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I have to admit, until recently, I knew that multivitamins weren’t all the same.  I knew that some were better than others because they were more effective and were manufactured with better practices, but what I didn’t know was what a difference there really can be!  The fact is, a lot of multivitamins are no more effective than swallowing a piece of dirt.  We might as well eat our money instead of buying some of the supplements/multivitamins that are out there.

The fact is, a lot of multivitamins are no more effective than swallowing a piece of dirt.

The problem with supplements is they aren’t regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.  Nobody really knows what goes into some of the supplements out there, and when asked whether a certain brand is better than another, it’s hard to give a good answer because of lack of knowledge.  When I worked for a gym, we pushed a certain supplement company to our members because our company partnered with their company.  Upper management always told us that these supplements were great because they were effective and manufactured under pharmaceutical practices.  The only problem was, when I went to research the company myself, that information wasn’t explained on their company website; everything was so vague, just like so many other supplement’s websites are.  Well, guess what?  I come to find out that yes, those supplements are definitely better than many of the common brands on grocery store shelves, but in the grand scheme of things, they really weren’t that much better for the price.  This just goes to show, just because a gym staff member or a high school kid at a GNC (no offense to GNC employees) tells you a certain supplement is good, doesn’t mean that it actually is.

My problem with pushing those supplements at the gym was that it was all about being a money-making technique for us and the company.  Yeah, they were a little better than the average multivitamin, but I would’ve liked to have known more about the multivitamins and other supplements I was recommending to gym members instead of being pressured to sell them by upper management.  And you know what, a lot of times I really didn’t push the supplements for this fact.  I didn’t really know much about them and why they were supposed to be so much better than others, and since I didn’t know, then why try and convince my clients and other members that they were so special? 

You’re probably saying to yourself, “Well if you don’t know what’s good and what’s not, then how am I supposed to know!”  Like I said, I used to not know, but recently I did some research and found some amazing study results.  A study was done by biochemist Lyle MacWilliam and seven other nutritional experts, and in this study they tested over 1000+ types of supplements and came up with a ranking system to compare one supplement to another.  The results of this study brought to light some pretty shocking answers.

Whenever you can find supplement companies that are registered with the FDA as pharmaceutical manufacturers or meet or exceed U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) standards, that’s a good indicator that they’re a reliable company.

By now, you’re probably wondering why you should even take a supplement if many aren’t very good.  The fact is, we don’t eat enough of what we should, and the quality of the foods we eat has decreased so much that we really need to be taking a multivitamin in order to achieve optimal health levels. ² A study done by Dr. Linus Pauling (Nobel Prize recipient) and two other scientists looked at the comparison of death rates among elderly Californians.  They found that male supplement users had a 22% lower risk of death, and female supplement users had a 46% lower risk of death compared to non-multivitamin users! ¹ That in itself should show just how essential taking a multivitamin is.

So here’s the problem, we know we need to be taking a multivitamin, but which one should we take?  Part of that answer really depends on the individual.  For example, a male and a female shouldn’t take the same one.  A woman in child-bearing years shouldn’t be taking the same one as a woman in her 80’s.  What I can tell you is that certain brands are better than others.  Lyle MacWilliam’s study took into consideration a lot of key points:

1.    Does the multivitamin/supplement contain all the nutrients necessary for optimal health?
2.    Do the nutrients exist in levels that promote optimal health?
3.    Does the supplement contain the most effective minerals that help it digest and absorb into the body to its greatest potential? (Some companies use less expensive mineral salts to carry out this process, but it appears they aren’t as effective.)
4.    Does the multivitamin contain the natural form of Vitamin E, or the synthetic form? (Natural is better.)
5.    Does the multivitamin contain the nutrients necessary to promote cardiac health, as well as at the proper levels to promote cardiac health?
6.    Does the supplement contain the proper nutrients and proper levels of those nutrients to help prevent cardiovascular disease?
7.    Does the supplement contain the proper nutrients and proper levels of those nutrients to promote optimal bone health?
8.    Does the supplement contain antioxidants and their proper levels?
9.    Does the multivitamin contain the nutrients and their proper levels for promoting cellular health through fighting off free radicals, etc.?
10. Does the multivitamin contain the nutrients and their proper levels for promoting an efficient metabolism?
11. Does the multivitamin contain the nutrients and their proper levels for helping reduce the risk of cancer, fighting off allergies, fighting off viruses, etc.?
12. Does the multivitamin contain nutrients at levels that have been associated with reducing the occurrence of coronary heart disease?
13. Does the multivitamin contain nutrients and their proper levels for promoting a healthy liver? (The majority of cancers are believed to stem from unhealthy livers. ¹)
14. Does the multivitamin contain potential toxic levels of vitamin A and iron? (Birth defects, diabetes, cancer, etc. can result from these toxic levels.)

Why did I just tell you all this?  Was it to bore you?  Hopefully not.  I told you all this to show you that there are a lot of components that make up a good multivitamin (in case you’re confused, I’m referring to multivitamin and supplement as the same thing.)  Some “ace” these components, but many don’t.  In fact, the sad thing is that the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for nutrients were first created to serve as levels to avoid deficiencies.  Even today, after the U.S. and Canada have revised the recommendations, they still fail to meet the proper intakes for promoting “optimal” health. ² The good news is the U.S. is making some good strides in making supplements better.  A proposed rule would require a lot more regulation of supplement companies because right now, they’re regulated as much as food (which isn’t very much).  Because they aren’t regulated like pharmaceutical drugs, companies have gotten away with claiming one thing on their labels but containing a totally different thing in their supplements. ² Whenever you can find supplement companies that are registered with the FDA as pharmaceutical manufacturers or meet or exceed U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP) standards, that’s a good indicator that they’re a reliable company.  Companies can follow either food standards or pharmaceutical standards; pharmaceutical standards are obviously a lot stricter and more reliable for the consumer. ¹

This just goes to show that just because a supplement is well-known doesn’t mean that it’s good.

Okay, so it’s time to share with you the results of the study.  The rating system for this study was on a scale of 0 to 100%.  Unbelievably, a score of 80% or above is considered great, and less than 0.8% of the 1000+ supplements met this!  The top 4 supplement companies (in order) were found to be USANA Health Sciences, Douglas Laboratories, Vitamin Research Products, and Source Naturals.  USANA’s Essentials supplement scored a 96.1%, Douglas Laboratories’ Ultra Preventive X scored a 95.4%, Vitamin Research Products’ Extend Plus scored a 93.1%, and Source Naturals’ Life Force Multiple scored a 92.8%; Source Natural also has a supplement called Élan Vitàl that scored a 91.8%. ¹

As far as some of the more common supplements, EAS’s Multi-Blend scored a 62.1%.  GNC’s Preventron scored a 9.9%.  Wal-mart’s Equate Complete scored a 4.9%.  Kroger’s Advanced Formula Complete scored a 4.9%.  Safeway Select’s Super Men’s Multivitamin scored an 18.0% (women’s was 28.2%).  The One Daily Active multivitamin from Sav-On Osco by Albertson’s scored a 4.9%.  Nature’s Made’s Essential Mega scored a 17.9%, Nutrilite’s Double X scored a 30.0%, Rite Aid’s Whole Source scored a 6.2%, TwinLab’s Daily One without Iron scored a 26.4%, Vitamin World’s Mega Vita Min for Women scored a 19.4%, and Walgreens’ Ultra Choice Premium Men scored a 21.1% (women’s was 22.1%).  Finally, and probably the most shocking of all, One A Day Active scored a 5.1% and Centrum Performance scored a 5.2%!  (Centrum Silver was 4.7% and Centrum was 3.2%!) ¹

This just goes to show that just because a supplement is well-known doesn’t mean that it’s good.  According to Lyle MacWilliam and his team of experts, here’s what to look for in a multivitamin:

1.    5000 IU of vitamin A [IU (International Unit) is a standard of measurement that accounts for differences in natural versus synthetic form effectiveness; the natural form is better, so it requires less to be put into the supplement to achieve the desired effectiveness/potency, but no matter how much of the vitamin is in the supplement, it should still contain a potency of 5000 IU.]
2.    400 IU of vitamin D
3.    180 µg (micrograms) of vitamin K
4.    250 µg of biotin
5.    600 µg of folic acid
6.    55 mg (milligrams) of vitamin B₁ (thiamin)
7.    45 mg of vitamin B₂ (riboflavin)
8.    28 mg of vitamin B₃ (niacin)
9.    60 mg of vitamin B₃ [niacinamide (vitamin B₃ is made up of both components)]
10. 75 mg of vitamin B₅ (pantothenic acid)
11. 63 mg of vitamin B₆ (pyridoxine)
12. 175 µg of vitamin B₁₂ (cobalamin)
13. 60 mg of coenzyme Q10
14. 100 mg of alpha-lipoic acid
15. 1500 mg of vitamin C
16. 600 IU of vitamin E (alpha tocopherol)
17. 200 mg of vitamin E (gamma/mixed)
18. 540 mg of bioflavonoids (mixed)
19. 100 mg of procyanidolic oligomers (PCOs)
20. 25 mg of phenolic compounds
21. 13750 IU of beta-carotene
22. 5625 IU of carotenoids (mixed)
23. 5 mg of lutein/zeaxanthin
24. 15 mg of lycopene
25. 56 mg of n-acetyl-l-cysteine
26. 500 mg of acetyl-l-carnitine
27. 500 mg of carnitine
28. 94 mg of choline
29. 125 mg of inositol
30. 350 mg of lecithin
31. 3125 mg of alpha-linolenic acid
32. 1141 mg of omega-3 fish oil (EPA/DHA)
33. 3 mg of boron
34. 800 mg of calcium
35. 238 µg of chromium
36. 2 mg of copper
37. 100 µg of iodine
38. 280 mg of magnesium
39. 7 mg of manganese
40. 65 µg of molybdenum
41. 215 mg of potassium
42. 150 µg of selenium
43. 8 mg of silicon
44. 75 µg of vanadium
45. 25 mg of zinc
46. 350 mg of trimethylglycine (TMG/betaine)
47. 1000 mg of carnosine
48. Iron isn’t recommended

Wow!  There’s a long list.  Of course, there are special cases where your doctor may have told you to avoid a certain vitamin or mineral, so before taking any supplement, check with your doctor or pharmacist to be safe. 

Remember, there’s so much controversy going on in the world of supplements right now, so it’s always good to do your own research before choosing a multivitamin or other type of supplement; call the company or email them.  If they’re unwilling to release their nutritional information and manufacturing practices, it’s probably a good idea to stay away from them.  Until supplement companies become regulated like pharmaceutical companies, the burden of determining which supplement is legitimate and effective rests on us.   

References:

¹ MacWilliam, L. (2003). Comparative guide to nutritional supplements: a compendium of products available in the United States and Canada, (3^rd ed). Vernon, British Columbia, Canada: Northern Dimensions Publishing.

² MacWilliam, L. (2007). Nutrisearch comparative guide to nutritional supplements: a compendium of products available in the United States and Canada, (4^th ed). Vernon, British Columbia, Canada: Northern Dimensions Publishing.

Dan Falkenberg is the cofounder of Your Live Trainers.  He can be reached at DanFalkenberg.com.

Tags: muscle gain, nutrition, weight loss