Walk down the vitamin aisle after 65 and it’s easy to feel as though a daily multivitamin is practically mandatory. Bottles marketed to older adults promise combinations of vitamin D, B12, calcium and other nutrients, often alongside language about energy, immunity, bones or brain health. Yet the evidence behind multivitamins after 65 is much more nuanced than either “everyone needs one” or “you’re wasting your money.” Some older adults have legitimate reasons to supplement specific nutrients, and intriguing research has found modest cognitive benefits from a daily multivitamin, but that doesn’t turn one pill into insurance against chronic disease. Before adding another recurring purchase to your budget, it helps to understand what multivitamins can—and can’t—reasonably do.
