Vitamins and other supplements play an important role in improving health.
But according to Australian vitamin expert Dr Derek Muller, not all are guaranteed to restore, or keep you, in top form.
In fact, he said while there’s an idea that there’s no harm in taking vitamins, people would be better off thinking about these as no different to prescribed medicines.
From why vitamin C won’t stop a cold to how multivitamins won’t remedy the ill-effects of a bad diet, here FEMAIL busts some of the most common vitamin myths.
Many will be all too aware that vitamins play an important role in improving health (stock image)
1. ‘Vitamin C can stop a cold’
If you’ve been struck with a cold, the first thing you may reach for is a trusty bottle of vitamin C to help keep the worst symptoms at bay.
‘It does very little for the common cold, but there’s a lot of misinformation and misconception out there,’ Dr Muller told Body + Soul.
Taking a vitamin C supplement every day for the purpose of prevention can result in milder symptoms and shorten a duration of a cold.
However, it won’t increase your immunity to catching a cold – which means you are as vulnerable to becoming sick as anyone else.
Adults need about 45 mg of vitamin C per day and any excess is excreted through urine.
2. ‘It’s not possible to overdose on vitamins’

Dr Derek Muller (pictured) believes vitamins should be treated like medicine
Chances are you probably don’t think twice before downing a handful of vitamins on a daily basis, but the truth is vitamin overdose is possible.
Fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K, are fat soluble which means are stored in the body. If taken in high doses they may pose a greater risk for toxicity.
In his new film Vitamania, the expert highlights the dangers of vitamin overdose, an issue he believes can have serious consequences.
He outlined one case where a mother gave her five-month-old daughter an excessive amount of vitamin D resulting in the child being hospitalised for 10 days.
‘Her vitamin D levels didn’t come back to normal for a year and a half because of how it built up in her system, so you can have too much of a good thing, that’s for sure,’ he said.

Chances are you probably don’t think twice before downing a handful of vitamins on a daily basis, but the truth is vitamin overdose is possible
3. ‘Vitamins are just expensive urine’
Your body doesn’t absorb extra vitamins; all you get from taking vitamin supplements is expensive urine.
But Dr Muller points out this isn’t necessarily the case.
He said vitamins that are water-soluble such as B and C will be excreted through urine if taken in excess.
However, vitamin A (which is fat-soluble) is stored in the liver. Excess amounts can accumulate over time which can cause Hypervitaminosis A, a serious and even life-threatening condition.
Nearly all people in Australia get enough vitamin A in their diets and supplements are not necessary, according to Healthdirect.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin A for adult men and women is 0.9 and 0.7 mg for men and women, respectively.
4. ‘You need to take a multivitamin’
Multivitamins have many benefits but they aren’t a replacement for eating well.
According to the expert, there is a huge misconception that people can have a ‘cr**py diet’ and just take a multivitamin and everything will be fine.
Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and cereals will give your body the vitamins it needs, at the right level and in the right balance.

Eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and cereals will give your body the vitamins it needs, at the right level and in the right balance
5. ‘Prescribed medicines are different to vitamins’
Conventional thinking holds there’s nothing wrong with taking vitamins as they’re considered a health supplement.
However, Dr Muller takes the view it would be better if people spoke with a medical professional first in order to have a greater understanding of the risks and benefits.
‘If they got the sense that these are powerful chemicals that they’re putting in their bodies, which are man-made, they’re from factories, they have risks and benefits, and it’s not just something that should be taken casually, we’d all be more aware.’
Dr Derek Muller’s film Vitamania premiers on SBS on August 12.