What Are the Top 11 Vitamins and Supplements for Women to Take Daily?

Over a third of Americans take some kind of supplement every day. The top vitamins and supplements that women take include calcium, iron, potassium, and others.

If you’re looking to start taking one or more daily supplements, you’re not alone. Over a third of Americans take some kind of supplement every day. Specific recommendations are usually based on age and sex. The best vitamins for women depend on many factors, like your lifestyle and current health.

Not all females need the same amount of vitamins and other nutrients at all stages of their lives. For example, your needs will change when you’re pregnant and as you get older.   

Common nutrient supplements that can help include: 

• Calcium
• Iron
• Potassium
• Fiber
• Folate and folic acids
• Choline
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin C
• A vitamins 
• K vitamins 
• B vitamins

With an unlimited number of health supplements available in stores and online, it can be difficult to decide which product is best for you. 

For the most part, this depends on your age, diet, and lifestyle. One of the initial choices you have to make is if you want to take one or many individual supplements or a multivitamin that contains a mix of multiple nutrients. 

In general, you should consider your current nutrient intake and figure out the top nutrients that are missing from or lacking in your diet. Find a supplement mix that highlights these particular nutrients. Or learn about the benefits of the individual nutrients and find the most efficient supplement combination for getting all of the ingredients that you want. 

You can also have your doctor test you for particular deficiencies, like an iron deficiency. This is a sure way to know what you’re lacking before trying to decide on the supplement that’s right for you. 

Not all supplements are the same, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t need to monitor most vitamins and mineral supplements. 

To ensure that a supplement is what it says it is, you can look for a USP verification label on the product. This label means that the product has been certified by an independent nonprofit organization called the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention.  

But this label doesn’t mean that any particular supplement is safe for you to take. Some supplements can interfere with prescription medications or existing health issues. You always need to talk to your doctor before incorporating a new supplement into your routine. 

Calcium. American diets are often lacking in calcium. This can be problematic, particularly as you get older. Calcium is important for bone health, so not having enough of it can make your bones brittle. This can lead to problems like osteoporosis, which makes your bones fragile. 

Calcium supplements can help strengthen your bones so they don’t break as easily. But keep in mind that calcium alone is not sufficient protection from broken bones. You need to talk to your doctor about the best treatment plan for you if you have osteoporosis. 

You also need to make sure that you’re not taking too much calcium. A recent meta-analysis of studies done on postmenopausal women found that taking daily calcium supplements significantly increased their risk of developing heart disease. The study participants took anywhere from 700 to 1,000 milligrams of calcium each day.   

Iron. Iron is a crucial component of many of the proteins that allow your body to function. People who menstruate each month tend to need a greater intake of iron than others. You also need more iron when you’re growing and when you’re pregnant, in part because of the increased amount of blood in your body during these times. 

Female athletes should also consider taking iron supplements. It’s necessary for getting oxygen to the different parts of your body while you’re working out. 

Premenopausal women should get about 18 milligrams of iron a day. Postmenopausal women only need 8 milligrams of iron each day. 

Potassium. Many American diets are lacking in potassium. You need it for your cells to function normally. It helps maintain your normal cellular fluid volumes. 

Females should get over 2,000 milligrams a day once they turn three years old. The amount that you need slowly increases as you age, reaching about 2,600 milligrams a day when you’re over 50 years old. 

Fiber. Fiber is yet another nutrient that tends to be lacking in the diet of the average American. Most people don’t get enough dietary fiber. You need fiber to maintain regular bowel movements as well as for a number of other health-related issues. 

Unfortunately, fiber supplements aren’t as good for you as dietary sources of fiber. They can still help with some health issues, but we need more data to determine exactly how effective they are and which types to recommend. 

Folate and folic acid. These are fantastic supplements to take when you’re pregnant because they’re known to reduce birth defects. You should start taking 600 micrograms of folate a day when you’re trying to become pregnant. 

You’re more likely to have insufficient folate levels if you smoke cigarettes or maintain strict dietary restrictions. Taking sufficient amounts of folate when pregnant can decrease your chances of having a preterm birth or a baby with a low birth weight. 

Choline. Choline is another nutrient that you can take in the form of a supplement. You should take it when you’re pregnant. It’s necessary for very important prenatal events like brain development and tissue expansion. The recommendation for pregnant women is 450 milligrams a day. You should increase this amount to 550 milligrams when you’re breastfeeding to continue providing your baby with an adequate supply of this essential nutrient.  

Women who aren’t pregnant but have reached reproductive age can also benefit from including 425 milligrams of choline in their daily diet. 

Vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps strengthen your bones. Deficiencies can lead to problems in both children and adults, including a condition called osteomalacia. It can also increase your chances of developing fragile bones and conditions like osteoporosis. 

A lot of milk is fortified with vitamin D. But supplements can help if you’re not getting enough.  

Vitamin C. Humans can’t make vitamin C, so you need to get it through your diet or supplements. It plays a role in your metabolism and may help prevent the development of a number of diseases. 

Women should get 75 milligrams of vitamin C once they’re over 18 years old. You should increase this amount to 80 to 85 milligrams if you’re pregnant. 

A vitamins. You need small amounts of the A vitamins, like beta-carotene, for a healthy diet. Studies have shown that vitamin A intake can slow down signs of macular degeneration in people who are 55 and older. But you need to be careful with this vitamin because it can increase your risk of developing lung cancer if you take too much and smoke cigarettes.

K vitamins. K vitamins are a group of related molecules that have diverse functions throughout your body. You don’t need a lot of these vitamins. Healthy women over 18 years of age only need about 90 micrograms a day.

But make sure to talk to your doctor before taking any new supplements with K vitamins. They can reduce the effectiveness of prescription blood thinners. 

B vitamins. Vitamins B6 and B12 are two of the most important B vitamins. Vitamin B12, for example, helps prevent anemia and keeps your DNA and nerve cells healthy. Vitamin B6 is involved in over 100 different enzymatic reactions throughout your body. 

It’s crucial that you get enough of both of these vitamins. Females need at least 1 milligram a day once they’re 13 years old. This increases to 1.5 milligrams when you reach 50 years of age.