What to Look for when Choosing a Multivitamin

We all know we need to up our intake of vitamins, however shopping for them is no easy task.  I think I have lost hours of my life staring at the vitamin shelves in health food stores, thinking  what in the world is St John’s Wort or Valerian Root and why do I need to ingest this? Only to  leave feeling more confused and no vitamins in hand. So I decided to do my research and here  is my shopping guide for how to choose the best multivitamin for you. If you want to stock up on multivitamins, take a look at Chemmart Pharmacy online for a comprehensive range.

1. Obviously age and sex comes into play here. Most multivitamin companies  design a complete supplement specifically formulated for men, women, children,  teenagers, elderly or pregnant women. So pick what is right for you on your age bracket  and gender. Lifestyle may also come into play here.

2. If you are vegan or vegetarian be sure to look carefully at the ingredients. A lot of  multivitamins contain fish oils or gelatin. The ones without those ingredient will often say “suitable for vegans or vegetarians”.

3. Look for a multivitamin that has a broad range of ingredients. A lot of these ingredients  actually need each other to make the vitamins and minerals effective within the body. So if the multivitamin only has a few ingredients, it probably won’t do the job as well as  other’s that have an extensive ingredient list.

4. Buy organic. The whole point of a multivitamin is to improve health so why not go for  the best ingredients out there. When buying organic you can be assured that your  multivitamin is free from pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics and any other nasties  pumped into our products.

5. Look at what the fillers are in the products. A lot of mass produced vitamins are filled  with all sorts of stuff that doesn’t need to be in there and are detrimental to your health. For example these fillers can include hydrogenated vegetable oils, sugar, titanium  dioxide and artificial flavours and colours, to just name a few. Also anything with a
number in it is generally a bad sign.

6. Look for an expiration date as vitamins go bad just the way food does. So if there is no expiration date you do need to wonder what is being put in there to keep them viable for so long.

7. If in doubt then look up a local health food store that has a naturopath or other qualified staff to help guide you. They are the trained professionals after all so if you are trying to take a vitamin for a specific health related issue then they may be able to better guide you in what to buy.

8. And just because it’s “natural” always speak to your doctor if you are on any other prescribed medication. You’ll be surprised at what vitamins and minerals can affect other medications or visa versa.