Discover how vitamins & supplements can help your family’s wellness journey
Why are vitamins & supplements important?
Proper nutrition is key to meet the needs of you and your family. Nutrients like iron and calcium are essential for your body to work properly. Most people get the nutrients they need by having a healthy, balanced diet, but busy lives can make getting the vitamins you need from your diet easier said than done.
Adding vitamins and supplements to your routine can be a simple, convenient way to help meet your nutritional goals.
From growth spurts to the golden years, here’s our guide to vitamins and supplements to support the whole family’s health and wellness.
Babies & children
The best way to make sure children get all their essential vitamins is to make sure they’re having a healthy, balanced and varied diet. We understand this isn’t always easy, so adding food supplements to their diet is great to help your child meet their nutritional goals for each stage of their development.
The Department of Health recommends that children under one year of age who are breastfed or have less than 500ml of formula a day should take a vitamin D supplement. Children aged one to four are advised to take a vitamin D supplement all year round and children over four should take a supplement during autumn and winter months.
The Department of Health also recommends that all children from six months to five years old should take a daily vitamin A and C supplement.
Boots can help you choose which vitamins are right for your children with our range for kids. The Boots 3 years plus A-Z Multivitamin + Minerals – 30 Chewable Tablets* have been designed to give your children over three a top up of twenty essential vitamins and minerals including vitamins ACD.
Teenagers
Teenagers need the same vitamins and minerals as everybody else, however, some are beneficial while they’re growing and going through puberty. It might be helpful for teens to consider taking the following:
• Iron – this is important for teenage girls especially if they have their periods. Not getting enough iron can lead to low iron, so iron supplementation can be really helpful
• Calcium – this is important for the development of bones and teeth. Not getting enough calcium can lead to osteomalacia or osteoporosis in later life so calcium supplementation can help reduce the risk
• Vitamin D – the NHS advises that all children and adults over four should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D every day during autumn and winter.
The Department of Health and Social Care recommends that if you’re over four, you should take a daily supplement which contains 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year if:
• You aren’t often outdoors – for example, if you’re frail or housebound
• You usually wear clothes that cover up most of your skin when you’re outdoors
• You have dark skin for example if you have an African, African-Caribbean or South Asian background
The above means that you might not make enough vitamin D from sunlight.
Multivitamins like the Vitabiotics Wellteen Her Plus* and Vitabiotics Wellteen Him Plus* can help provide nutritional support for teenagers.
Women’s wellness
Do women’s needs change at different ages? Yes! There are certain times when women need nutrients at different levels. Women need more iron than men and their needs can vary at different life stages. From iron or vitamin B supplements for women of all ages, to menopause supplements designed to help with the changes associated with that life stage, there are plenty to choose from.
Pregnancy
Eating a healthy balanced diet is key throughout your life, but it’s even more so during pregnancy. Vitamins and supplements can help to keep you and your baby healthy. You should be advised to take the following:
• Folic acid – it’s important to take a 400 micrograms folic acid tablet every day before you get pregnant and until you’re 12 weeks pregnant. Folic acid can help with preventing birth defects like spina bifida
• Vitamin D – this is to make sure that the baby has enough vitamin D for bone development and to reduce the risk of them having soft bones
Some vitamins and supplements may be helpful during pregnancy, but they might not be routinely recommended. These include:
• Iron – in pregnancy, the amount of blood in your body increases by almost 50%. This can reduce the amount of red blood cells you have, causing iron deficiency anaemia
• Vitamin C – this helps to protect your cells
• Calcium – this is essential for making baby’s bones and teeth
• Omega-3 – this can help baby’s nervous system to develop
It’s important that you don’t take vitamin A supplements in pregnancy, or any supplements containing vitamin A (retinol), as too much could harm your unborn baby.
We’ve made a handy guide so you can learn more about vitamins and supplements for pregnancy.
Breastfeeding
If you’re breastfeeding, taking a daily 10mcg vitamin D supplement is advised. Vitamin D can be found in some foods like salmon, sardines and egg yolks, but it’s difficult to get enough for you and your baby from just your meals.
Menopause
During the menopause, your hormone levels change. To help with these changes and challenges, you may consider a nutritional supplement to help ease their effect on your day-to-day life.
We’ve got a round-up of vitamins and supplements for menopause to consider.
Vitamins like the Health & Her Perimenopause Multi-nutrient Support Supplement and the Boots Menopause & Me Perimenopause Complex Tablets have been designed to support:
• Hormone regulation with vitamin B6
• Energy with vitamin B6, C and magnesium
• Psychological function with vitamin B6, B12, and magnesium
• Muscles with vitamin D and magnesium
• Bones with vitamin C and D
• Skin, hair, nails with zinc and collagen formation with vitamin C
• Testosterone levels with zinc
• Cognitive function with iron
• Immunity with iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and C
During and after the menopause, the drop in oestrogen levels can affect heart health and bone health.
Oestrogen prevents bones from getting weaker as it slows down the natural breakdown of bone. During menopause, there is a drop in oestrogen levels which can put women at a higher risk of osteoporosis. There aren’t any specific calcium or vitamin D recommendations for the menopause, but supplements can help with slowing down the rate of bone loss.
This decrease in oestrogen can also cause changes to blood vessels, cholesterol and blood pressure – factors linked to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Vitabiotics Cardioace Plus* is designed to support heart function and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels as it contains plant sterols**. Plant sterols can help block some cholesterol from being absorbed which can help lower the cholesterol in your blood.
It’s important to bear in mind that plant sterols and stanols aren’t a replacement for cholesterol-lowering medications but they can be used in addition to medication. If you’re already taking medicine to lower your cholesterol, you should speak to your doctor or pharmacist before taking them as well.
For more on the menopause and heart health, check out our article.
Men’s wellness
A multivitamin like the Boots Complete Man Multivitamins* can help support your overall health and fill any dietary gaps you have.
Some essential vitamins and minerals for men to consider include:
• Vitamin D – this is great for helping your body to absorb calcium
• Calcium – this helps with the maintenance of healthy muscles and bones. It’s especially important for men in their 20s to get enough calcium to help with building bone mass
• Vitamin C – this helps to support the nervous system and iron absorption
• Zinc – men can lack zinc especially if they’re vegetarian. There’s some evidence to suggest that zinc can contribute to the maintenance of normal testosterone levels
Specific diets
More people are choosing to make the switch to a diet that reduces or cuts out animal products, but it’s important to get the right balance of nutrients whatever diet you’re on. If you’re following a vegan or vegetarian diet, it’s key to make sure that you’re still getting all the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy.
A well-planned diet of vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, dairy, nuts, seeds and pulses can provide you with the protein, calcium and nutrients you need but some nutrients could be in short supply:
• Vitamin B12
• Iron
• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Calcium
• Vitamin D
• Zinc
• Iodine
If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you might want to think about taking a vitamin and mineral supplement to support your diet.
Supporting your immune system
Your immune system is one of the ways that your body keeps you protected against disease and infection. It’s a system made up of cells, tissues and organs that work together.
Vitamins and supplements come in different forms like dissolvable tablets, gummies or chewable tablets – all of which can work in the same way to help support your immune system.
The following nutrients contribute to a healthy functioning immune system:
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Zinc
• Vitamin A
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin B6
• Copper
• Folic acid
• Iron
• Selenium
Our range of immune system supplements* can help to support the body’s own immune functions.
Over 50s
As we get older, our bodies change and it’s important to make sure your diet is providing you with the right vitamins and minerals to help you be as healthy as possible.
You might have lower calorie needs so need to eat less, but your nutritional needs will be similar. Changes could be due to:
• Moving less
• Metabolisms tends to slow down
• Age-related changes in bone and muscle mass
You might consider a supplement for support:
• Vitamin C and B12 to help support your immune system
• Vitamin A to help support healthy vision
• Iron to help with reducing tiredness and fatigue
• Zinc to help support healthy cognitive function
There are vitamins specially tailored for people over 50 like the Boots A-Z 50+ tablets*.
It's key to remember that most people get the nutrients they need from having a balanced and healthy diet so this should be your first focus, but if you want to support or maintain your wellbeing, Boots has the vitamins and supplements to support you at any life stage.
