How to Choose a High-Quality Multivitamin (Part 2)

What about “average” multivitamins that don’t pass the methylcobalamin test – how to distinguish the better-quality ones?

As mentioned in Part 1, not all multivitamins that use cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin are necessarily low-quality; there are many “average quality” ones, and within this category there are other ways to check whether a certain multivitamin product may be a good option if you do not have access to the (more expensive) highest-quality ones.

Check 1: Besides the most commonly included vitamins (A, B, C, D3, E), does the multivitamin include the following less-common, but essential vitamins and minerals:

• Iodine: essential not just for the thyroid gland, but also a lot of other body tissues)

• Selenium: longevity-promoting antioxidant

• Vitamin K2: helps to direct calcium away from soft tissues and into bones, very important for cardiovascular health

• Zinc: important for immunity)

Check 2: Does the vitamin have a lot of binders/fillers/dyes/sugars and other artificial ingredients? Tablets, as compared to capsules, often include a lot of these unnecessary (and potentially harmful) ingredients. You can see some examples of these in the label picture below, highlighted in yellow (this is the label of a popular multivitamin brand).

Besides having less of these filler ingredients, capsules are also in general more absorbable – so if possible, choose a capsule instead of tablet multivitamin.

Cost considerations

In general, it is much better to take a high-quality vitamin every other day, than to take a low-quality one daily. Therefore, if you have a limited budget for supplements, it is more effective to buy a more expensive multivitamin and take it every 2-3 days instead of daily, rather than take a cheaper product daily.

This is because with a high-quality multivitamin, the body will absorb a lot more of the nutrients that a low-quality one, so you will get more benefits out of taking it, even if you can only afford to take it every 2-3 days; the money spent on cheaper multivitamins, however, is (quite literally...) money flushed down the toilet.

Summary: How to choose a good-quality multivitamin

1. Check whether the label specifies the form of each vitamin/mineral ingredient.

2. If yes: check whether it includes the methylcobalamin form of vitamin B12 (instead of cyanocobalamin). If yes, you have a winner! This is likely an effective multivitamin, made by a company that cares about the quality and effectiveness of the ingredients it uses.

3. If the label does not list the specific vitamin forms, or if the B12 is listed as cyanocobalamin:

   • Check if it includes: iodine, selenium, vit. K2, zinc – higher-quality formulas will include these

Check the artificial ingredients – having more than 3-4 such ingredients (especially dyes, vegetable oil, sugar/syrup) indicates it is an inferior product.

I hope you found this 2-part guide helpful!

Have a wonderful day!