(HealthDay News) -- While many people get enough vitamins from a healthy and balanced diet, others should take a multivitamin supplement to help maintain a healthy body.

Children and pregnant women need more vitamins than the average person, and may be prescribed a multivitamin by their doctors, says the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Other candidates for a multivitamin include people whose illness prevents them from absorbing enough vitamins from food, or people who don't or can't eat enough vitamin-rich foods.

Multivitamins are available in chewable tablets, capsules, tablets you swallow, and in liquid form. It's important to follow the package or doctor's instructions when taking a multivitamin, the NLM says.