In a recent post I suggest that, to compensate for the compromised nutritional quality of many of the fruits and vegetables we eat – or the fact that we aren’t eating enough fruits and vegetables in the first place – taking a multi-vitamin daily is an essential step towards reaching optimal health.

Easy enough.

Except it sort of isn’t.

While popping a pill is definitely a super simple strategy for boosting your micronutrient intake, finding a multi-vitamin that actually delivers on its promise takes a little more work. That’s because, depending on the quality of the vitamin you’re taking, your body might be having a tough time absorbing it.

Fear not, my friends, I’m here to help make sure that doesn’t happen.

It All Comes Down to Bioavailability

Bioavailability is a super fancy term that simply means the availability of a nutrient to be absorbed by the body. Everything you eat, drink, or swallow takes a journey through the digestive system, where it breaks down into its individual components. The usable components are then delivered to different areas of the body where they will be used or stored, while the unusable leftovers are excreted through our waste. Bioavailability refers to the usable components we ingest.

When it comes to multivitamins, their bioavailability varies depending on not only what specifically the vitamin contains, but also the form of the substance itself.

For example, a vitamin tablet will likely be less bioavailable due to its complex wrapping of fine powders, artificial flavors and dyes, preservatives, coatings, and other binding agents. These added elements – as well as the compressed form itself – make tablets harder for the body to digest. This means some of the vitamins you think you are consuming are actually being flushed down the toilet since your body can’t  access them in the first place.

On the other hand, capsules offer better bioavailability thanks to the liquid they contain in the capsule. The outer shell of a capsule is designed to disintegrate quickly, expediting the release of the components inside. This dramatically increases the body’s access to the micronutrients a capsule contains since breaking it down does not present a barrier during digestion.

Pro Tip: Avoid vitamins in tablet form. Instead, look for capsules, liquids, or loose powders. Better yet, find vitamins that are “chelated,” which means they are wrapped in amino acids to increase the rate of absorption.

 How to Look for a Good Quality Multi-Vitamin?

To truly know if you are getting what you pay for, you have to look at the specific ingredients.  That’s because the type of ingredients they are using also play a huge role in how bioavailable that micronutrient really is.

For example, let’s say your multi-vitamin’s bottle states that it contains vitamin D, which is great, because vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin and we can all use more sunshine in our lives. However, when you look at the ingredient list, you find that it contains the “ergocalciferol” form of vitamin D (aka: vitamin D2). This may not seem important, except that vitamin D2 is not the same vitamin D the human body produces when exposed to the sun or through the food we eat. This means that its bioavailability to humans is severely limited; rendering it ineffective.

This can not only happen with vitamin D, but most of the vitamins you take. While generic multi-vitamins are relatively inexpensive, you want to make sure that what you are taking actually works. To help, I’ve created a list of what words you should look for (and which to avoid) when checking out a multi-vitamins’ list of ingredients to ensure that you are getting what you pay for.

What Specific Ingredients to Look For

To keep it simple, I chose 8 micronutrients to discuss. If these are not in their bio available form, toss your multi out and find a new one.

• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E
• Folate
• Vitamin B-12
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Zinc
• Manganese

Vitamin D

• Do look for: Cholecalciferol (D3)
• Avoid: Ergocalciferol (D2)

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Vitamin E

• Do look for: D-Gama Tocopheryl
• Avoid: D-Alpha Tocopherol

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Folate

• Do look for: 5-Methyl-Tetrahydrofolic Acid
• Avoid: Folic Acid

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Vitamin B-12

• Do look for: Methylcobalamin
• Avoid: Cyanocabolamin

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Calcium (Ca)

• Do look for: Ca Bisglycinate Chelate or Ca Citrate
• Avoid: Calcium Carbonate or Calcium Phosphate

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Magnesium (Mg)

• Do look for: Mg Bisglycinate Chelate, Mg Glycinate or Mg Citrate, Mg Malate, Mg Orotate, Mg Threonate. Rotate through them over time!
• Avoid: Magnesium Oxide

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Zinc

• Do look for: Zinc Bisglycinate Chelate, Zinc citrate,
• Avoid: Zinc Oxide

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Manganese

• Do look for: Manganese Bisglycinate Chelate
• Avoid: Manganese Oxide

Doses, benefits and warnings dive deeper at Examine.com

Pro Tip: While these words can be overwhelming, as a general rule anything containing the words “glycinate, citrate, or chelate” is good, while the word “oxide” is bad. Chances are low that you’ll find a high quality multi-vitamin at a grocery store or big box drug store. To increase your options I suggest visiting a local health food store, the Vitamin Shoppe or Life Time Fitness Supplements which are my favorite options, or simply type “whole food multi-vitamin” in your favorite search engine for a list of options. If you shop Life Time, you can get a 10% discount using this trainer ID code: 232708.

Getting the Most Out of Your Multi-Vitamin: One More Tip

Don’t worry, this last tip doesn’t include big words you’ve never heard of, and is pretty easy to do.

Simply take your multi-vitamin with a meal.

That’s because vitamins and minerals can be “water soluble” or “fat soluble” depending on what type of micronutrient it is. Without going into a huge science-y explanation, essentially this means that some nutrients are absorbed by the body by attaching themselves to a water molecule, while others shuttle their way into cells only through fat molecules (vitamins A, D, E & K) . Since multi-vitamins likely contain both water and fat soluble micronutrients, taking it with a meal ensures that you are providing both types of molecules needed for proper absorption.

Have you taken a look at your multi-vitamin after reading this article? What did you discover? Do you need help finding a multi-vitamin or have other questions about diet and wellness? If so, feel free to contact me. I’m happy to help.