Last updated 29 October 2026
Feeling tired is so common that most of us stop noticing it. But energy is not a luxury. It is what lets you train, work, look after the people you love and keep doing the things that make a long life worth having.
Vitamins for energy are the vitamins and minerals your body uses to turn food into fuel. Vitamin C, several B vitamins, iron and magnesium are authorised to say they contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue (Great Britain NHC Register). The research suggests they matter most when your intake or levels are low (Huskisson et al., 2007; Tardy et al., 2020).
That is worth knowing before you buy anything labelled as an energy supplement. This guide covers which nutrients have evidence behind them, the ones worth checking as you get older, and when tiredness is a reason to see your GP rather than buy a pot of pills.
Energy is the system everything else runs on. Your heart, brain, muscles and immune cells all need a steady supply of it. When you are short of it, the first things to go are often the ones that protect you most, like a walk, a strength session or cooking a proper meal.
That is why energy sits at the heart of healthspan. Not how long you live, but how many of those years you spend capable and independent. It is one of the five systems that shape how well we age.
Low energy also feeds on itself. Less movement means less muscle, and less muscle makes everyday tasks more tiring, as we explain in our guide to muscle loss with age.
Your body does not get energy from vitamins. It gets energy from food, and vitamins and minerals help unlock it. Carbohydrate, fat and protein are broken down in steps, and several B vitamins help the enzymes that do that work. Iron contributes to normal oxygen transport in the body, and vitamin C increases iron absorption (Great Britain NHC Register).
The final step happens inside your mitochondria, the parts of your cells that turn fuel into ATP, the molecule cells run on. Our guide to CoQ10 covers what happens there in more detail.
This is why a shortfall in one nutrient can leave you tired even when you eat enough calories. The fuel is there, but part of the process that releases it is running short.
The honest answer is the ones you are short of. In Great Britain, a food or supplement can only say a nutrient helps with tiredness or energy if that claim is on the official register. Here is what the register allows. AEVUM wrote this guide, so we have included nutrients we do not use.
| Nutrient | Contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue | Contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism |
|---|---|---|
| Vitamin C | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamin B1 (thiamine) | No | Yes |
| Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamin B3 (niacin) | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamin B6 | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamin B12 | Yes | Yes |
| Folate | Yes | No |
| Iron | Yes | Yes |
| Magnesium | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamin D | No | No |
Source, Regulation (EC) No 432/2012 as it applies in Great Britain, and the Great Britain NHC Register.
Notice what these claims say, and what they do not. They describe a normal role in the body. They do not promise more energy than normal, and they do not mean that taking extra will help if your levels are already fine.
They help most when something is missing. A review of vitamins, minerals and energy concluded that supplements can correct deficiencies, but need to be taken for an adequate period. It named older people and pregnant women as well-known groups at risk, and added busy young adults, often women, with poor eating habits or frequent dieting (Huskisson et al., 2007).
A larger 2020 review traced how B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, magnesium and zinc support energy metabolism, and linked fatigue to times when their supply is not adequate. It also noted that few studies have tested supplements for physical fatigue, and that many used doses well above daily requirements (Tardy et al., 2020).
So the evidence supports making sure you are not short. It does not support taking more and more in the hope of feeling more energetic. Most people should get all the nutrients they need from a varied and balanced diet, though some people may need extra (NHS).
Three nutrients come up again and again when people feel tired. Two of them can be checked with a simple blood test.
Tiredness and lack of energy are common symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia, and heavy periods and pregnancy are very common causes (NHS). Low iron can matter even before it becomes anaemia. In one trial, 198 women with unexplained fatigue, low ferritin and normal haemoglobin took 80 mg of iron or a placebo for 12 weeks. Fatigue scores fell by 47.7% with iron and 28.8% with placebo (Vaucher et al., 2012).
Do not take iron on a hunch. A GP can confirm low iron with a blood test, and iron tablets can be dangerous to young children, so keep them out of reach (NHS).
Extreme tiredness and a lack of energy are common signs of vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia (NHS). B12 matters more as you get older. Deficiency affects around 1 in 10 people aged 75 or over, and the most common cause in the UK is pernicious anaemia, where the body cannot absorb B12 properly (NHS).
A vegan diet without fortified foods or a supplement can also lead to low B12, and some medicines, including proton pump inhibitors for indigestion, can reduce how much your body absorbs (NHS).
Vitamin D has no authorised claim for tiredness or energy. It is still worth knowing about, because the NHS advises everyone to consider a daily supplement of 10 micrograms in autumn and winter, and not to take more than 100 micrograms a day (NHS).
The nutrients are the same, but the reasons people run low are not.
Most tiredness is not about vitamins at all. The NHS lists not getting enough sleep, an unhealthy lifestyle, stress, depression, hormonal changes, some illnesses and some medicines as common causes (NHS).
That is why the foundations do the heavy lifting.
It depends what is in them, and what you are short of. Many products sold as energy supplements rely on caffeine or high doses of B vitamins. Caffeine is a stimulant, which is different from a nutrient your body needs. High doses of vitamins are not the same as better results, and the trials behind them are limited (Tardy et al., 2020).
If you decide to take one, look for these.
More is not better. Some nutrients can be harmful in high amounts. The NHS sets an upper daily limit of 100 micrograms for vitamin D in adults, and warns that iron tablets can be fatal to young children in overdose (NHS).
Some medicines affect how you absorb nutrients. Proton pump inhibitors and anticonvulsants can reduce how much B12 and folate you absorb (NHS). Speak to your GP or pharmacist before starting any supplement if you take prescription medicines.
No supplement replaces sleep, movement and food, and Daily Vitals does not pretend to. Daily Vitals is one simple daily step with ten ingredients, including vitamin C at 24 mg and vitamin B1 (thiamine) at 0.33 mg, each 30% of the NRV.
Vitamin C contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and to normal energy-yielding metabolism, and thiamine contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism (Great Britain NHC Register). It does not contain iron, B12 or vitamin D, so it is not a substitute if a blood test shows you are low in those. You can see every ingredient on our ingredients page, and our guide to chromium covers another of its micronutrients. Feel better now. Age better later.
See your GP if you have felt tired for a few weeks and are not sure why, or if tiredness is affecting your daily life. They may suggest blood tests to check for anaemia, diabetes or an overactive thyroid (NHS).
Speak to your GP or pharmacist before starting a new supplement if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant, trying to conceive or breastfeeding, or have a medical condition. Always follow the dose on the label, and remember that a food supplement should not replace a varied diet or medical advice.
Vitamin C, vitamins B2, B3, B5, B6 and B12, folate, iron and magnesium have an authorised claim for the reduction of tiredness and fatigue (Great Britain NHC Register). They help most when your intake or levels are low.
Yes. Extreme tiredness and a lack of energy are common signs of B12 deficiency anaemia, which affects around 1 in 10 people aged 75 or over (NHS). A GP can check your levels with a blood test.
It can. In a trial of women with unexplained fatigue and low ferritin but normal haemoglobin, fatigue fell further with iron than with placebo over 12 weeks (Vaucher et al., 2012). Check with your GP before taking iron.
Vitamin D has no authorised claim for tiredness or energy. The NHS still advises everyone to consider 10 micrograms a day in autumn and winter.
If you were low, it can take weeks. The iron trial above lasted 12 weeks (Vaucher et al., 2012), and a review noted supplements need to be taken for an adequate period (Huskisson et al., 2007).
Start with sleep, movement and food, and see your GP if tiredness lasts a few weeks. A supplement makes most sense when it fills a gap you know about.
Keep reading
CoQ10 benefits and longevity, what the evidence shows
Muscle loss with age and longevity, what the evidence shows
What is biological age, and can you slow it down?
References
Great Britain Nutrition and Health Claims (NHC) Register. Department of Health and Social Care. gov.uk
Huskisson, E., Maggini, S. and Ruf, M. (2007). The role of vitamins and minerals in energy metabolism and well-being. Journal of International Medical Research, 35(3), 277–289. doi.org
NHS. Iron deficiency anaemia. nhs.uk
NHS. Tiredness and fatigue. nhs.uk
NHS. Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia. nhs.uk
NHS. Vitamin D. nhs.uk
NHS. Vitamins and minerals. nhs.uk
Regulation (EC) No 432/2012, list of permitted health claims made on foods, Annex, as it applies in Great Britain. legislation.gov.uk
Tardy, A.L., Pouteau, E., Marquez, D., Yilmaz, C. and Scholey, A. (2020). Vitamins and minerals for energy, fatigue and cognition, a narrative review of the biochemical and clinical evidence. Nutrients, 12(1), 228. doi.org
Vaucher, P., Druais, P.L., Waldvogel, S. and Favrat, B. (2012). Effect of iron supplementation on fatigue in nonanemic menstruating women with low ferritin, a randomized controlled trial. CMAJ, 184(11), 1247–1254. doi.org
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