Which supplements are worth taking for men?
Vitamin D, in autumn and winter. It’s the one supplement the NHS says every man should consider. A multivitamin is optional. But a high dose of one vitamin raised prostate cancer risk in healthy men.
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Which supplements are worth taking for men?
Vitamin D first. From October to early March, your skin can’t make enough from UK sunlight. So the NHS says everyone should consider 10 micrograms (400 IU) a day in autumn and winter.
Take it all year if you’re rarely outdoors, live in a care home or cover most of your skin outside. With dark skin, for example an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background, the NHS says to consider it all year too.
For the rest, the NHS says most people should get what they need from a varied and balanced diet, though some may need extra.
| Supplement | Worth it? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin D | Yes, in autumn and winter | 10 micrograms a day. All year if you’re rarely outside. With dark skin, consider it all year. |
| Vitamin B12 | If you’re vegan | Comes from meat, fish and dairy, not plants. |
| Multivitamin | Optional | A small cancer benefit in trials, with important limitations. |
| Creatine | If you lift or sprint | Helps hard training. Not a health need. |
| Fish oil | Eat oily fish first | In trials, capsules made little or no difference to deaths or heart events. |
| High-dose vitamin E | Skip | 400 IU a day raised prostate cancer risk in healthy men. |
| Beta-carotene | Skip if you smoke or worked with asbestos | Raises lung cancer risk in smokers and people exposed to asbestos at work. |
Sources: NHS vitamin D; NHS B vitamins; USPSTF review; ISSN; Cochrane; SELECT; NHS beta-carotene
Vegan? The NHS also lists vitamin D, B12, iodine, selenium and calcium as harder to get. Check your vitamin D isn’t from an animal source.
Your first step: buy a 10 microgram vitamin D and start it in October.
Do men need a multivitamin?
Most don’t. A review looked at 84 studies in healthy adults with no known shortfall. It found supplements were linked to little or no benefit against cancer, heart disease and death.
The one exception was a small benefit for cancer with multivitamins. The reviewers said that evidence had important limitations.
Source: Physicians’ Health Study II
That trial followed 14,641 US doctors for about 11 years. It found no effect on prostate cancer, and it didn’t test younger men.
So a multivitamin is optional, not a must. If you take one, use the label checks below. More in do I need a multivitamin? and, over 50, vitamins for men over 50.
Do men’s vitamins help testosterone or the prostate?
Testosterone falls slowly, by about 1% a year from around 30 to 40. The NHS says this is unlikely to cause problems in itself.
Zinc is the usual testosterone ingredient. Men aged 19 to 64 need about 9.5 mg a day, and the NHS says food should cover it. High doses cut how much copper you absorb, which can lead to anaemia (too few healthy red blood cells) and weaker bones.
Now the vitamin from the top of the page. That vitamin is E.
Source: SELECT trial
The trial was in healthy men aged 55 and over (50 and over for black men). Vitamin E raised the risk: about 1.6 extra prostate cancers per 1,000 men a year. Food gives the 4 mg a day men need.
Worried about your hormones? Read low testosterone symptoms, does zinc increase testosterone? and testosterone boosters.
Are creatine and fish oil worth it?
Creatine is, if you train hard. The ISSN, a sports nutrition body, calls it the most effective supplement for athletes for high-intensity exercise and lean body mass during training. That’s weight that isn’t fat.
It says 3 g a day for 28 days fills your muscles slowly, and 3 to 5 g a day generally keeps them full. See how much creatine per day.
Fish oil is weaker. Across 86 trials with 162,796 people, mostly using capsules, extra omega-3 made little or no difference to deaths, heart events or strokes. It may slightly cut deaths from heart disease.
The NHS advice is food, not capsules. The NHS says aim for at least 2 portions a week, including 1 of oily fish like salmon or sardines. Ideas in omega-3 foods.
What should a men’s supplement label say?
Ignore the claims on the front. Turn the tub over and check the amounts.
Six label checks before you buy
- Pick 10 micrograms of vitamin D, and take no more than 100 micrograms a day unless your doctor advises a different amount.
- Take no more than 25 mg of zinc a day from supplements unless a doctor advises it.
- Keep iron supplements to 17 mg or less a day. Men need 8.7 mg and food should cover it.
- Keep vitamin A from food and supplements to no more than 1.5 mg a day. If you eat liver every week, skip vitamin A supplements, including fish liver oil.
- Skip beta-carotene if you smoke or worked with asbestos. Otherwise take no more than 7 mg a day.
- Keep vitamin B12 supplements to 2 mg or less a day.
Sources: NHS vitamin D; NHS zinc and beta-carotene; NHS iron; NHS vitamin A; NHS B vitamins
Taking vitamin D on its own? Read can you take too much vitamin D?
When to speak to a GP
A supplement can’t tell you why you feel off. Book an appointment if:
- You have signs of low B12 or folate: extreme tiredness, a lack of energy, pins and needles, a sore red tongue, mouth ulcers, muscle weakness, or problems with your vision. Also low mood or anxiety, confusion or dementia, or problems with memory, understanding and judgement.
- You have depression, low sex drive, erection problems, mood swings or irritability. Or less muscle, less ability to exercise, a bigger belly or breasts, low energy, poor sleep, tiredness, poor concentration or short-term memory problems. The NHS says see your GP.
- You’re a strict vegan thinking about an iodine supplement. The NHS says to get advice from a healthcare professional first.
- You want more than 25 mg of zinc or 7 mg of beta-carotene a day. The NHS says only if a doctor advises it.
Want to know your own levels? See vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms and the vitamin D blood test.