Top Supplements Americans Use Are Shifting from Multivitamins to Targeted Health Fixes

• The biggest increases appeared after 2009 — Researchers found that supplement habits remained relatively stable until the 2009 to 2010 survey cycle, after which use rose sharply. The pattern was even stronger when multivitamin-multimineral products were removed from the analysis. Use of supplements outside these broad formulas rose from 34% to 50%.

Americans increasingly selected separate products rather than depend on a single formula containing numerous nutrients. That distinction matters because adding individual supplements gives you more control over your routine, but it also increases the importance of knowing why you take each product and whether the dose fits your individual needs.

• Older adults recorded the largest increase in supplement use — Age created one of the clearest differences in the data. Among adults age 65 and older, supplement use increased by 16 percentage points, from 62% to 78%. By comparison, use among adults ages 20 to 39 rose from 42% to 46%, while use among those ages 40 to 64 increased from 56% to 62%.

Other groups also recorded substantial changes. Supplement use among adults with less than a high school education climbed from 33% to 48%, while use among Mexican American adults increased from 32% to 49%. Across the entire study period, use remained more common among women, older adults, people with higher incomes and education levels, those with health insurance and non-Hispanic White adults.

• Your supplement cabinet deserves a regular audit — The study found that supplement use differs substantially according to age, income, education and other personal factors. At the same time, researchers emphasized that people often select products for highly individualized reasons. This means there is no universal supplement routine that fits everyone.

You could turn this insight into a simple health challenge. Once or twice a year, list every supplement you take and answer three questions: Why am I taking it? What specific need does it address? Do I still need it? This quick audit helps you move away from collecting popular products and toward a routine based on clear, personal goals.

• The study identified an important gap between popularity and proven results — Researchers pointed out that evidence on the health effects of supplements remains mixed. Some research reports benefits from certain products, while other studies find no benefit or report harm. Evidence about interactions between supplements and medications also remains limited for many products.

Just as important, the study tracked what Americans took, not whether those choices made them healthier. Because this was a repeated cross-sectional analysis, researchers examined different snapshots of the population over time rather than follow the same people for nearly 25 years. As a result, the findings reveal major shifts in behavior but don’t prove that greater or more targeted supplement use improved health outcomes.

• More choices make personalized decisions increasingly important — The researchers concluded that supplement use has become more diverse, with Americans increasingly interested in products marketed for specific health concerns.

This shift gives you more ways to tailor your routine, but targeted doesn’t automatically mean necessary, safe or effective for your individual circumstances. The data make the trend clear. What they can’t tell you is whether your own routine reflects genuine need or accumulated habit. That question is worth answering for yourself.

1. Start with food before reaching for a supplement — Your body needs vitamins, minerals, protein, carbohydrates and fats to produce energy and maintain healthy function. Get as much nutrition as possible from whole, minimally processed foods, then use supplements to address specific needs.

Build your meals around ripe whole fruit, root vegetables, white rice and other carbohydrates you tolerate well, along with quality protein sources such as grass fed ruminant meat, pastured eggs, collagen and grass fed dairy if you tolerate it. Choose fats such as grass fed butter, ghee and tallow instead of seed oils.

2. Make every supplement earn its place — Take out every bottle you use and write down exactly why you take it. Be specific. “For general health” is not a clear goal. If you can’t identify the nutritional need or health concern a product addresses, reconsider why it’s part of your routine.

I recommend repeating this simple five-minute challenge every few months, especially if you tend to add new products without removing old ones. Working with a knowledgeable holistic health care practitioner can help you identify which supplements are worth keeping in your routine and which are better off avoided.

Magnesium is one example in which reaching the recommended 420 milligrams per day through diet alone is difficult.

Even a healthy diet full of magnesium-rich foods often falls short because intensive farming practices have depleted mineral content in soil over decades. In this case, magnesium glycinate and magnesium malate are the preferred forms — glycinate tends to work well if you’re more sensitive to supplements or want nighttime support, while malate is better suited for muscle and energy needs.

To find your ideal dose, consider starting with magnesium citrate and gradually increasing your intake until stools loosen, then backing off slightly and switching to your preferred form.

Vitamin D is another example. While it’s best to get your vitamin D from sunlight whenever possible, if you don’t get outdoors regularly a vitamin D3 supplement helps bridge that gap. The only way to know if your vitamin D levels are in the optimal range is to get your levels tested. Aim for a vitamin D level between 60 and 80 ng/mL (150 to 200 nmol/L), and test every six months to stay within the optimal range. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether this testing is appropriate for you.

Meanwhile, if you take vitamin D3, pair it with magnesium and vitamin K2 as research suggests these three nutrients work best as a team. In fact, one analysis of health-tracking program data found that people who skip magnesium and K2 need more than twice as much vitamin D to reach the same blood levels as those who take all three together.³

The goal isn’t to build the largest supplement collection. It’s to help you create the simplest routine that supports your individual needs and fits into your actual life. A well-designed supplement routine needs to work on your busiest days, not just when conditions are perfect. Keep nutritious food at the foundation, use targeted supplements to fill genuine gaps and choose formats simple enough to become a natural part of your day.

3. Choose formats that fit your real life — Even a carefully selected supplement does little good if your routine is too complicated to maintain. Multiple bottles, doses and reminders add friction, while swallowing several capsules at once creates another barrier. That’s one reason we’re reformulating some of our supplements as powders where the ingredients allow it.

A powder that you stir into food connects supplementation to something you already do every day: eat. Instead of creating a separate ritual that requires you to remember another task, the supplement becomes part of an established daily habit. Taste and texture matter, too. A pleasant, easy-to-use product is far more likely to become part of your routine than something you dread taking.

This food-first format also better reflects my approach to supplementation. Real food remains the foundation, while supplements provide targeted support when your diet doesn’t supply enough of a specific nutrient. Supplements don’t replace nutritious food or excuse a poor diet. Where appropriate, a powder mixed into a meal keeps that relationship clear by making supplemental nutrition part of how you nourish yourself rather than another medical-style ritual built around bottles and pills.

4. Pay close attention to the form and dose — Two products with similar labels aren’t necessarily interchangeable. The ingredients, dose, quality and method of use all matter. For example, a supplement that combines numerous ingredients in small amounts might look more comprehensive, but that doesn’t mean it provides the right amount of the specific nutrient you need.

Choose products based on a clearly identified need, then pay close attention to exactly what you’re getting and how it fits into the rest of your diet and supplement routine.

5. Look beyond the claims on the front of the bottle — Supplement labels are designed to sell products, but the most important information is often found on the back. Read the full ingredient list rather than relying on claims such as “natural,” “immune support” or “healthy aging.”

Pay attention to unnecessary additives and other ingredients that don’t serve the specific reason you chose the supplement. Look for products with transparent ingredient lists, clearly stated amounts and as few unnecessary additives as possible. Quality matters as much as convenience.