“Should I be taking a multivitamin?” This is a question that I am sure a few of us have asked ourselves before. My answer is Yes. Why? Many of the nutrients in the foods that we do regularly consume, even if they are considered healthier choices, has been stripped away due to over-processing. Unless you follow a perfect diet day in and day out, and eat home-grown foods not full of fillers and other chemicals then many of the nutrients in the foods that we do regularly consume, even if they are considered healthier choices, has been stripped away due to over-processing. This leaves all of our bodies in a potential state of depletion from vital vitamins and minerals.

But with all the choices available it can be quite confusing. Many people find themselves wondering which brand is best? Which ingredients are most important? Does it even matter which brand I take or am I just paying for the name?

A few quick thoughts on vitamin quality. For those of you new to supplements, not all brands/ingredients are created equally! As many of you know pharma drugs are regulated by the FDA which at least ensures what you are taking is indeed as advertised (for the most part.) The same thing is not true for over-the-counter supplements, as these are essentially unregulated. If you look at any fitness magazines on a regular basis you will probably notice that new supplement companies seem to pop up every month and often pay good money to have a model advertise their product in these magazines and online making them seem like “the next big breakthrough.” The truth is, many products contain fillers and have often even been found to contain ingredients not advertised and in some cases potentially harmful/illegal ingredients. All the sudden, the weekend warrior trying to live a healthy lifestyle is worse off than before they began a supplement regime!

Some Tips To Consider When Choosing a Quality Vitamin:

1.) Is the company GMP certified? The GMP certification (Good Manufacturing Practices) ensures that the facility who is producing the products has displayed a strong regulatory commitment and compliance to a set of international standards. In short, you are getting what is advertised.

2.) Choose a multivitamin that also has a full spectrum of minerals. These occur together in nature and should in your quality vitamin as well!

3.) Choose a company who has a good report.  Many companies have outstanding reputations for producing quality vitamins for many years and regularly publish research relating to their products.

4.) Avoid “proprietary blends.” You may have seen this listed on ingredients before. There is no way to know what is in the “proprietary blend” and often times the manufacturer does not even know! In fact, if we take a few samples of the same product, they may even contain different ingredients.

5.)  When considering a vitamin, whole food sources are always superior. Though often a bit more expensive, the vitamin should be made from actual foods. If you are someone who has been buying a synthetic type of vitamin (such as just about any name brand vitamin on your local markets shelf, with some exceptions), you are essentially flushing your money down the toilet as many of these vitamins have been shown to not even be digestible let alone absorbable.

If You follow this simply guide, you are already a head of the game compared to most!

Keep Moving.