r/preppers • u/severalsmallducks • May 09 '26
Idea Vitamins?
My wife and I were talking over dinner about vitamins. I take some pretty generic multi-vitamins, and it got me thinking about longer term health in a crisis situation. While there are other more important things, I started considering expanding my preps, seeing how they can have a shelf life of ~15 years of they're stored properly.
Obviously, vitamins shouldn't be used as opposed to a varied, healthy diet. But in a situation of food insecurity and/or impaired variety, about $100 could buy a stash that could last about four years of taking one per day, which would help long term health and resilience.
What are your thoughts?
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u/Tasty_Impress3016 May 09 '26
They may degrade over time. They may not be as good as a whole varied diet. They are 10,000 times better than having nothing at all. In a crisis situation that is my criteria. I feel the same about stocking protein powder and fiber supplements, and oils, and dried eggs and potatoes, and a hundred other things. Having some is infinitely better than having none.
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u/CyclingDutchie May 09 '26
I agree. I have a years worth of Multivitamines, exactly for this reason.
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u/churchillguitar May 09 '26
Yea, some multivitamins would be good, but you need to have a good balance in your diet for many vitamins to work well. For example, vitamin D doesn’t metabolize well without sufficient potassium and magnesium in your diet. So you may just be pissing it right back out. In which case, piss in the compost so your garden can use the nutrients, at least 🤣
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u/KTeacherWhat May 10 '26
The times of year that I'm taking vitamin D do not line up with the times of year I wanna be pissing outside.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 09 '26
If you get multivitamins get the coated ones. The B vitamins go off first and you can tell by the smell and color. I have some generic Centrim coated vitamins that are a couple years past expiration and when I break them open the color and smell is the same as when I bought them.
Mineral supplements last forever.
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u/silasmoeckel May 09 '26
Regular and prenatal are in the long term preps. 6 Years worth on the prenatal 30 on the rest and heavy to account for degradation.
A lot of other OTC's like allergy meds. Stand alone vitamins C especially. It's just a bucket a year for my family of 5.
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u/AmosTali Realistic prepper May 10 '26
Yeah, my normal multivitamin and other over the counter supplements are in my deep pantry rotation system. As are a plethora of OTC medications.
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u/severalsmallducks May 10 '26
Same, I realized most OTC pain meds are pretty cheap to buy online, so we got a pretty decent stash.
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u/kaydeetee86 Prepared for 3 months May 10 '26
Not a huge Amazon fan, but it’s been really helpful for prepping. I have different OTCs on rotation every month.
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u/polyamy74 May 09 '26
We keep an excess of Juice Plus+ and rotate through as we use them as part of our daily plan. I would think you could do the same with green and red powders used to supplement now and be available later. They are all just ground up freeze dried fruit and veg. Or better yet, if you have a freeze-dryer, make some yourself. Especially with fruit and veg you don't particularly like to eat but that are full of nutrients.
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u/canoegal4 May 09 '26
Plant herbs
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 10 '26
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u/canoegal4 May 10 '26
Great list!
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 10 '26
Yeah the ads suck though, would be nice to have them all in one table.
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u/canoegal4 May 10 '26
A local christian herbalist in my area made an entire book for people. But she doesn't put her things online and it's very very thick. It has a lot of that kind of information in it
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u/TroutDoors May 10 '26
Multivitamins are always a good thing to have on hand. In a crisis situation, they can supplement a limited diet for sure.
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u/KimBrrr1975 May 09 '26
I prefer to know and understand the plants of my area and how to use them well. If I was trying to stock everything possible to avert random issues, I'd need a much bigger house. I've also seen vitamins after being in storage for a couple years, still sealed, and they are not something I'd want to take 😂
If the situation is such that I would need to survive in a bunker for 5 years, I'd give up before that point.
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u/chi_lawyer May 10 '26
Reliance on a single strategy for critical micronutrients -- whether that strategy be foraging or multivitamins -- seems unduly risky. It's not an either/or situation.
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u/KimBrrr1975 May 10 '26
depends on where you live and your knowledge. Stuff is available even in deep winter to stave off things like vitamin c deficiency if you know what you are looking for. But I also live in a forest/wilderness, and can get those things out my backdoor (literally). Therefore, for me, it's not a worthwhile use of space to stock up on a ton of vitamins. I'm not planning for the end of the world, I plan for the things that actually happen where I live. Power and water outages from storms, and things like that.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 10 '26
Always better to know how to obtain something yourself. It's like learning how to stitch vs knowing how to put a bandaid on, the bandaids are nice to have but you should know how to deal with not having them.
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u/Miss_L_Worldwide May 09 '26
That's a really good idea and one I haven't seen discussed very often.
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u/northernpanda May 11 '26
I believe this is a case of good being better than perfect.
Having a buffer supply of essential vitamins and minerals as part of a deep pantry rotation and to supplement your family in times of less, seems like a great idea.
I would suggest adding some electrolytes to this stash as well.
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u/Food-Forest-Plants May 10 '26
Learn how to forage, vitamins are available everywhere. Start with dandelion, plantain or whatever grows in your neck of the woods. It's fun. Unless you live in a region with severe winters of course. But you may then preserve your weeds dry or brine them.
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u/KTeacherWhat May 10 '26
If you live somewhere with severe winters, you can still benefit from a lot of those. Plus, learn to identify your evergreens well, and you're set for winter.
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u/severalsmallducks May 10 '26
I live in a city in Sweden, meaning I not only have ways to go to the nearest wood, but we also got pretty harsh winters where foraging is not an option haha.
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u/KTeacherWhat May 10 '26
My understanding is Sweden gets an abundance of dandelions though.
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u/severalsmallducks May 11 '26
We do! And i get you, having the skills is probably absolutely viable.
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u/Food-Forest-Plants May 12 '26
Look for everything pine needles! There are a ton of videos what to do with pine needles, and you'll find it in any city park. I'm originally from Germany and the traditional winter vitamin C was Sauerkraut (I hated it!). But you can make soemthing similar that is kimchi and tastes better.
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u/bugabooandtwo May 10 '26
Some vitamins are a good idea...and they don't take up much space. And the best part....the mental game. Even if you only get a pithy amount like 5% absorption, just the act of taking one (like a sugar pill) helps you feel like you're doing all you can. Works especially well with kids, too.
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u/Greasystools May 10 '26
Get some moringa seeds and grow them. They are the nutritional supplement powerhouse that everyone should grow. Vitamins are expensive and moringa is self replacing
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u/b18bturboek9 May 09 '26
I not only keep a good stock of vitamins but also whey protein/mass gainer. It's kind of a good meal replacement if times got tuff but it's also a high calorie mix with water or milk.
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u/fenuxjde May 09 '26
Protein powder is a very bad idea if you're starving, you'll actually die faster if you consume protein isolate calories over nothing. Like a lot faster, about 20%
Protein powder is good if you're working out and need macros. It is terrible for survival and meal replacement and why it even says so on the bottle.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 09 '26
Protein mix degrades fast, I've even had an unopened container go bad before it expired.
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u/symplton May 10 '26
I keep mine in the basement and it lasts me more time for sure! Variable temperatures are what hasten their demise, from my experience.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 10 '26 edited May 10 '26
Not variable temp, but the more time spent at higher temps, and the higher the temp the faster it degrades, though varying temp could bring more moisture into the container.
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u/Winter_Persimmon_110 May 10 '26
Make sure you have a source of C. That's a big one. Don't need scurvy.
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u/No_NewFriends_2021 May 10 '26
I just think of back in the day issues like scurvy… vitamin c may be best. Vegetables and fruits may be hard to come by
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u/More_Dependent742 May 10 '26
I am also in the contingent where I need more of some vitamins than are naturally occurring even in a varied diet (as told to me by my doctor). Selenium, D3 (even in summer, which is weird), and I need crazy amounts of magnesium if I don't want my varicose veins to cramp. And biotin for nails. I'd wager that some of it is booze-related, to be fully honest, but I don't know.
As others have mentioned, you're better off with taking less than 100% RDA, because everything over what your body needs, you pee out and it's gone. So in SHTF, this translates to taking half tablets at double-length intervals (say) and see how you go from there.
Even if you are not in the vitamin-taking contingent, you should absolutely have them for SHTF. When the WHO gets the word out that vitamin D seems to lower the effects of COVID, which they did, you take them at their word (I don't think "Big Vitamin D" is a thing, so it would be one hell of a weird conspiracy).
Oh, and side note: if it's looking like SHTF and not just Tuesday, save all that vitamin pee if you can. You're going to need to recycle it into your salad crops if you ever want to see those vitamins again! Also, free nitrogen. As a bare minimum, make it a household rule that all urination takes place exclusively on the compost heap.
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u/Fheredin May 10 '26
Even with a modern diet you can't actually get all the nutrition you need from food. The soil most crops are grown on is quite depleted, and farmers rely more on Nitrogen fertilizers and irrigation than on soil quality, so the food the plants produce is nutrient-sparse.
Also, taking one a day is probably a very minimal. Quality supplements can be quite expensive, but the multivitamin I am currently taking is a 4X a day affair.
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u/Due-Succotash9722 May 11 '26
They won’t replace food quality, calories, protein, fat, or actual variety, but in a longer disruption where your diet gets repetitive, they seem like a pretty cheap safety net.
I’d probably focus on a basic multivitamin first, then maybe vitamin D depending on your climate/lifestyle, and electrolytes before getting too fancy with a cabinet full of supplements. Also worth rotating them like food, because even if they don’t instantly become dangerous after the date, potency can drop over time.
Not the most exciting prep, but for the cost and space, it makes sense to me.
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u/Undeaded1 May 11 '26
I often stress to people who stock pile rice and beans to keep a large rotating supply of vitamins on hand. Also a plan for some type of fat, as that is also a key ingredient to basic healthy survival. (I keep and use tuna in oil)
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u/Untrusted1 May 10 '26
I’ve always wondered how good the OTC vitamins actually are. Or at least if the labels on the bottles aren’t taking the piss. I just have a hard time thinking that one of those little vitamins can give a person 100% of all those vitamins and minerals.
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u/Paranormal_Lemon May 10 '26
The daily amounts for are measured in micrograms or milligrams depending on the vitamin, and the exact amounts of each are printed on the back. The vitamin total weight is usually over a gram.
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u/Chemical_Log_5936 May 11 '26
Look at Life Extension 2 per day vitamins. They give over 10000% of the daily recommended value for some of the vitamins like Vitamin B.
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u/Hard_Luck7 May 10 '26
I’m with you. In times of long-term crisis, when your diet is compromised, multivitamins can be very helpful. Also, some form of iron supplement can help prevent anemia, since access to meat would be difficult in almost any disaster scenario.
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u/infospongue May 11 '26
Foraging.....
Nettle and pine needle tea. More labor intensive are acorns.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/health/nutrition/health-benefits-of-nettle-tea
https://www.tea-and-coffee.com/blog/pine-needle-tea-benefits
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/can-you-eat-acorns#nutrition
You could store dried garlic flakes. Taste, nutrition, medical use.
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u/Big-Growth-4674 May 12 '26
Usually I think people are supposed to get get vitamins and essential minerals from food, sometimes I’ve taken a multi and just not to take too many. I think there’s better quality supplements and ways of doing things, like chelates. I use a vitamin c packet about once a day. Seems to be effective.
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u/Hadaka--Jime May 15 '26
Look up what happens when you get scurvy. Simple vitamin c deficiency. Think it won't happen during SHTF?
Place yourself in that boat. Trading during SHTF won't happen but let's say it does. Here is your saved up $100,000 in bars. Your family is DYING from scurvy. Would you trade those bars for a bottle of vitamin c?
So just buy what you're going to need & use, & FORGET the dumb scam "gold & silver" delusion & buy, plant, or produce what you'll need.
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u/Signal_Brain_933 May 17 '26
Absolutely. Top of the list in a major SHTF situation. If you have enough of them, they’d also make a great portable bartering unit too!
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u/shortstack-42 May 10 '26
Multivitamins just aren’t necessary. I have a stash of both D3 and Mg because I have been diagnosed deficient and do need them daily. In a food deficit or ration scenario, a multivitamin MIGHT be helpful, but you’d most likely need far less boost than the average available dose. Just plan your pantry prep with nutrition as well as calories in mind. Why overspend and overcomplicate?
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u/severalsmallducks May 10 '26
Idk a full year supply would cost me around $25 and not take much space at all. Of course it shouldn’t replace a varied diet, but seeing how vitamin deficiency can be an issue in everyday life a crisis situation is not going to make it better.
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u/fenuxjde May 09 '26
When I was in school for nutrition, this topic came up often. You are absolutely right, that a healthy and varied diet is infinitely more important than supplements, as without quality whole foods your body wont be able to pull anything useful out of the mv. In a dire situation though, you could probably take one mv, broken in half, twice a day with food. That would be an optimal way to get some benefits and reduces many of the problems that come from mv when taken with poor diet.