OVERVIEW

Modern agriculture and food processing has depleted the soil and reduced the nutrient value of our food. It is therefore hard to get adequate amounts of vitamins and trace minerals just by "eating a balanced diet."

Furthermore, government-recommended "daily allowances" are not necessarily optimum - they are sufficient to prevent diseases of malnutrition such as scurvy (vitamin C), goiter and cretinism (iodine), anemia (iron, copper, vitamin B12, vitamin B9/folate), night-blindness (vitamin A), beriberi (vitamin B1/thiamine), pellagra (vitamin B3/niacin), and rickets (vitamin D).

Taking a daily multi-vitamin/mineral supplement is therefore a bare minimum for a healthy lifestyle for most people. However it should be noted that a multi-vitamin/mineral pill is too small to contain enough of some nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and choline. Furthermore, some people need more of certain vitamins and minerals than others do, based on many factors, including genetics, disease states, their environment, their lifestyle, and drugs they may be taking. These are all topics that you should discuss with your health care provider, and are beyond the scope of this article.

Choosing the Right Multi-Vitamin/Mineral for you

There are many products on the market today, and some are better than others. There are several important factors that I always consider when evaluating a multi-vitamin/mineral brand, in order of importance:

  1. Most importantly, does it contain the synthetic form of vitamin E, which is named DL-alpha-tocopherol? If it does, I drop this bottle like a hot potato. This form of vitamin E is cheap, but is harmful. Natural vitamin E is a mixture of eight different related compounds, known collectively as "mixed tocopherols and tocotrienes." That is what I want to see on the label.
  2. Does it contain the active form of vitamin A, which is named retinol or palmitatewhich is naturally found in animal products (think liver), or the pre-vitamin A called beta carotene which is naturally found in plant products (think carrots)? Many people are unable to convert the pre-vitamin into the active vitamin, and so need retinol, either from a multi-vitamin or from eating animal products.
  3. Does it contain the active form of vitamin B12 which is named methylcobalamin, or a pre-vitamin form such as cyanocobalamin? Some people have a hard time converting the pre-vitamin into the active vitamin, and so need methylcobalamin, either from a multi-vitamin or from eating animal products. (Some people also have difficulty absorbing any form of vitamin B12 from their food, and need some other source of vitamin B12, such as by injection, but that is beyond the scope of this article).
  4. Does it have an active form of vitamin B9 which is named 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid or folinic acid, or the synthetic form called
  5. folic acid>? Again, some people have a hard time converting the synthetic form into the active vitamin.
  6. Does it have the active form of vitamin B6 which is named pyridoxyl-5-phosphate?
  7. Does it have the active form of vitamin B2 which is named riboflavin-5-phosphate?
  8. Does it have benfotiamine, which is a more easily absorbed form of vitamin B1 than thiamine?
  9. Does it contain iron? Unless you are a menstruating female, you should not need to supplement iron. Too much iron in the diet is inflammatory and can cause other health problems. if you are not menstruating, but are iron deficient, you need a medical work-up to look for internal problems with loss of blood.
  10. Does it contain copper? Some people get too much copper in their drinking water, and should not further supplement it. Copper and zinc compete and must be balanced!