Which multivitamin? (page 2 of 2)

If you are purchasing from a U.S. supplier, make sure that the supplier adheres to the U.S. FDA guidelines for pharmaceutical grade supplements. If possible, obtain lab results from batches of the product that were tested by a third-party and not a lab owned by the manufacturer.

You also don't want to make the mistake of purchasing a supplement based on simple cost or convenience. Many of the cheap, one-a-day varieties fall far short of the suggested amounts.


As an example, consider one very popular "one per day" multivitamin. It is one of the cheaper multivitamins on the market and promises that you only have to take one easy, convenient pill every day. Using our reference ingredients, we found the following: Vitamin B12 is 6mcg (3% of the suggested amount), Vitamin C is 60mg (5% of the suggested amount), Vitamin D is 400IU (2/3 of the suggested amount), and copper is 2mg (100% of the suggested amount). Everything but copper fell short of the mark! The higher quality multivitamin we examined comes in packets that contain multiple pills and is taken twice daily. For this product, the Vitamin B12 was 150mcg (75% of the suggested amount), Vitamin C was 2,000mg (160% of the suggested amount but within the tolerable upper limit), Vitamin D is 800IU (130% of the suggested amount and over the tolerable limit, but this was from two tablets which each taken separately is only 400IU), and copper is 3mg (150% of the suggested amount but well within the tolerable upper limit).

It is obvious that the second product had far more nutrients and higher potency than the original, so it's not good enough to compare simply based on total cost. The second product was also pharmaceutical grade and while it cost more than the cheaper product, it is still less than the cost of a nice dinner for a full month's supply and provided more overall value.

You will probably never find a multivitamin with the perfect amount of every nutrient, and one option is to purchase each vitamin separately and take this based on your personal preferences. A nutritionist may assist with determining what your optimal intakes of various nutrients should be. For most people, however, a quality multivitamin combined with quality, whole foods (lots of vegetables and fruit) should cover all bases and will be a more cost-effective approach. Simply look for a product from a reputable company that adheres to a high quality standard for production. Companies with quality products will stay informed of nutrition research and periodically reformulate their products as new information becomes available.

In conclusion, here is a reference list of ingredients to look for in a multivitamin. This is not to be considered a wholly comprehensive list and may change in the future as new nutrients are discovered and we learn more about existing ones.

The Basics

Beta carotene, Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Thiamin, Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin C, Omega-3 (flax oil and or fish oil: EPA and DHA)

Use Caution (Harmful in higher amounts)

Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Iron (heme-iron or animal-derived is safer than non-heme or plant-derived), Vitamin K (listed here because it is toxic for people with certain conditions)

Nice to Have

Choline, Inositol, Param-Aminobenzoic Acid, Iodine, Glutamic Acid, Natural Tocopherols, Bioflavanoids, N-acetyl L-cysteine, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Coenzyme Q10, Lutein, Lycopene

Minerals (Most should be chelated)

Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Selenium, Copper, Manganese, Chromium, Molybdenum, Boron, Silicon, Vanadium