If you are like me who grew up as a kid in 90's America, you remember every morning waking up, going downstairs and chewing down a Flinstone's multivitamin and it was the first highlight of your day. Looking back in hindsight and if you were to taste those same multivitamins these days, you would chalk another item up to nostalgia tasting better than reality. Point being, from a young age, we are programmed to make sure to get all our vitamins in and often times that means taking a daily multivitamin. What is a multi-vitamin supposed to be exactly aside from the "thing you know you're supposed to take". By definition, a multivitamin (also known as a multimineral) is a prepared combination of vitamins and minerals blended into a single tablet or capsule to serve unique and complementary roles in the human body. Most on the market today are formulated and intended for the consumer to take them once a day and contain all or most vitamins and minerals across the board, with what is generally close to the daily recommended value (RV%). The recommended daily value for vitamins and minerals may vary on a variety of factors such as gender and age and known as the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) and Absolute Intake (AI). You will also find or have already seen that many multivitamins have even been customized for a specific purpose. Take the well-known brand One A Day for example; you'll see that within that brand alone they have over 10 variations ranging from a special formula for kids to men wanting to improve metabolism to seniors and everything in between. This is just the general 'normal' populations multivitamins too...when you dive into the world of multivitamins for sports nutrition it's a whole new ballgame with specific formulas developed for more specific purposes such as athletic performance, joint health, etc. As you can imagine, with the sea of products available these days, it's not hard to get lost in the mix. What are Vitamins? First and foremost, it's important to understand vitamins and what they actually do. They are defined as any of a group of organic compounds that are essential for normal growth and nutrition and are required in small quantities in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the body. Humans, as well as many other living organisms, require them and as you can imagine, each has different requirements. For example dogs unlike humans don't need to ingest vitamin C because it can be synthesized at adequate levels in their body. In all, there are 13 recognized vitamins and classified by either water or fat soluble. A quick reference guide: Water Soluble - Vitamin C and all B Vitamins are classified as water soluble. These vitamins don't typically stay in the body for long and cannot be stored internally so they must be replenished more often than fat soluble ones. Fat Soluble - These include the Vitamins A, D, E and K and can be stored in the fatty tissues of the body as well as the liver. They can stay in the body in reserves for months at a time. They require lipids to aid in absorption through the intestinal tract. Water Soluble Vitamin B (Thiamine)-Helps convert food to energy; Aids in muscle contraction Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) -Aids in breakdown and utilization of carbohydrates, fats and proteins Vitamin B3 (Niacin/Niacinimide)-Aids in digestive health, skin and nerve function Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)-Aids breakdown of fats and carbs; Crucial for hormones Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine/Prydoxamine/Pyrodoxal)-Aids in metabolizing of amino acids Vitamin B7 (Biotin)-Supports healthy skin, hair and nails Vitamin B9 (Folic Acid/Folinic Acid)-Large role in fetal health; Fosters growth of red blood cells Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin/Hydroxocobalamin/Methylcobalamin)-Aids in nervous system health Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid)- Powerful anti-oxidant; Aids in formation of connective tissue, blood vessels and skin Fat Soluble Vitamin D (Ergocalciferol/Choecalciferol)-Aids in absorption of calcium; Used in variety of body functions Vitamin E (Tocopherols/Tocotrienols)-Protects cells from free radical damage; Vital for proper function of many organs and enzymatic activities Vitamin K (Phylloquinone/Menaquinones- Regulates normal blood clotting; Aids in bone health What are Minerals? On a related note, minerals are the other critical component that are required on a daily basis for the body to function. Defined as a chemical element required as an essential nutrient by organisms to perform functions necessary for life. Minerals originate in the earth and cannot be made by living organisms and therefore must be obtained through diet. In the body, bacteria and fungi play a crucial role in the breakdown of primary elements in nature, allowing them to be released for consumption by other species in the ecological food chain. Within the human body, minerals are either categorized as essential or trace elements. Essential Minerals Calcium- Needed for muscle, heart and digestive health; Builds bone; supports synthesis of blood cells Magnesium- Essential for ATP production and bone growth Potassium- Systemic electrolyte; Critical interaction with sodium for ATP regulation Sodium- Systemic electrolyte; Critical interaction with potassium for ATP regulation Phosphorus-Component of bones, energy processing, DNA and ATP functions Trace Minerals Iron-Required for a variety of enzymes and proteins Chlorine-Essential for production of hydrochloric acid in stomach Sulfur-Component of two essential amino acids; Aids in protein synthesis and enzyme reaction Cobalt- Essential for red blood cell production; Maintains nervous system Copper-Required for proper working of redox enzymes Zinc- Required for several enzymes to function properly Manganese-Crucial cofactor in enzymatic functions Molybdenum-The oxidases xanthine oxidase, aldehyde oxidase, and sulfite oxidase Iodine-Used in synthesis of thyroid hormones: Prevents goiter Selenium-Essential for activity of antioxidant enzymes Multi Vitamin Differences When it comes to a multivitamin, there isn't a one size fits all approach that necessarily fits. While a basic multivitamin can cover a variety of scenarios and act as a basic 'safety net' to ensure that Recommended Value is being met, factors can come into play that make some choices more suited for certain individuals than others. One of the first things to consider is gender as male and female bodies have their particular needs on a physiological basis. Selecting a multivitamin based on these factors is a good place to start when selecting a multivitamin: Men - Male oriented multivitamins often contain added elements for promotion of prostate health first and foremost with ingredients such as extra selenium or saw palmetto. There are often also ingredients that support healthy testosterone production with such ingredients including DHEA, tribulus and others depending on the brand. One small note is that generally men's multivitamins won't contain iron as it is not needed for a majority of males with those that have certain dietary restrictions being the exception. Women - Female multivitamin formulas are often time more geared towards addressing variations such as added iron for menstrual considerations or may address other aspects of healthy hormone regulation. Other major, common areas of emphasis for female multivitamins include items such as added collagen or biotin for promotion of healthy hair, skin and nails. Certain formulas can also be geared towards expecting mothers with pre-natal formulas. Children/Teens- For children and even teenagers, special considerations are taken. Such include generally lower amounts as the Daily Values are often lower compared to adults for certain nutrients. Often times, they will be higher in items for healthy development such as things for healthy bone growth, brain development, etc. Multivitamins vs. Whole Food & Whole Food Supplements While many think that regardless of a diet if they take a multivitamin that has all of the necessary vitamins and minerals in it via pill form, they are good to go. This is sadly not even close to being the case as whole food not only has the vitamin and minerals needed but also contain beneficial plant derived phytochemicals. These are critical as they interact with the various vitamins and minerals and ensure adequate absorption and utilization. As a rule of thumb, the greater the food variety, the greater amount of varied interactions will take place and in theory, the more beneficial they become. Directly related, if one is to choose the supplemental form of getting in vitamins and minerals, try and opt for what is known as 'whole food' supplements. These vitamins have been cultured into yeast and then processed to form the supplement rather than synthesizing them artificially. This is an advantage as the whole food supplement variety are cultured and therefore more bioavailable than the synthetic version. The increased bioavailability also tends to have a higher potency than synthetic as they are closer to the natural form. Another step is whole food concentrates which are concentrated forms of whole foods. They are superior as they have all the natural cofactors that make them more absorbable. Furthering the issue with synthetic vitamins is that they lack the aforementioned cofactors that the naturally occurring sources have. This is a problem as without the complimentary cofactors, the body has to deplete its cofactors to absorb them. High potency vitamins from synthetic sources can start working against you as without cofactors, they can start placing stress on organs without the cofactors to properly process them. To tell the difference, look at the label for clues. If it is synthetic, it will list it simply as possible. For example, if it is synthetic Vitamin C it will say 'Ascorbic Acid' while the natural version wouldn't have such a denotation. The amount is a giveaway too, and putting this in perspective an average orange h
