Even if you eat an organic diet packed with fruits and vegetables, it is still beneficial to take a multivitamin. Taking the correct multivitamin can ensure that you are getting all the nutrients needed for optimal health and cellular function. But with so many choices and so many price points out there, choosing a good quality multivitamin can be overwhelming! How do you know how to choose a quality multivitamin that is worth the cost? What should you really look for in a multivitamin? These 5 tips will help you narrow down all of the choices and choose a quality supplement that is beneficial for your body and is not a waste of your money.

Only Choose a Multivitamin that is Pharmaceutical Grade
The first test your multivitamin should pass is its grade. You want to look for a multivitamin that is pharmaceutical grade. This is the highest quality grade of vitamins, meaning the purity and absorption meet the highest regulatory standards. Cosmetic or nutritional grade supplements are the ones typically sold in health food stores and are not always be tested for absorption or purity. Nutritional grade supplements won’t harm you, but you may be spending money on vitamins and minerals that your body cannot properly absorb. The bottom line is that if you are going to spend money on a multivitamin, make sure to buy pharmaceutical grade. Pharmaceutical grade vitamins are available without a prescription, but they are typically only sold by licensed health care practitioners.

Skip the One a Day Multivitamin
As appealing as a one a day may seem, there is just not enough room in one pill to physically pack in enough of the minerals your body needs for optimal health into 1 capsule or tablet. Look for a multivitamin that can be taken twice a day with meals for optimal absorption (and the best bang for your buck!)

Choose Capsules, Not Tablets
You want to look for a product that comes in a capsule form and avoid the ones in tablet form. Multivitamins in capsule form are easily absorbed and more bio-available than those in tablet form. The tablets are difficult for the body to break down making it much harder for the body to properly absorb the vitamins and minerals.

A Short List of “Other Ingredients”
This is usually listed in very small print below the list of vitamins and RDA percentages and contains information about fillers, capsule materials and “other stuff” in the product. Many products out there appear excellent when you look at the vitamins and nutrients but they also contain preservatives, sweeteners, fillers, artificial colors and flavoring – all of which you do not want to put in your body! Higher quality products will avoid the use of sugar, lactose, artificial colors, and other excipients and will only contain a few “other ingredients”.

Hypo-allergenic:
Last but certainly not least, you want to check to make sure the product that you buy does not contain common allergens such as dairy, corn, soy, gluten, shellfish, egg, peanuts and tree nuts or allergens specific to you. You want your multivitamin to improve your health and making sure there are no allergens is important!

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