Supplements

A lot of marketing can be found encouraging you to take supplements for dubious health benefits. Here is the evidence for what is proven to work, and what is uncertain.

Vitamins

Vitamin B

B-complex vitamins: no clear or significant benefits.
B2 (roboflavin): Can prevent migraines! 400mg daily. 
B6: no clear or significant benefits
B9 (folic acid): strongly recommended for all pregnant women or women planning to be pregnant soon, and found in women’s multivitamin. Dosing depends on risks of neural tube defects.
B12: Recommended to all vegetarians, B12 is most plentiful in animal products like liver, milk, fish, and meat. Also recomemnded in people with bowel malabsorption concerns (e.g. alcohol use disorder, diet variey limited by poverty, crohn’s disease) 

Vitamin C
There is no benefit of Vitamin C for cancer or heart disease. It can increase the risk of kidney stones. It might* reduce the severity of cold symptoms in adults, though the effect is likely very small. It does not prevent viral infections.

Vitamin D
In Vancouver/Burnaby, we often do not get enough sunlight to produce high levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D testing is NOT covered by MSP, and you need to pay for the test. If you are concerned, it is generally recommended for anyone to take ~800-1000U of Vitamin D daily. The evidence is quite weak, but vitamin D supplementation might decrease the risk of fracture associated with falls. It might also improve mood in deficient individuals. We DO NOT recommend trying to get vitamin D by suntanning or going to a tanning salon, as it can lead to sunburn and skin cancer.

Minerals