Multivitamins are some of the most widely used supplements, and this has led to a huge market with, unfortunately, a lot of low-quality products – so it is important to know how to distinguish high-quality multivitamins from low-quality ones.
Let’s start with a key concept that we will get back to: the different forms of vitamins and minerals.
Vitamin and minerals forms and why they matter
Most vitamins and minerals can have several different chemical forms. For example, vitamin D can come in either its natural form, cholecalciferol (known as D3) or as ergocalciferol (known as D2), which is a synthetic form.
Minerals can also take different forms, depending on which other element they are chemically bound to: for example, magnesium has over 8 different forms – magnesium oxide, Mg glycinate, Mg malate, etc.
For a vitamin or mineral to be effective, it needs to come in a form that is bioavailable, so that it can be recognized and used by the body.
Furthermore, some mineral/vitamin forms have been shown to be effective for specific purposes/health conditions – for example, magnesium malate (in which the magnesium is bound to malic acid) can help the body eliminate certain toxic heavy metals, such as aluminum – thanks to the ability of malic acid to bind with aluminum. (More on this later, when we’ll discuss magnesium and other individual minerals & vitamins.)
How to recognize high-quality multivitamins
Step 1: Check whether the label specifies the form of each vitamin/mineral ingredient. Lower quality supplements will not specify this, in which case you can assume the cheapest forms (usually synthetic, rather the natural forms) of each vitamin/mineral are used.
Not listing the specific vitamin forms indicates that the manufacturer of the supplement most likely has not put too much effort into selecting the most effective forms – those manufacturers who have done so will generally always list the specific vitamin forms on the label.
In conclusion: if a supplement does not list the specific vitamin/mineral forms on its label, it is most likely a low-quality formula.
Step 2: Once you have found a multivitamin that does list each vitamin form, check which form of vit. B12 it includes.
Most lower-quality multivitamins will include the cyanocobalamin form of B12. Cyanocobalamin is a synthetic form of B12 that does not occur in nature. To be able to use it, the body must cleave off the cyanide and convert it to methylcobalamin or adenosylcobalamin.
In contrast, methylcobalamin is the main form of B12 used by the human body and most commonly found in food. Methylcobalamin has been shown in studies to be retained better by the body, up to three times more than cyanocobalamin. Methylcobalamin is also a more expensive ingredient than cyanocobalamin.
A high-quality multivitamin will therefore include the methylcobalamin form of B12, or a combination of methylcobalamin and cyanocobalamin.
Seeing methylcobalamin on a multivitamin label is thus a key indication that the manufacturer has put a high level of care into selecting the most effective forms of the vitamins in their formula.
This photo shows an example of a very high-quality multivitamin. The ingredients are clearly listed on the label and this formula contains the methylcobalamin form of B12.
In conclusion: to quickly assess whether a multivitamin is of high-quality, check whether it includes the methylcobalamin form of B12.
Note: not all multivitamins that use cyanocobalamin instead of methylcobalamin are necessarily of low-quality; there are many “average quality” ones, and within this category there are ways to check whether a certain multivitamin product may be a good option if you do not have access to the highest-quality ones. More on this in part 2 of this series!
#multivitamins
Commenti