Listen up, gentlemen. Your health is important.
Even if you adhere to a balanced diet, jam-packed with fruits and veggies, and exercise regularly, you will likely still benefit from a daily men's multivitamin to bridge any nutritional gaps. After all, proper diet and supplementation can mean the difference between feeling sluggish and undernourished and being fit, healthy and at your peak.
Are you ready to take a multi?
You understand the importance of multivitamins, but there are seemingly countless varieties to choose from. So how do you know which is best for you? Following are some tips to help pick a prduct that can aid in your quest for optimal health and wellness:
1. Check the label for age and gender.
All multivitamins aren’t created equal. So be sure to select the best supplements formulated for men in your age range, such as Nature’s Way Alive!® Once Daily Men's 50 plus Multi-Vitamin. Because bodies and nutritional needs change over time, age-specific multivitamins help ensure that you get proper levels of the nutrients you need during every stage in life.
2. Pay attention to percentages.
The product label will identify included nutrients and amounts per serving. It’s generally best to select a multi that offers 100 percent of the recommended daily value for the majority of vitamins and minerals in the supplement. Keep in mind that certain nutrients (e.g., calcium, magnesium) are rarely offered at 100 percent because the pill would simply be too big for you to swallow.
3. Keep an eye out for key nutrients.
Most multivitamins contain some basic vitamins and minerals that are essential to everyone. Some common ones to look for include: vitamin A, B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, folic acid and B12), betacarotene, biotin, calcium, vitamin C, D2 or D3 (cholecalciferol), vitamin E, vitamin K, magnesium, iron, potassium, selenium and zinc.
4. Pick your delivery method.
Tablets, caplets, capsules (a.k.a. soft gels), gummies, liquids, powders--there are many different forms of multivitamins on the market and in this case, variety is a good thing. If, for instance, you have difficulty swallowing a tablet, you may be less likely to take your multivitamin regularly. So choose the form that initially appeals to you and move on if for some reason it’s a no-go.
5. Don’t go overboard.
Although it may seem like a smart idea to choose a multi that offers over 100 percent of the recommended daily value of certain nutrients, you may want to reconsider. More is not necessarily better when it comes to supplementation. You should be getting additional nutritional support through your diet and certain nutrients can build up in your system and have potentially negative effects when taken in large doses.
6. Additional considerations.
Today’s multivitamins for men come in a wide variety of formulas that are designed to help people with specific concerns (e.g., Celiac disease, food allergies) or nutritional needs (e.g., vegetarian, vegan). For instance, Vitacost Special for Men Multi-Vitamins are “free of milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, gluten and titanium dioxide.”
