Best Multivitamins 2023: Shopping Guide & Review

These products are particularly helpful in dealing with deficiencies caused by malnutrition, a stressful life or any other factor that produces an overall nutritional imbalance in the body. Certain multivitamins are also designed for more specific conditions, such as pregnancy and elderly persons.

Not all multivitamin supplements are equal. In various multivitamin products, you will find an infinite number of nutrient combinations that create very different products. A person’s age, gender, level of health and the amount activity they get all play a role in determining our specific nutritional needs. All of these factors need to be considered as a whole when you to choose one or another multivitamin supplement.

However, certain vitamins are considered base components in multivitamin products. In the following table, we’ve summed up the main molecules that are found in most multivitamin supplementss, as well as the main functions of each:

• Vitamin A deficiency can cause night vision problems. If prolonged, this deficiency will also affect your body’s immunity abilities, as well as your body’s ability to regenerate cells.
• Deficiencies in Vitamins B1, B2, B2, B5 and B6. This deficiency can hinder your body’s absorption and use of certain nutrients, and ultimately can impact your energy production.
• Folic acid (B9) deficiency.  A deficiency of Folic acid can lead to anemia, mouth ulcers and premature graying. The frequency of fetal malformations can increase in pregnant women who do not get enough folic acid.
• Vitamin B12 deficiency. It is particularly important  for strict vegans and vegetarians to make sure they consume enough Vitamin B12. A B12 deficiency can cause anemia, neurological symptoms (such as numbness of the limbs, memory loss and mood swings) and digestive issues (mainly loss of appetite and constipation).
• Vitamin C deficiency will provoke fatigue and hinder the immune system’s functioning. Severe deficiencies could lead to scurvy, a very rare condition that manifests itself through heavy bleeding, gum ulcers and psychiatric disorders.
• Vitamin D deficiency. Not enough Vitamin C will affect your body’s calcium absorption and its incorporation into the bones, increasing the risk of fractures and osteoporosis. This deficiency can also harm your cardiovascular health, leading to hypertension and other cardiac disorders.
• Vitamin E deficiency can lead to premature aging. Severe deficits of Vitamin E can also damage the nervous system and affect your cognitive capacites, impairing memory and learning abilities.
• A decrease in vitamin K levels. Also known as “Potassium,” not enough Vitamin K will affect your body’s blood coagulation and healing abilities, leading to heavy bleeding and wounds that cannot heal properly.

• Calcium: While this mineral is best known for its importance to our teeth and bones, it is also essential for other vital processes such as blood coagulation and muscle contraction. Calcium deficiency will lead to general weakness and will affect the health of your bones. This will in turn increase the risk of fractures, rickets and osteoporosis.
• Iron: This element is needed to transport gases (especially oxygen) into the blood and muscles. Lack of iron causes the iron deficiency known as anemia, this is a common problem in particular with women of childbearing age.
• Phosphorus: Phosphorus is involved in the creation of bones and teeth. In addition, it plays a role in the energy synthesis and the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. A phosphorus deficiency will affect your bone health and can cause general weakness.
• Magnesium: This mineral is vital to the creation of new muscle tissue. It also regulates the levels of other minerals. Excessively low levels of magnesium will cause fatigue, weakness and mood swings.
• Manganese: Often confused with magnesium, this mineral is essential for hormonal synthesis and for the absorption and activation of other antioxidant compounds, such as Vitamin C. A deficiency of this mineral can cause problems at all levels of the body (hair and nail loss, weak bones and growth issues).
• Selenium: This antioxidant mineral contributes to the prevention of premature aging. This compound may also increase fertility in men by increasing sperm production.
• Copper: This mineral regulates the proper absorption of iron, which means that a deficiency in copper may also be an indirect cause of anemia. It is also essential in the production of energy, helping to keep fatigue at bay.

Individuals with increased nutritional needs

• Growth processes: Children and teenagers have increased nutritional demands for their hormonal, bone and brain growth and maturation. If their diet is not adequate during these periods, they may face severe deficiencies that will require medical attention.
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding: Fetal development and feeding of a newborn are particularly stressful on a mother’s body, which measn she will need greater nutritional intake of many substances to conduct both processes successfully. Doctors and midwives often recommend using multivitamin supplements designed for mothers during this period.
• Wound healing and convalescence: Sports injuries, accidental fractures, burns and any other type of physically traumatic event will cause tissue destruction which must be replaced by the nutrients found in the body. Naturally, our mineral and vitamin needs increase during these times.
• Demanding training programs: Strenuous training stimulates muscle growth and repair. If you are working out to increase your muscle mass, you will need to have a higher nutrient intake to support anabolic (growth) processes.
• Demanding lifestyle: Stress causes the release of dozens of hormones and chemicals into the bloodstream. They help cope with the different demands of daily life. We need high amounts of vitamins and minerals to produce these chemical compounds, which increases the risk of suffering from deficiency.

Below, you will find a table to help you get started in the world of supplements. It will be useful for when you are preparing to choose the multivitamin you need. Keep in mind that you may want to go without certain nutrients and add others, depending on your individual requirements.

• When should I take my multivitamin? Nutrients that have energising properties should be taken first thing in the morning. These include Vitamin C, B vitamins (except B3) and Vitamin D. On the contrary, Vitamin B3 and magnesium have soothing effects and should be taken at night.
• How should I take them? Water-soluble vitamins (group B and C) will dissolve in water and are efficiently absorbed both with and without food. However, fat-soluble vitamins (A, E and K) need fats to be absorbed, and should therefore be taken with food.
• Which dose is most appropriate? According to experts, you should opt for a supplement that gives you 100% of the recommended daily allowance for each nutrient. Products with lower RDA may be ineffective, while exceeding the recommended dose could lead to dangerous vitamin and mineral overdoses.

Choose a suitable formula

• Avoid combining calcium and iron: These two minerals interact with each other, making it more difficult to absorb them. Avoid multivitamins that include both molecules. If you take iron supplements, do not take them with dairy products or calcium-rich foods.
• Choose active forms of nutrients: You can check the composition label of the supplement to see if it contains active forms of vitamins. This means that your multivitamin will be effective immediately once taken, and your body won’t have to metabolise it through chemical processes that can degrade the nutrients ingested.
• Remember that Vitamin E is a complex of substances: This potent antioxidant vitamin consists of a group of molecules called tocopherols. If you want to take advantage of its protective properties, your supplement should include all types of tocopherols (alpha, beta, delta, and gamma).