that evaluate the literature holistically and apply rigorous criteria to make sure that studies with bad design and biased results are excluded. This review process is important as many popular supplements are risky or unnecessary, as described in our multivitamin analysis and full research review.

The best vitamins list

The vitamins with the strongest research support for the general population are the following:

  1. Vitamin D
  2. Fish Oil
  3. Dietary Fiber
  4. Magnesium

For each of these, the majority of studies support some benefit. For example, 6 of 8 medical societies recommend vitamin D (along with calcium) for the elderly and 4 of 7 recommend it for the general adult population due to its impact on bone health.1 For fish oil, multiple famous large studies (DART, GISSI-Prevenzione, GISSI-HF, and REDUCE-IT) put thousands of people struggling from various heart and metabolic diseases on fish oil and compared to those that did not take fish oil, mortality and/or cardiovascular events fell significantly.4,5,6,7  For fiber, blood pressure was statistically significantly reduced in those that took psyllium fiber compared to those that did not.8,9 We have many more studies for you in our full review, if you are interested.

Meanwhile, several vitamins have strong research support for select groups:

  • Folic Acid (pregnancy)
  • Calcium (elderly)
  • Turmeric (metabolic disorder, diabetes, osteoarthritis)

Vitamins for you

However, the best option for you depends not only on the evidence, but on your diet and health needs. Our assessment is designed to tailor our study insights to you. In the recommendation section, you can view the “why we recommend” section to see study data and how much support there is for each recommendation.

      References

      1. O’Connor EA, Evans CV, Ivlev I, et al. Vitamin, Mineral, and Multivitamin Supplementation for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer: A Systematic Evidence Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2021 Jun. (Evidence Synthesis, No. 209.) Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK581642/
      2. Klein EA, Thompson IM Jr, Tangen CM, Crowley JJ, Lucia MS, Goodman PJ, Minasian LM, Ford LG, Parnes HL, Gaziano JM, Karp DD, Lieber MM, Walther PJ, Klotz L, Parsons JK, Chin JL, Darke AK, Lippman SM, Goodman GE, Meyskens FL Jr, Baker LH. Vitamin E and the risk of prostate cancer: the Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT). JAMA. 2011 Oct 12;306(14):1549-56. doi: 10.1001/jama.2011.1437. PMID: 21990298; PMCID: PMC4169010.
      3. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, Food Surveys Research Group (Beltsville, MD) and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (Hyattsville, MD). What We Eat in America, NHANES 2015-2018 Type of File: Usual Intake Data Tables (2021, January). Available from: https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-bhnrc/beltsville-human-nutrition-research-center/food-surveys-research-group/docs/wweia-usual-intake-data-tables/ [accessed 04/12/23].
      4. Burr, M.L.; Gilbert, J.F.; Holliday, R.A.; Elwood, P.C.; Fehily, A.M.; Rogers, S.; Sweetnam, P.M.; Deadman, N.M. Effects of changes in fat, fish, and fibre intakes on death and myocardial reinfarction: Diet and reinfarction trial (DART). Lancet 1989, 334, 757–761.
      5. GISSI-Prevenzione Investigators. Dietary supplementation with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and vitamin E after myocardial infarction: Results of the GISSI-Prevenzione trial. Lancet 1999, 354, 447–455.
      6. Tavazzi, L.; Maggioni, A.P.; Marchioli, R.; Barlera, S.; Franzosi, M.G.; Latini, R.; Lucci, D.; Nicolosi, G.L.; Porcu, M.; Tognoni, G. Effect of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with chronic heart failure (the GISSI-HF trial): A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet 2008, 372, 1223–1230.
      7. A Study of AMR101 to Evaluate Its Ability to Reduce Cardiovascular Events in High Risk Patients with Hypertriglyceridemia and on Statin. 2016. Available online: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01492361.
      8. Hartley L, May MD, Loveman E, Colquitt JL, Rees K. Dietary fibre for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD011472. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011472.pub2. Accessed 15 March 2023.
      9. Jovanovski E, Yashpal S, Komishon A, Zurbau A, Blanco Mejia S, Ho HVT, Li D, Sievenpiper J, Duvnjak L, Vuksan V. Effect of psyllium (Plantago ovata) fiber on LDL cholesterol and alternative lipid targets, non-HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein B: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2018 Nov 1;108(5):922-932. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqy115. PMID: 30239559.
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