Multivitamins can be an important part of your health and wellness plan. Even with a balanced diet, you could be missing key nutrients in your diet. This is particularly true as we get older. Our ability to absorb nutrients can decrease as we get older and choosing a high-quality multivitamin can provide the necessary vitamins and minerals to ensure that your body gets what it needs to perform all of its daily functions.
When choosing a multi, there are a few things you want to be aware of:
- Active vs. Inactive forms: Many multivitamins can offer vitamins and minerals in their inactive form. This means that the body has to convert them to their active form before being able to use them. Not everyone has the genetic make-up, co-factors or digestive capacity required to make these conversions. For example, B2 (riboflavin) and B6 (pyroxidine) in their active forms are B2 (riboflavin-5’-phosphate ) and B6 (pyridoxal-5’-phosphate). By choosing a multivitamin with the active forms, you will absorb more of the ingredients and get more out of the supplement.
- Folic acid vs. Methyl-tetrahydrofolate (MTHFR): There are different forms of folate available in supplements. Folic acid vs MTHFR. It’s important to choose a supplement with MTHFR as up to 60% of the population has a genetic defect that prevents them from activating folic acid into its active form, meaning that it can’t be absorbed!
- Avoid additive and fillers: Check the ingredients and make sure the multivitamin you choose doesn’t include fillers and preservatives like parabens and sulfites, as well as artificial colorings, flavors, and sweeteners.
- Consider special circumstances: if you’re pregnant, you need to look for prenatal. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, you want to look for a multi with adequate B12 and iron, or consider these as additional supplements. Depending on other individual circumstances, you want to find the multivitamin that is right for you.
One of our favorite multivitamins is Sage’s Daily Active. It comes in two forms, with and without iron. It has the active forms of the vitamins, in a simple one a day dose that provides great value!
