Multi-vitamins are the keys to nutritional wellness. Multi-vitamin formulas may be customized for individual needs.** Multi-vitamins are popular for:

• Promoting overall health & well-being**

• Compensating for nutrition your diet may lack**

• Optimizing whole-body health**

What are Multi-vitamins?

Multi-vitamins are dietary supplements that supply a variety of vitamins and minerals, often along with other nutrients, antioxidants and herbs. Available as multi-vitamin tablets, chewable tablets, capsules and liquids, multi-vitamins are prominent since many people do not meet the RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances) of vitamins and minerals through their regular diet alone. For example, research indicates that approximately 75% of Americans don’t get enough vitamin D, 40% are deficient in B12 and 50% fall short in calcium. Multi-vitamins compensate for nutritional shortfalls.**

Multi-vitamin supplements supply nutrition amounts that meet or are close to RDAs, making them a “foundation” for any health-promoting supplement regimen.** According to the National Center for Health Statistics, multi-vitamins have steadily increased in use during the last few decades. Multi-vitamins are the most popular type of nutritional supplement. Roughly 40% of women and men use general multivitamins and tailored multivitamin formulas.

Common nutrients found in multi-vitamins include vitamins A, C, D, E and forms of B, as well as calcium, chromium and zinc. One a day vitamins may help simplify multi vitamin intake. Some prefer whole food-based natural vitamins, which help meet RDA requirements but usually have higher potency multivitamin pills than one a day vitamins, which requires more servings. Liquid multi-vitamins supply nutrition in a form that is easily absorbed, and may be helpful for older adults who have difficulty swallowing multi-vitamin pills and absorbing multi-vitamins’ nutrition.**

Multi-vitamin Supplements

While some get most nutrients they need through daily diet, multi-vitamins may help those that require additional vitamins and minerals, including children, seniors and pregnant women.**

Multi-vitamin supplements are often tailored with different herbs and varying potencies of vitamins for specific needs. Women’s multi-vitamins, for example, include prenatal multi-vitamin formulas that supply extra folic acid for healthy pregnancy.** Best multi-vitamin for women formulas may be customized with herbs like black cohosh for menopause support, evening primrose for PMS support and extra calcium for bone health.** Best multi-vitamin for men formulas may bolster the typical multi-vitamin with saw palmetto for prostate health and ginseng for energy, while reducing or eliminating iron.**

Children’s multi-vitamins may include extra calcium for bone growth as well as DHA for brain development.** Seniors’ multivitamin formulas may be tailored with lutein for vision health, calcium for posture and extra antioxidants for healthy aging.** Additional multi-vitamin products may be customized: there are multi-vitamins with special support for vision, joint health, energy and other concerns.**

Multi-vitamin Directions for Use

Multi-vitamin dosage may vary across brands. Always consult with your physician before taking a multi-vitamin or starting any supplement regiment. Multi-vitamin supplements are often available in one a day form. Some multi-vitamin products are made for twice-daily use or more.

Multi-vitamins target current RDA ranges. These RDAs for some common vitamins and minerals include 400-600 IU of vitamin D, 2,500-5,000 IU of vitamin A, 75-90 mg of vitamin C and 800-1,300 mg of calcium. Multi-vitamins will often contain 50-200% of the RDAs of many nutrients.**