How to meet your daily dietary needs on a budget by combining cheap vitamins and nutrient-rich foods

• You can meet most of your nutrient needs by taking a multivitamin that costs just pennies a day.
• But experts say it's always best to eat a balanced diet, if you can, instead of relying on vitamins.

Multivitamins can provide most of the vitamins and minerals, aka micronutrients, you need each day at a fairly low cost. You can find reputable brands where the cost of your multivitamin breaks down to just three to 10 cents per day.

But you may not want to rush out and stock up on cheap vitamins just yet. It's true that simply taking a pill might seem like an easy way to get all the micronutrients you need — but experts usually don't recommend relying only on vitamins.

"Multivitamins are meant to supplement the diet, not replace it,'' says Mackenzie Burgess, a registered dietitian nutritionist and recipe developer at Cheerful Choices.

If you have certain medical conditions or difficulty accessing nutritious food, multivitamins can be a useful tool, but taking vitamins doesn't necessarily replicate the health benefits of eating a balanced diet.

Read on to learn when you might want to consider taking a multivitamin, along with some tips on the best foods to meet your vitamin and mineral needs on a budget.

Why you shouldn't get most of your nutrients from supplements

Multivitamins can serve an important role: They help fill in the gaps if you don't get enough vitamins and minerals from food alone.

So yes, a multivitamin could technically provide almost all your recommended dietary allowances (RDAs) of the micronutrients you need for optimal health. Even so, experts usually recommend focusing on eating a balanced diet instead, for a few reasons.

For one, it's typically a much more enjoyable experience to eat a variety of colorful, nourishing foods than to take a pill.

Burgess also says relying on a multivitamin alone means you'll miss out on some other beneficial compounds, such as:

• Fiber, which helps lower your risk of chronic disease, improves digestion, and boosts your immune system.
• Antioxidants, which can reduce inflammation in your body and lower your risk of heart disease and cancer.
• Phytonutrients, which may help reduce your risk of developing chronic diseases.

Plus, if you take too many daily supplements in an effort to meet your RDA, you run the risk of serious side effects from getting too much vitamin A and vitamin D.

Taking more than the RDA of water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B vitamins doesn't have any added health benefits, either. You'll simply pass the excess in your urine, Burgess says.

And finally, not much evidence supports multivitamins as a way to help reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, two leading causes of death. Eating a balanced diet, however, does lower your risk.

So, why take a multivitamin?

Though multivitamins can't provide all the benefits of a balanced diet, they can still do your body good.

You might find a multivitamin helpful if you:

• Have a low appetite or don't have enough food in your household.
• Are over the age of 50.
• Are pregnant or trying to get pregnant.
• Follow a diet that restricts certain food groups.
• Have a medical condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease or food allergies, that affects how well you absorb nutrients.
• Have had bariatric surgery or another digestive tract surgery that affects how your body digests nutrients.

Note: It's always best to check in with your doctor or talk to a dietitian before taking any supplements. They can offer more guidance on whether a multivitamin fits your circumstances.

Best multivitamins for men and women

Great, inexpensive multivitamins are readily available online. Here are some of the best options we've found for men and for women:

• Best budget men's multivitamin: Nature's Way Alive! Once Daily Men's Multivitamin - See at Amazon or Walmart
• Best budget women's multivitamin: Nature Made Multi for Her - See at Amazon or Walmart

Do cheap vitamins actually work?

If you're shopping on a budget, here's some good news: Less expensive brands of vitamins can work just as well as pricier options.

"There are great vitamin options across all budgets," says Jessica Houston, a nutritional scientist and founder of Vitamin and Me.

The price of a multivitamin often has more to do with marketing and branding than the actual quality of the ingredients, Houston says.

Store brands of multivitamins, for example, can be a great, affordable option.

Houston recommends choosing vitamins that are:

• Third-party tested — these will have a USP or NSF label. This testing ensures the product contains only what the label says and no other contaminants.
• Free of artificial colors, additives, and fillers.
• Unlikely to interact with any of your current medications. If you take any medications or supplements, it's always best to ask a doctor before starting a multivitamin.

What about fortified foods?

Fortified foods contain added vitamins and minerals that many people don't get enough of. The FDA established this practice in 1924 by adding iodine to table salt to help prevent goiters.

Example of fortified foods include:

• Milk fortified with vitamin D
• Juices fortified with vitamin D and calcium
• Breakfast cereals fortified with B vitamins and iron
• Infant formula fortified with iron
  
  

Like multivitamins, these foods can help fill in some nutritional gaps, but they can't entirely replace a balanced diet.

Best foods for eating on a budget

As a general rule, experts recommend getting the nutrients you need by eating a variety of foods, including:

• Lean proteins, like fish, poultry, and beans
• Whole grains, including whole wheat, oats, and brown rice
• Vegetables, including leafy greens and vegetables of varied colors
• Fruits of all kinds

When shopping, sticking to simple foods with minimal processing will give you the most

bang for your buck when it comes to vitamins and minerals.

Keep in mind, too, that some foods are more nutrient dense than others — for example, kale and other dark leafy greens provide you with many more nutrients than iceberg lettuce.

Finding nutritious foods on a budget can seem tricky, but some inexpensive staple foods contain more nutrients than you might think:

• Eggs are one of the most nutritious foods you can consume, Houston says.
• "Potatoes have fallen out of favor recently, but they are in fact a healthy and inexpensive option. They serve a hefty dose of nutrients and resistant starch that fuels the healthy bacteria in your gut," Houston says.
• Frozen vegetables can be a good option for convenience and cost — and they usually provide the same nutrients as fresh veggies.

Burgess says the amount of nutrients in everyday affordable foods might surprise you. Take mushrooms, for instance:

• 5 medium white button mushrooms provides 30% of your RDA for riboflavin (vitamin B2)
• 4 cremini mushrooms provide 44% of your RDA for copper and 38% for selenium – two nutrients that help support your immune system.

Other budget-friendly foods packed with vitamins and minerals:

• Canned tuna is a good source of vitamin B3 and vitamin B12.
• Chickpeas contain the RDA for manganese and folate in just one cup.
• Spinach is packed with nutrients like iron, calcium, and vitamin C.
• Carrots are rich in vitamin A, which is great for your eyesight.
• Oats are high in iron and other minerals.
• Sweet potatoes give you all the vitamin A you need per day in one cup.
• Bananas serve as a great source of potassium.
• Brown rice is a good source of magnesium and fiber.
• Sunflower seeds contain important minerals like selenium, copper, and manganese.
• Broccoli is an excellent way to get vitamin C — one cup has nearly all of your RDA.
• Frozen blueberries are a good source of vitamin K and antioxidants.

Insider's takeaway

Taking a multivitamin may be a simple, inexpensive way to get more of the vitamins and minerals you need — especially during pregnancy, if you're on a budget, or when you lack access to enough nutritious food.

However, they can't completely replace the role of nutritious foods. They're called supplements for a reason — they're meant to supplement, not replace, a balanced diet.

If you're on a budget, multivitamins might make a useful addition to your meal plan, but a good first step involves talking to your doctor or a dietitian to discuss the best approach to supplementing your diet.