What are the best multivitamins to take?

Do you take a daily vitamin pill?  What are the best vitamins to take and why?  Does your need for vitamins change as you age?  Should you take vitamins in the morning or later in the day?  Are there foods you need to be eating when you take your vitamins?  Can you be taking too much of a vitamin or mineral?  Do men and women need different vitamin/mineral pills?  Should you take a vitamin pill or a vitamin + mineral pill?  If you eat a healthy diet, do you need a multivitamin?

My daughter sent me many articles on supplements and a recent nutrition letter I receive highlighted some good recommendations on vitamins and minerals.

Do you need a multivitamin?

Most nutritionists would agree that you should get your nutrients from food, not pills.  Have you seen the advertisement for pills that replace fruits and vegetables?  Fresh food like fruits and vegetables not only supply vitamins and minerals your body needs but also those hundreds of antioxidants that are so good for your health. (See:  Antioxidants and good health .)  Some multivitamins provide a few antioxidants like lutein, but not can provides the thousands of antioxidants in real food.  I have a very healthy diet and eat many fruits and vegetables a day.  I have a serving of real dairy at every meal.  But I do take a multivitamin pill every day.  If nothing else, to be sure I am getting the vitamins and minerals I need each day.  But I rely on real food, especially those healthy fresh fruit and vegetables to get as many antioxidants as I can.  Multivitamin pills are called “supplements” for a reason.  They should supplement your diet, not replace foods in your diet.

What are the best multivitamins for women?  What do registered dietitians and experts recommend?

Women need to focus on getting enough iron, vitamin D and calcium.  When the students in my nutrition class track their food intake of calcium and vitamin D, most female students have low intakes of calcium and vitamin D in their diets.  Note – you will not get enough calcium from a multivitamin pill.  Many multivitamin pills have either no calcium or 200 mg or less.  Women still need to have real dairy foods at each meal to meet their daily calcium needs. 

Have you been to a drug store and walked down the vitamin and mineral aisle?  WOW!  Literally hundreds of different vitamins and minerals to choose from.  What are some recommended vitamin supplements?

For women 19-50 years old:   

• Centrum Women:  This supplement supplies some vitamins and minerals. (Cost: about 9 cents a tablet.) Provides 100% of daily value for vitamins D, B-6, B-12 and biotin.  Also, 100% of iron needed each day.  This supplement provides a number of minerals including 200 mg of calcium.  But you still need to include real dairy at every meal as women 19-50 need 1000 mg of calcium a day.  

• Kirkland Signature Daily Multi:  This is an affordable supplement providing vitamins and minerals.  (Cost: about 4 cents a tablet).  It provides 100% of daily value for vitamins A, C and biotin.  It provides 50% of the daily value for vitamin D so you want to be sure to have some vitamin D fortified milk in your diet and go outside.  Minerals include iron and 200 mg of calcium.  The supplement provides some lutein and lycopene, two antioxidants.  

For women over 50:

·       NatureMade Women’s Multivitamin 50+.  Provides vitamins A, C, D, E and K and many B vitamins.  Vitamin B12 can be a concern after age 50 and this vitamin supplies plenty of B12.  This supplement does provide some calcium, 200 mg, but women will still need real dairy at meals to meet their daily calcium needs of 1200 mg.  Besides calcium, a number of minerals are included in this supplement.   

What are the best multivitamins for men? 

For men 19-50 years old:

·        Nature Made Multivitamin Multi for Him: Provides 22 nutrients including vitamins A, C, D, E and K and many B vitamins. This supplement provides a number of minerals including 160 mg of calcium.  Men age 19-50 need 1000 mg of calcium per day.  (Cost: about 14 cents per tablet.)

·        One a Day Men :  Provides 100% or more of daily values for vitamins A, C, D, and E.  Good supply of B vitamins including biotin.  Provides a number of minerals including 210 mg of calcium.  No iron as men’s iron needs aren’t as much as women and many men get the iron they need from meat.  Does supply magnesium (29% of daily value), an important mineral that is a nutrient of concern for Americans.  An affordable supplement at about 9 cents a tablet.  

·        Centrum Men :  Provides 24 nutrients including vitamins A, C, D, E and K.  Does provide some iron at 8 mg.  Provides 100 mg of magnesium and 210 mg of calcium.  Forbes notes:  “Centrum Men is one of the most cost-effective multivitamins on our list and one of the most researched.” 

For men over 50:  Over men over 50 and there are some nutrients of concern such as vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium.  To maintain healthy bones, both men and women over 50 need to focus on calcium and vitamin D.  Getting calcium from foods is the best.  Vitamin D is important as it helps your body absorb calcium.

·      Centrum Silver Men 50+ :  This supplement is formulated for men over 50.  It provides magnesium, 125% of daily value for vitamin D and vitamin B12.  In addition to magnesium, it provides 210 mg of calcium and a number of other minerals.  (Men over 50 need 1000 mg of calcium a day and those over 70 need 1200 mg of calcium a day.) Two antioxidants are provided, lutein and lycopene. 

Should you take vitamins in the morning or later in the day?  Are their foods you need to be eating when you take your vitamins? 

Take them at a time convenient to you.  However, some nutrients need fat to be absorbed.  Four vitamins are called “fat-soluble vitamins” as they need some fat to be absorbed by your body.  These are vitamins A, D, E and K.  Many people take their vitamin pill at breakfast.  Which is fine but you need some fat to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins.  I have started to put some butter on my morning toast.  My husband eats some yogurt with some fat in it or drinks milk that is 1% fat.  If you like peanut butter, include it on some toast or in a smoothy and that would add some fat.  Or, take your supplement at a meal that would have some fat in it.

As noted above, eating a healthy diet every day is the best way to get the nutrients your body needs and many of those healthy antioxidants.  In the nutrition class I teach, students keep a 24-hour recall of everything they eat and drink.  Then they analyze the nutritional quality of their diets.  Most students, men and women, have diets low in vitamin D.   Most women have diets low in calcium.  It is best to get calcium from foods like real cow’s milk, yogurt and cheese.  Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine found:  “Women who get most of their daily calcium form food have healthier bones than women whose calcium comes mainly form supplemental tablets”.  This is because your body only absorbs about 35% of the calcium in a pill but calcium from foods is much better absorbed.  Most Americans have diets low in fiber which is another important dietary component not provided by vitamin and mineral pills. (See: Eat more fiber.)  Some people don’t like the “taste” of a pill form of supplement and many supplements are now available as gummies. 

Sources:  multivitamins for women , experts , Centrum Women , Kirkland Signature Daily Multi , NatureMade Women’s Multivitamin 50+ , multivitamins for men , Nature Made Multivitamin Multi for Him , One a Day Men , Centrum Men , Centrum Silver Men 50+,  Researchers  Image Sources:  Centrum women  , Kirkland Signature Daily Multi , One a Day Men