Best Multivitamin Brands

Multivitamins are a traditional recommendation from moms and family doctors. However, are they truly needed? People with a balanced diet do not necessarily need to take multivitamins, as they receive the necessary quantity of vitamins from their food. Multivitamins are more useful for people with vitamin deficiencies or poor diets. The best multivitamin brands are some of the most well known, and not necessarily the most expensive.

One factor prohibiting the consumption of multivitamins is simply the cost. Multivitamins can be very expensive, but cost is not necessarily the factor which determines which are the best multivitamin brands. Instead, look at multivitamins recommended by ConsumerLab.com, which tests multivitamin brands and determines both their effectiveness and whether the vitamins supplied are in quantities as advertised. Because multivitamins are a supplement, not a drug, they are not regulated by the FDA. This has led some vitamins to contain dangerous levels of lead. For instance, the Vitamin Shoppe Multivitamins Especially for Women brand was found to contain 15.3mg of lead per serving, an exceedingly high amount of lead.

Some of the best multivitamin brands are the most common. Centrum is one brand with three distinct multivitamin varieties which contain appropriate levels of vitamins and no toxic elements. Centrum Advanced Formula is for adults, Centrum Silver is recommended for seniors, and Centrum Performance is formulated for active people. One ingredient contained in Centrum and rarely found in other brands is iodine, which is valuable for the thyroid gland.  Walgreen's sells a knockoff of Centrum called Walgreen's Advanced Formula, and it is cheaper and about as effective. The other major brand that has a good reputation is One A Day, which has an even greater selection of multivitamin varieties than Centrum. One variety of interest is One A Day Women's Multivitamin, which contains natural supplements for premenopausal women.

Thankfully, kids vitamins are generally safe. Sticking with the traditional Flintstones vitamins is a safe bet. If you would like to discuss the best multivitamin brands with others, please register and participate in the HealthyJet.com forum.