A good multivitamin is a daily essential in any health conscious persons supplement arsenal. It plugs the gaps in any nutritional deficiencies, keeps energy levels up and the immune system strong. A quality multivitamin is the cherry on top of a healthy diet.
With the large variety of multivitamins out there, choosing a daily multivitamin that caters to your specific needs can be a bit daunting. Formulations range from basic multivitamins, multivitamins with probiotics, multivitamins with plant based nutrition, antioxidant-enhanced formulations, and formulations that contain more than 100% of the recommended daily allowance for an extra boost, and so much more.
How to choose a multivitamin
When asking yourself what is a good multivitamin, consider the below factors before choosing to ensure that you’re ingesting a multivitamin best suited to your specific needs and lifestyle.
1. Gender
Firstly, choose a multivitamin suited to your gender. Male multivitamins are formulated to cater to prostate health while female multivitamins cater to unique womens needs such as pregnancy and hormonal function. Men and women and different nutritional needs and this applies to a suitable multivitamin.
2. Age
Consider your lifestage. Are you a teenager going through a growth spurt and in need of extra calcium and iron, are you a pregnant woman, a senior citizen etc.? Different lifestages have different nutritional requirements and multivitamin effectiveness will need to coincide with your lifestage in order for it to benefit you.
3. Lifestyle
Lifestyle is a large consideration when choosing a quality multivitamin. Take into account if you’re an athlete who may need a more comprehensive multivitamin, or someone leading high stress lifestyle and may need adaptogens formulated into their multivitamin, or even a commuter who may need more antioxidants in their multivitamin to counter their exposure to pollution. Whatever is going in your daily lifestyle, think about what could be robbing you of nutrients, and supplement it with the appropriate multivitamin.
4. Individual needs
Consider your unique health needs. You may need a multivitamin with chealated minerals if your body has difficulty absorbing. If you have hormonal imbalances, you may want to consider a multivitamin with herbs that cater to hormone health. Do you have a sensitive gut? You may want to get a multivitamin that contains probiotics. The key idea is to know where your body tends to be imbalanced nutritionally so you can plug the gaps with a multivitamin.
5. Brand
Multivitamin effectiveness is largely based on the brand you choose. Unfortunately, transparency in ingredients isn’t always guaranteed and many multivitamin brands come with nutritionally devoid fillers, inactive and unabsorbable forms of vitamins and minerals, as well as mixed in with unwanted chemical additives such as sugars and artificial preservatives. It’s important to choose a multivitamin brand that keeps the integrity of their ingredients intact and has a transparent label so you know exactly what you’re paying for and putting into your body.
Vibrant energy and the positive mindset to take on the days as they come are largely affected by how healthy you are. A multivitamin will help keep you feeling your best and healthiest. Next time you’re at a health food store, take some extra time to consider what multivitamin you’ll be turning to on a daily basis. An informed choice with your multivitamin will surely serve you well everyday.
