Which Multivitamins Are Best?

Which multivitamin is best, which one is the right one? In the Tuesday June 21^st issue of the Wall Street Journal this question was raised due to the numerous types of multivitamins with different label information. Which multivitamin is best for your health? Well, as it states in this article, that depends on a few factors, people of different ages have different requirements. One size doesn't fit all as it turns out.

Reading Labels

As it turns out, reading labels, something we're always hearing about, can cause a lot of confusion. That's because the RDA's for vitamins and minerals are established by the self-governing Institute of Medicine, and these daily requirements are individualized depending on gender and age. However, the FDA wants supplements to include a single daily value, and that is the highest one that some folks may need. However, that isn't necessarily what everyone may need. It may be too high a dose for a lot of people.

Another issue is the fact that these daily values are due to be updated, since their last update was 1968?! Paul Cloates, the director of National Institute of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements states that "in some cases, they are wildly off."

What Does Multivitamin Mean?

Multivitamin is a broad term used to describe a standard formula that comes in a variety of strengths, and according to this Wall Street Journal article, labels may not be accurate with regard to what is actually in each bottle. This was confirmed by ConsumerLab, a company that does testing for supplements. Last week they reported testing 38 brands of multi's and of those 38, 10 had ingredients that were either more or less than what was indicated on the label.

Although Council of Responsible Nutrition's chief executive and president Steven Mister, states that "it concerns us anytime ConsumerLab says we don't meet label claims, but there is nothing in the report that suggests that consumers are getting levels that will do them harm".

Are Multivitamins Necessary?

Often thought of as nutritional insurance for those that aren't eating well, multivitamins are popular. This mindset has succeeded in making the multivitamin industry incredibly successful financially since way back to the 1940's, touting percentages like one third of adults nationwide taking them on a regular basis. However it's hard to determine if multi's actually have a significant affect on health since the people purchasing them are comprised of women, children, physicians, high income elderly people, low body mass indexes and healthy eaters that live well on a daily basis.

Source:

Wall Street Journal, Tuesday June 21st issue.