Although consuming all of your vitamins and minerals in the food you eat is ideal, that is not always possible or practical. Multivitamins help fill in nutritional gaps in eating. You might find yourself overwhelmed with options when you go to the drugstore to purchase a multivitamin. Not all multivitamins are the same, so choosing the best one for your personal needs can be a challenge.
Consult your physician prior to taking any multivitamin.
Step 1
Determine what your personal needs are. A supplement containing iron might be necessary if you are often anemic. Extra vitamin E might be what you need if you are concerned about your hair, skin and nails. A multivitamin rich in B vitamins might be best if you often are under physical or emotional stress. Visit your physician if you are unsure of your personal vitamin supplement needs.
Step 2
Review the supplement facts located on the side of multivitamin bottles. Compare the amount of capsules or tablets in one serving of each multivitamin. Although one tablet is one serving for many multivitamins, that is not always the case. If you dislike swallowing pills, you might wish to find a chewable multivitamin or one that has a serving size of one tablet.
Step 3
Compare the doses of vitamins that you and your physician decide are important for you. These vitamins and minerals are often listed in both units and the percentage of the recommended daily allowance that they provide. When possible, choose the multivitamin with higher amounts of the vitamins you need.
Step 4
Look at the doses of vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins are fat soluble, so excess amounts of these vitamins are stored in the body's fat for later use. More is not always better when comparing multivitamins. Unless directed otherwise by your physician, stick with multivitamins that contain 30 percent or less of the RDA of these vitamins.
References
- "Contemporary Nutrition"; Gordon Wardlaw et al; 2007
- "Basic Nutrition and Diet Therapy"; Staci Nix; 2005
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