How To Choose a Multi Vitamin
Taking a daily multi vitamin is a great way to supplement your nutrition and ensure that you are getting all the vitamins and minerals that your body requires. While the majority of the nutrients that we need can be found in the food that we eat, it is very beneficial to take a multi vitamin as doing so will ensure that you are getting everything you need to stay healthy and strong. Having made the decision to take a multi vitamin, the next step is to choose one – a decision that is not as easy as it seems. In fact, the sheer amount and different types of multi vitamins that are available on the market today can make the decision a very difficult one.
To help you make the right decision, the following are some tips on how to choose a multi vitamin.
- Nutritional needs
The type of multi vitamin you take will largely depend on your age, sex and general health. Generally speaking, if you are taking medication, you are advised not to take a multi vitamin. In addition, you will have different nutritional needs depending on how old you are, whether you are a man or a woman and if you are pregnant or not. Once you have identified what your nutritional needs are based on these criteria, you will be better placed to choose the correct multi vitamin for you.
- Recommended Daily Allowance
When choosing a multi vitamin, check to make sure that it does not contain a much greater amount of the recommended daily allowance for that vitamin. The recommended daily allowance is the amount of a nutrient that we are required to consume in order to maintain optimum health. Furthermore, in the case of multi vitamins, more is not necessarily better and so it is wise to choose a multi vitamin that provides you with 100% of your recommended daily allowance.
- Basic Ingredients
Many of the multi vitamins on the market today contain a dizzying amount of different types of vitamins and nutrients. This makes it extremely difficult for someone to discern what the most important nutrients are and which ones don’t need to be given as much attention. In general, the following basic vitamins and minerals are what you should ensure that your multi vitamin contains – B1, B2, B3, B12, B6, Vitamins c, D and E, folic acid iron and magnesium.
- Check the Date of Expiry
As with the purchase of any foodstuff, make sure you check the date of expiry on the multi vitamin, as even vitamins need to be fresh and will lose their effectiveness if kept for a long time. A multivitamin that contains no expiry date is always best left on the shop shelf.
Similar to the purchase of any over the counter supplement or medication, it is always best to check with your doctor before choosing a multi vitamin. In addition, you should also remember that a multi vitamin is not an adequate replacement for a healthy diet and you should make sure that you eat a well-rounded and balanced diet in addition to taking your multi vitamin.
Pop into us today at Irwin’s Pharmacy and we would be glad to help you choose a multivitamin to suit your needs.