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What's the easiest and fastest way to dramatically increase my nutrient intake? Take a high-quality multivitamin.
But what makes a high-quality multivitamin? Or to put it another way, how to identify a low-quality multivitamin so as not to waste money?
Why you need a multivitamin
When we refer to "multivitamin," we're actually talking about multivitamins, multimineral supplements, or supplements that contain most, if not all, of essential micronutrients.
Micronutrients: Essential vitamins or minerals that must be consumed through diet or supplements to maintain normal cellular and molecular function.
If you're not using a high-quality multivitamin right now, here are three reasons why you might want to consider starting one:
1. Vegetables and fruits have less nutrients
Vegetables and fruits are not as nutrient-dense as they used to be.
Today's agricultural production produces produce that grows bigger and faster, and is more resistant to pests and climate challenges.
Unfortunately, these oversized vegetables and fruits lack the nutrient density of their smaller, more fragile ancestors.
On top of that, the soil has been depleted of nutrients over the past few decades.
Since the soil is less nutritious, the plants that grow in it also get less nutrients.
Studies have shown that today's agricultural products contain lower levels of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin, vitamin C, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B6, vitamin E, and vitamin A than they did in the mid-1900s.
As one study says, "You need to eat eight oranges today to get the same amount of vitamin A that one orange contained when our grandparents were younger." ”
2.Today's lifestyle requires more vitamins and minerals
We encounter more oxidative stress, emotional and physical stress, pollution, and other toxins than ever before.
We also have less sleep, exercise, and time outdoors, which hinders your ability to recover from these stressors.
Vitamins and minerals play an important role in helping us cope with these stressors as well as helping us maintain normal metabolic function.
3.The average diet is high in calories but poor in nutrients
Even if you eat healthier than the average person, most of us still don't reach the recommended intake of 9 to 12 servings of vegetables and fruits per day.
Even if you do, you'll read above why these foods aren't as nutritious as they used to be.
Please don't misinterpret these ideas as a reason to avoid vegetables and fruits altogether. They still contain a lot of fiber, phytonutrients, and other nutrients.
While we still want to get as close to a consistent portion size as possible, a multivitamin can help fill in the nutritional gaps we're missing.
Why some people think multivitamins don't work
We don't think we can write an article about why it's important to take a high-quality multivitamin every day without explaining why some people think you don't need to.
It all depends on the situation.
Anyone with basic knowledge of nutrition understands the negative effects of a deficiency of a certain micronutrient.
Multivitamins help eliminate the possibility of vitamin deficiency.
In addition, people with a little more nutritional knowledge will realize that the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamins and minerals is not the "optimal" amount.
RDI should simply be sufficient for most people's levels to avoid deficiency symptoms.
A multivitamin can help you get a more optimal nutrient intake, not just an "adequate" amount.
Most multivitamin studies are done with cheap, low-quality multivitamins that typically contain 100% or less of RDI.
Most also contain low-quality, hard-to-absorb nutrients.
We also don't expect to see much change from using these supplements.
Another form of multivitamin research is observational research.
In these cases, researchers may interview you and ask, "How often have you used a multivitamin in the last 20 years?" "The quality of these kinds of studies is notoriously poor because most people exaggerate their reactions when asked what they think they should do, and underestimate their reactions when they think they shouldn't.
When asked this question, someone might answer "I use them every day," despite having the same unopened bottle of multivitamins in their cupboard for the past five years.
In addition, to conduct a reliable study of a high-quality multivitamin, you need thousands of people who have been using the exact same multivitamin every day for decades, as well as a placebo group that doesn't use it. It's simply not practical.
The point is that instead of focusing too much on the study of multivitamins as a whole, it is better to recognize and appreciate the research done on individual nutrients, which helps to understand the importance of them together.
Who Needs a Multivitamin?
Pregnant women and children under five years of age are at greatest risk of micronutrient deficiency.
In fact, for both men and women, their nutritional and lifestyle choices before conception can affect the health of their babies.
The health of the father affects the health of the sperm, which in turn affects the future health of the child.
When you think that everything that must go smoothly from the fertilization of sperm and egg to the birth of a healthy baby nine months later, you realize the importance of mother's nutrition.
During the first five years of life, the baby's brain develops, bones form, the rest of the nervous and muscular systems produce coordinated movements, and other developments.
This is an excellent time to make sure he or she is getting the best nutritional intake!
Most people are surprised that pregnant women drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, but rarely consider eating junk food.
Not only is junk food low in micronutrients, but metabolizing it can actually lower existing micronutrient levels.
If you have the opportunity to provide the best nutrition for your child's life, why not?
Based on the realities of today's lifestyles and the nutrient density of the foods we eat, almost everyone can benefit from supplementing with a high-quality multivitamin.
If you have specific needs based on your life stage, health condition, or fitness goals, you may also want to consider adding some personal nutrients to a high-quality multivitamin.
For example, we often cite the Basic Five, which are the five supplements we recommend to almost everyone.
As with any supplement, be sure to consult with a medical professional or your healthcare provider before making changes to your approach to nutrition.
How do you identify a good multivitamin?
As with most other things, you get what you pay for.
If you use a once-a-day low-quality multivitamin, it may not break down and then pass through your body without the nutrients being absorbed at all.
Even if low-quality multivitamins do break down, they may not be absorbed if they contain low-quality nutrients.
In fact, some synthetic micronutrients may even be detrimental to the long-term health of some people.
Here are some of the criteria we use to identify high-quality multivitamins:
Do multivitamins contain natural folic acid or folic acid?
This is one of the first things to consider when considering whether a multivitamin is good or not. If it contains folic acid instead of natural folic acid, it won't work.
Vitamin B9, or folic acid, is known for its association with neural tube defects during pregnancy.
However, low folate levels can also lead to depression, decreased fertility, fatigue, difficulty concentrating, irritability, headaches, palpitations, shortness of breath, hair or nail pigmentation changes, and many other problems.
*Low levels of folate can also lead to elevated homocysteine, which increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, dementia and certain cancers.
Unfortunately, most dietary supplements do not use natural folic acid.
Instead, they use folic acid, a highly absorbable but poorly converted synthetic form of vitamin B9.
While the average person's intake of folic acid is quite high, a large percentage of people are unable to convert it into folic acid.
Conversely, folate levels in the body remain high, which may mask vitamin B12 deficiency, affect energy levels and mental functioning, and increase the risk of cognitive decline with age.
For those who are unable to convert folic acid into folic acid, they may also have an increased risk of cancer.
Look for multivitamins that contain natural folate, such as 5-mTHF, methyltetrahydrofolate, metafolin, and quatrefolic.
Do multivitamins contain methylcobalamin or cyanocobalamin?
Both methylcobalamin and cyanocobalamin are forms of vitamin B12, a vitamin that is very important for red blood cells and energy production.
Cyanocobalamin is an inexpensive and hard-to-absorb form of vitamin B12, which is a synthetic form that does not exist in nature.
Note: We're not saying that all synthetic nutrients are bad for health.
Some can be an exact match with substances found in nature. But in some cases, such as folic acid and cyanocobalamin, they can lead to poor health.
It doesn't need to be too technical, in order to metabolize cyanocobalamin, your body must contribute a methyl group, which can lower levels of glutathione, your body's main antioxidant.
Methylcobalamin already has methyl groups, which are the natural form of vitamin B12 that has been found in nature.
As a result, your body can absorb it properly.
Do multivitamins contain high-quality mineral chelates?
Minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and zinc are often difficult to absorb.
However, minerals can be combined with amino acids, called chelates, and significantly increase the rate of their absorption.
The best mineral chelate for absorption is bisglycinate or glycinate. They are minerals that are combined with the amino acid glycine.
There is a huge difference in cost between magnesium sulfate (a mineral salt) and magnesium bisglycinate, but what's the point of taking magnesium sulfate if you can't absorb it?
That being said, bisglycine minerals take up a lot of space.
Depending on the design of the supplement, another form can be used to avoid the need for additional capsules or tablets.
Because of their size, certain minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, take up so much space that it is impossible to squeeze them into most multivitamins in optimal doses.
That's why we often recommend taking a magnesium supplement alone.
Do multivitamins contain vitamin K2?
Vitamin K2 appears to be more cardioprotective than vitamin K1.
We also tend to get more K1 through other foods and nutrients.
When manufacturers take the extra step of adding K2 (which is certainly more expensive than K1), this may be a sign that they have put the formulation seriously into consideration.
Do multivitamins contain other unique health-promoting ingredients?
Once the above criteria are met, we will take a look at what else this product offers.
Be warned, though: many companies use these additional ingredients as "façade decorations."
Now you know: why you need a high-quality multivitamin and how to tell the difference between a good and bad multivitamin.
The next question is, are you going to start taking it?