You can get all the nutrition your body needs if you carefully select and prepare your food. Vitamin supplements help fill the nutritional gaps left when you don't eat as well as you should. Your nutritional needs depend on your age, sex, state of health, level of activity, emotional state and the vitamin and mineral content of your meals and snacks. Centrum Ultra Women's and Centrum Silver Ultra Women's Ultra are produced and marketed to adult woman of all ages. You should talk with your physician to see which of these vitamin supplements are appropriate to meet your nutritional needs.
Marketing Focus
Centrum Ultra and Centrum Silver Ultra were formulated to meet the needs of women in different stages of life. Centrum Women's Ultra was designed to meet the needs of active, premenopausal women who need nutritional support. The nutritional needs of women 50 and older are different from younger women. Silver Ultra Women's has more antioxidants and B vitamins than Ultra Women's. In addition, Silver Women's provides better support for eye health.
Antioxidants
Antioxidants fight the damage to your body's tissues caused by free radicals. Getting enough antioxidants from food or supplements is important for women of any age group. As you get older, however, antioxidants are important in preventing cancer and maintaining the health of your circulatory system and eyes.
Both products contain the antioxidants beta carotene, vitamins E and C and selenium. Silver Ultra has the same total International Units of vitamin A as Ultra, but 43 percent of it is in the form of beta carotene. Silver Ultra has 167 percent of your daily requirement of vitamin C while Ultra has 125 percent. Silver Ultra also includes the antioxidant lutein while Ultra does not. Lutein provides additional support for the eyes.
B -Complex Vitamins
B-complex vitamins are necessary for the health of your nervous system, muscles, immune system, hair and skin. Silver Ultra has more than eight times the vitamin B-12 and more than twice the pyridoxine or B-6 than Ultra, but Ultra has three times more B5 or pantothenic acid. Pantothenic may help your metabolism, but it has also been used to treat skin problems, alcoholism, hair loss, colitis, asthma, dandruff, depression, muscle cramps and irritability. (see reference 1)
Mineral Content
Ultra and Silver Ultra have the same list of minerals with the exception of tin, which is missing in Silver Ultra. Silver Ultra has almost twice the zinc of Ultra, but 10 mg less iron. Ultra has 80 percent more copper than Silver Ultra and 50 percent more magnesium. Silver Ultra also has double the chromium and 20 percent more manganese than Ultra.
References
- MedlinePlus: Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5)
- Colorado State University Extension: Nutrition and Aging; J.E. Anderson, et al.
- Centrum: Centrum Silver Ultra Women's
- Centrum: Centrum Ultra Women's
- Linus Pauling Institute: Minerals
- National Eye Institute: The AREDS Formulation and Age-Related Macular Degeneration
