Health Freedom
Daily Supplement Use and Brain Function in Healthy Children
At a Glance
A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may help improve brain function in healthy children

Read more about this research below.
Vitamins and minerals are essential for optimal neural performance. However, national dietary surveys continue to show that a high percentage of adults and children suffer from deficiencies in one or more vitamins and minerals.
A study published in the November 2008 British Journal of Nutrition examined the effects of multivitamin and multimineral supplements on brain function in children. The study involved 81 healthy children between the ages of 8 and 14. The children were randomly assigned to receive a daily children’s multivitamin and multimineral supplement or a placebo.
During twelve weeks of supplementation, the children were given a series of tests to assess brain function. The children who received daily supplements performed better on two tests of attention than did the children who received placebos. Even more surprising was that the improvements in attention scores were seen within a few hours after administering the first vitamin and mineral dose. Mood, another outcome the authors were researching, was not significantly affected by the supplement.
These results suggest that multivitamin and multimineral supplementation may help to improve brain function in healthy children. However, it is impossible to determine whether the improvement in brain function in the children who took the daily supplement was due to a single ingredient in the supplement or whether it was due to the interaction of multiple vitamins and/or minerals. While additional research will be necessary to further elucidate this point, it may be time to reconsider the role of daily multivitamins in maintaining childhood health.
Br J Nutr 2008 Nov;100(5):1086-96
Inadequate Vitamin Levels May Result in Poor Athletic Performance
At a Glance
Active individuals with inadequate B-vitamin intakes may perform worse in high-intensity exercise, in part because of a decreased ability to build and repair muscle. National B-vitamin recommendations may be too low, so athletes with poor or restricted diets should consider use of a multivitamin supplement.

Read more about this research below.
Active individuals lacking in B-vitamins may perform worse during high-intensity exercise and have less ability to repair and build muscle than individuals with nutrient-rich diets.
The B vitamins, which include thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate (folic acid), are necessary for the body to convert proteins and sugars into energy. They are also used during the production and repair of cells, including red blood cells.
A team of researchers analyzed the diet and athletic performance of several elite athletes, collegiate athletes, and less competitive individuals. Even a marginal deficiency in B-vitamins negatively impacted markers related to cellular repair, efficiency, and immune function.
Exercise-induced stress, increased loss of nutrients (in sweat, urine and feces), and the additional nutrients needed to repair and maintain higher levels of lean tissue mass can all increase an athleteís B-vitamin requirements.
The researchers noted that current national B-vitamin recommendations for active individuals may be inadequate, and that chronic deficiencies could jeopardize athleteís abilities and long-term health. Athletes and individuals with poor and restricted diets should consider supplementation to ensure adequacy.
Kathleen Woolf; Melinda M. Manore. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2006(16)5.
Total Vitamin C Deficiencies Declining, But Still a Problem for Some Groups
At a Glance
In the last two decades, vitamin C deficiencies in the U.S. have steadily declined, in part because of increased use of dietary supplements. Unfortunately, some population groups still experience high rates of deficiency.

Read more about this research below.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a continuous annual survey conducted in the United States by the National Center for Health Statistics (a division of the CDC). A recent study used data from two separate NHANES surveys – one from 2003-2004 and another from 1988-1994 – to examine whether or not vitamin C deficiencies have increased or decreased over time.
Using serum vitamin C concentration data collected from 7200 individuals (age 6+) in 2003-2004 and 20,600 individuals (age 6+) in 1988-1994, researchers marked individuals as “deficient” or “not deficient”, where deficiency was classified as serum concentration <11.4 µmol/L. (At this level, clinical features of manifest scurvy may be seen.) Additional analyses examined possible correlations between vitamin C deficiency and a number of factors, including sex, age, race-ethnicity, smoking status, adiposity, socioeconomic status, vitamin C supplement use, and dietary intake.
Encouragingly, vitamin C deficiencies declined across most subgroups, and in many groups the declines were substantial. At least part of this improvement is due to vitamin C supplementation. “In prosperous societies, supplement consumption has a significant effect on body stores and circulating concentrations of vitamin C,” the authors reported. “In NHANES 1999–2000, 52% of adults reported consumption of supplements in the past month…these recent data show increased usage since the overall 40% usage reported during NHANES III [1988-1994] and are likely to explain in part the improved vitamin C status of the U.S. population.”
Unfortunately, certain population groups remain at risk of vitamin C deficiency. Smokers are the highest risk subgroup, with 18% of male smokers and 15.3% of female smokers being vitamin C deficient (compared to 5.3% and 4.2% for male and female non-smokers, respectively). Smoking accelerates vitamin C turnover and lowers serum concentrations, which in turn increases the likelihood of deficiency. Lower income groups were also at higher risk for deficiency, and men were more likely to be deficient than women. Children, teens, and adults over the age of 60 were less likely to be deficient than adults between the ages of 20 and 60.
The study concludes by stating: “…the vitamin C status of the US population appears to have substantially improved from 1988–1994 to 2003–2004. Nevertheless, the prevalence of vitamin C deficiency in various subgroups remains a concern.”
Schleicher RL, Carroll MD, Ford ES, Lacher DA. Serum vitamin C and the prevalence of vitamin C deficiency in the United States: 2003–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Nov 2009. Am J Clin Nutr 90:1252-1263.