Science has proven a daily multivitamin can slow biological ageing: Our supplement expert reveals how to find the product that works best for you, the £79 ‘super powder’ not worth your money and the ideal 16p-a-day pill for the over-50s
A supplements expert writing for the Daily Mail reviews the evidence behind daily multivitamins, citing research suggesting they can slow biological ageing, and offers guidance on choosing an effective product. The piece is aimed at consumers navigating a crowded and often expensive supplements market, highlighting which products offer genuine value and which are overpriced.
The article singles out a £79 "super powder" supplement as not worth the money, while recommending a budget multivitamin costing around 16p a day as a suitable option for people over 50. It forms part of a wider consumer health guide advising readers on how to identify supplements backed by evidence rather than marketing.
- Expert says daily multivitamins may help slow biological ageing.
- A £79 "super powder" supplement is deemed poor value.
- A 16p-a-day pill is recommended for over-50s.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates for daily multivitamin use point to a growing body of clinical evidence, including large randomised trials such as COSMOS, suggesting modest but measurable improvements in cognitive function and markers of biological ageing, particularly in older adults or those with suboptimal diets. They argue that even small, low-cost interventions are worth pursuing when the risk is minimal and the potential benefit is extended years of good health, not just longevity. For this group, dismissing supplementation because it doesn't extend lifespan misses the point when improving healthspan and daily function is the more meaningful goal, especially for an ageing population.
The case against
Sceptics, often nutrition scientists and evidence-based medicine advocates, caution that much of the supporting research is preliminary, funded by supplement manufacturers, or shows effects too small to be clinically meaningful outside controlled trial conditions. They argue that for the majority of people eating a varied diet, multivitamins are unnecessary, and that the lucrative supplement industry has a track record of overstating weak evidence to sell products, with money better directed towards diet, exercise and sleep, which have far stronger evidential support for healthy ageing. Their concern is less about vitamins being harmful than about public health messaging being distorted by commercial interests dressed up as scientific consensus.