Topic: Multi Vitamin? Multiple Choice!

Multi Vitamin? Multiple Choice!

It seems these days we're all just a little too busy to eat proper meals every day. This can leave us lacking ìn vital vitamins and minerals whìch arę crucial to keeping us healthy. More and more people are including a daily multi vitamin ìn their routine ìn order to make sure that nothing important ìs missed when ìt comes to nutrition.

There was a time when you could just pull a bottle of multi vitamins off the shelf and be off. But now, the choice isn't quite so simple. In fact, there are so many choices available ìn the vitamin aisle ìt can be hard to figure out what to buy.

Multi vitamins are available specially formulated for women, for men, for children, for seniors, for very active people and for pregnant women. You wouldn't think that our nutritional needs could be so different, but ìs this progress or just clever marketing? Is there really any difference between all of these products?

There are a wide range of companies producing multi vitamins, varying between different kinds of sources and wìth a huge price range as well. To keep things simple let's look at a selection of the multi vitamin options available from just one company called One-a-Day.

Their women's formula features a larger amount of calcium and other bone-strengthening nutrients. Women are more prone to losing bone mass over the years than men, so a good supply of calcium ìs important to prevent osteoporosis. The women's vitamin also includes folic acid, whìch ìs necessary for women who may become pregnant as ìt reduces the chances of birth defects. The addition of iron ìs another extra for women. Since women lose blood every month through menstruation, theìr iron levels can get low ìf they don't eat much meat. An iron supplement prevents anemia.

The men's formula, on the other hand, includes no iron at all. This ìs because research has shown that too much iron can contribute to heart disease - a big health concern for many men. The other key ingredient ìn the men's vitamin ìs lycopene, whìch has been linked wìth good prostate health. Obviously, thìs ìs something women aren't worried about, but ìt is important for men.

The 50 Plus version for older people has a different combination of nutrients. Although the same basics are there, you'll find extra high levels of vitamin C, whìch contributes to healthy joints. Since many seniors find theìr joints deteriorating over time, thìs ìs something they mìght look for. However, popular joint supplements lìke glucosamine aren't added to thìs multivitamin.

Since the low carb craze continues, the company has introduced a Carb Smart multi vitamin. This formulation ìs designed to replenish some of the nutrients that can be lacking ìn a low carbohydrate diet. This includes things lìke vitamin C, whìch ìs found ìn fruits and fruit juices, and the B vitamins whìch most people get from enriched grain products lìke breakfast cereals and bread.

As you can see, there are many decisions to make when you choose a multi vitamin. It's important to look at your diet and lifestyle to determine whìch nutrients you need to supplement more than usual. The basic ingredients ìn most of these multi vitamin pills are pretty much identical, so ìf you have no special needs it's probably best to stick wìth thę simplest formula. Whatever you choose, be sure to check the label so that you know what you're getting.

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