Maggini, Silvia, Óvári, Veronika, Ferreres Giménez, Inmaculada et al. · Nutricion hospitalaria · 2021 · DOI
Your body needs several vitamins and minerals—like vitamins A, D, E, folate, iron, zinc, and selenium—to make energy in your cells. Many people, even in wealthy countries, don't get enough of these nutrients. Studies show that taking a combination of these micronutrients, sometimes with coenzyme Q10, may help reduce fatigue, improve thinking, and make people feel better overall.
ME/CFS patients commonly experience low energy and fatigue, and this review directly addresses oxidative stress and energy metabolism dysfunction documented in CFS. Evidence that micronutrient supplementation may reduce oxidative stress and improve energy production could inform adjunctive nutritional approaches for ME/CFS patients, though individual responses vary.
This narrative review does not establish causality between micronutrient deficiency and ME/CFS, nor does it prove that supplementation will work for all ME/CFS patients. The review synthesizes existing trial data but does not present new primary research, and findings in healthy populations or CFS cohorts may not directly translate to the heterogeneous ME/CFS population. Additionally, the review does not address whether micronutrient supplementation could trigger or worsen post-exertional malaise.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
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Primary citation
Maggini, Silvia, Óvári, Veronika, Ferreres Giménez, Inmaculada, & Pueyo Alamán, María Gloria (2021). Benefits of micronutrient supplementation on nutritional status, energy metabolism, and subjective wellbeing.. Nutricion hospitalaria. https://doi.org/10.20960/nh.03788
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-maggini-2021-benefits-micronutrient,
author = {Maggini, Silvia and Óvári, Veronika and Ferreres Giménez, Inmaculada and Pueyo Alamán, María Gloria},
title = {Benefits of micronutrient supplementation on nutritional status, energy metabolism, and subjective wellbeing.},
journal = {Nutricion hospitalaria},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.20960/nh.03788},
note = {PubMed: 34323089},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maggini-2021-benefits-micronutrient},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/maggini-2021-benefits-micronutrient
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