Last year, a private client of mine gave me the opportunity to look more closely at the best multivitamins.
She wanted to know if she should be taking a multivitamin, and if she should be giving one to her children. Of course, she also wanted to know which brands make the best multivitamins.
I shared my opinion with the Gimme readership back then, and now am pleased to be able to update you guys. What follows is even more research on multivitamins, and a brand new recommendation for the best multivitamin.
RELATED: Best Prenatal Vitamins
Should You Take a Multivitamin?
Here’s the bottom line on multivitamins, in my opinion:
For adults, there is no harm in taking a multivitamin, although possibly not a huge benefit, either. I wouldn’t, however, recommend giving a multivitamin to young children. You’ll read more about why below.
I do recommend that both children and adults take a vitamin D supplement. You should also consider a fish oil supplement if you or your children don’t eat fish.
If you eat several servings of fish a week, you probably don’t need a fish oil supplement.
The Case for (and Against) Multivitamins
Science clearly shows that vitamins and minerals are important to overall health. Studies have also shown, repeatedly, that the best way to get nutrients is from our food.
There is some evidence to suggest that the quality of modern soil and agricultural practices are insufficient to produce food as rich in nutrients as the stuff that our ancient ancestors enjoyed. This makes sense.
Still, most researchers argue that isolating vitamins into pill form vastly reduces or even eliminates the benefits.
The theory that multivitamins and supplements can “fill gaps” in our dietary intake of vitamins and minerals also makes sense. And yet repeated studies have been unable to find any actual health benefits when compared to placebo or non-use.
Despite this lack of clear benefit, many doctors recommend the use of a daily multivitamin. (Of course, if said physician is trying to sell you a bottle of supplements, take her recommendation with a grain of salt.)
The Best Way to Get Your Vitamins
The best way to hit all nutritional checkpoints is by eating a diverse range of vibrantly-colored fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
This is hard to accomplish for a picky child, of course. Many nutrients are lost during the processing of the food most Americans eat. This is just one more reason we should all stick to whole foods whenever possible!
Still, I haven’t come across evidence that taking vitamins has any major downsides for adults, in particular women. There are just two exceptions that I don’t think apply to most of my readers:
- Smokers who take beta carotene have increased risks of lung cancer.
- Folic acid may increase prostate cancer risk.
You can take toxic doses of vitamins—in particular preformed vitamin A, E, and K. Look for supplements with no more than 100% of your daily value for these.
Excessive doses of vitamin C have also been shown to increase the risk of kidney stones. Most of us get plenty of vitamin C in our diets, so it’s not one that you need much of in a supplement.
What are the Best Multivitamins for Adults?
If you are trying to get nutrients from a pill, it makes sense to get a food-based pill. The less we try to break down vitamins/minerals to the sum of their parts, the more bio-available all the nutrients will be.
I think the best multivitamin for women is by Ritual Essential for Women.
Here’s why:
- Ritual’s multivitamin contains half of the number of ingredients of most multivitamins, so you’re not getting unnecessary or excessive amounts of nutrients. For instance, this multi doesn’t include calcium, because most women get plenty from their diets and it can impede the absorption of iron.
- This multi contains a vegan form of vitamin D3, which is much more easily absorbed than D2.
- Ritual uses folate rather than synthetic folic acid.
- This brand is the most transparent of those we reviewed, and has the best third-party testing.
- Ritual’s multivitamin has an enteric coating to improve absorption of nutrients.
- It contains omega-3 oil (a vegan form) in the same pill with the other nutrients.
Should Kids Take a Multivitamin?
Considering how many kids take multivitamins, I was surprised to uncover almost no research on the benefits and risks of this daily habit.
Also, multivitamin brands are not all the same. Each contains a different cocktail of vitamins, and the quantities of each vitamin varies by brand.
When studies are done on “multivitamins,” they don’t seem to take these differences into consideration. Therefore, we really don’t know which combinations of vitamins and minerals carry which benefits or potential risks.
Here’s what studies have shown, though:
- An association between multivitamins before the age of 6 months and increased risk of asthma among black children.
- The same study showed increased levels of food allergies among formula-fed infants who were given multivitamins before the age of 6 months, and increased levels of food allergies amongst 3-year-olds exposed to multivitamins (whether they had been breast- or formula-fed).
- Another recent study found that the nutrients most lacking from the diets of children ages 2 to 8–-namely, calcium and vitamin D–-remained lacking despite multivitamin use. Researchers attribute this to the fact that children’s multis are heavy in the “wrong” nutrients–B vitamins and vitamin C, for instance, both of which kids get from food. Moreover, multivitamin use led to excessive levels of certain nutrients, like iron, zinc, and copper in this study. The effects of this are unknown.
Overall, I think the potential for a downside outweighs the potential benefit of multivitamins for kids under about the age of about 7.
After that, a high-quality multivitamin might be beneficial and probably isn’t harmful. Dr. Mercola’s children’s multivitamin seems to be a good choice.
Two Pills You & Your Kids Probably Should Be Taking
My research left me lukewarm about multivitamins, but I did come away convinced that we all should be taking a couple of supplements:
- Vitamin D. Higher levels of vitamin D are protective against a variety of diseases. Vitamin D also enables calcium absorption, making it critical for growing children.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to get sufficient vitamin D from diet alone (which is why I recommend time outside without sunscreen). Supplementing 400 IU a day for babies and children and 4,000 for adults makes sense, especially because vitamin D carries a low risk for toxicity.
Note that you want to look for D3 and not D2. D2 is not the kind that occurs naturally from sun exposure and can even be toxic at high doses.
I like Carlson as a brand for vitamin D supplements for babies, and this Nordic Naturals one for adults. As for kids, mine love these ones by Rainbow Light, and we do one of those instead of dessert many nights.
Carlson is my favorite brand of vitamin D drops for babies.
- Omega-3s. These fatty acids are crucial for good brain and heart function, and are found in fatty fish like salmon and sardines, breastmilk, and some nuts and seeds.
If you and your kids eat fish regularly (even relatively small amounts), you are probably covered. If not, you may want to consider a DHA supplement.
Nordic Naturals Baby’s DHA is a good one, as are the Nordic Naturals supplements for adults. Note that the orange-flavored “Fishies” by Nordic Naturals have low levels of omega-3s and are basically candy.
The only other supplement you might consider is one with B12 if you are a vegan.
What supplements and vitamins do you like? Please share in our comments.
Stay sane,
P.S. If you’re pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant, you’ll want to read our guide to the Best Prenatal Vitamins.
Alexandria Stoddard says
Hi Maia,
I wondered if you would mind expanding this discussion to include Prenatal Vitamins.
My top three are:
New Chapter Perfect Prenatal
Garden of Life mykind Prenatal Multi
Initially I didn’t like the Rainbow Light Prenatal because the Vitamin A is partially from Retinyl Palmate. Though they do have an Organic version that sources the Vitamin A solely from Beta-carotene.
Of the three of these, the Rainbow Light Organic has greatly reduced the amount of Vitamin A to 31% so as to prevent accidental overdose in combination with a healthy diet. So my question is are the New Chapter and Garden of Life versions dangerous with the Vitamin A up at 100%?
Alexandria Stoddard says
In your research of multi vitamins and prenatal vitamins, I came upon this site which has some great data available.
https://labdoor.com/rankings/prenatal-vitamins
Jackie says
labdoor makemoney of the products they recommend. Don’t really trust their reports.
Maia James says
Hi Alexandria-yes, we are going to do a thorough prenatal vitamin review in a future blog post….I don’t think that the two brands you recommended with high levels of vitamin A are necessarily dangerous…but the Rainbow Light organic one sounds like a better bet! Thanks for all the research! I find labdoor to be a useful site as well.
Sarah says
I second this request! And have also used those 2 brands. Thanks!
Sarah says
Sorry I’m on a phone and meant to put this reply up above. Didn’t see your response Maia. Looking forward to your post! 🙂
Penelope says
Be careful though. I know Rainbow Light is high in lead. My latest best find is SmartyPants. What do you think of those?
Maia James says
Hi Penelope-
The studies I saw showed very high purity for Rainbow Light vitamins–can I ask where you saw the info about lead? You can check out SmartyPants and others on labdoor.com
ally says
Whole food based supplements are generally higher in lead. The fda did a study a few years ago that showed this. Rainbow light was one of the highest.
Maia James says
I saw that study, Ally, but that was from 2008, and my understanding is that the last tests showed high purity for the Rainbow Light multi (although I still need to research the prenatals).
Sarah says
You recommend the Nordic Naturals brand for babies and adults, but are there any specific ones you recommend for toddlers 2+ and 4+?
Appreciate all the research.
Maia James says
Hi Sarah-I would probably just do the Nordic Naturals baby ones even for toddlers/kids, but run it by your doctor!
Holly says
Hi~Vitamins and supplements are so tricky. Glancing at the Women’s One, it looks like it contains a couple of synthetic sources of vitamins. Take a look at let me know what you think!
ally says
Agreed! Look for vitamins with the bioavailable and methylated forms of the b vitamins, especially folic acid. Folic acid is synthetic, and should be avoided by everyone, esp those with the mthfr mutation.
Maia James says
Thanks so much, Ally, for your wealth of knowledge!
Ozan Carmichael says
Very True. Check for folate instead of folic acid. Folate is the natural form of folic acid.
Kim says
I use Nordic Naturals and Carlson. Vitamin D is so important. You have to be careful about fish oil there is a lot of info out there saying it is not pure. We have tried a few kinds of multi vitamins and right now we like Dr Mercola’s. We also use his krill oil instead of the other fish oil. It comes from a trusted source. We also use his probiotic for kids. My other kids won’t take it so I buy the garden of life powder probiotic for them. I take Garden of Life women’s multi. It’s a good option for women’s multi vitamin.
Kristen says
I know you said you didn’t think kids should take vitamins…I’m so torn on this issue. Our pediatrician was ready to put my 6 month old (at the time) on one. I asked what was in it, and the first things out of the nurse’s mouth were iron and fluoride. The fluoride sent me running for the hills! Ugh…but I am a worrier, so I wonder if he shouldn’t be on something for the iron? Then the next issue is finding one…I really want to avoid folic acid. I personally was found to be having major issues after someone took me off my folic acid containing vitamin. I was having days where I felt drugged. The problem is I can’t find a vitamin powder for kids that uses folate AND has iron. Seeking Health as one minus the iron. I’ve also been interested in Honest Company’s infant toddler powder, but of course then we’ve got the folic acid. Any thoughts on iron importance in supplementation of infants (he is now 11 months old). I’m not counting food as a good source of nutrients yet, because he still plays with his food more than he eats it. Sorry for the rambling comment…I have a lot of thoughts on the subject, but no real idea which is the best choice…And not doctor I trust enough to help. I’d also love to know what you think of the Honest Company Adult vitamins. It looks like they are making a switch over from folic acid to folate. p.s…thank you for all you do!
Maia James says
Hi Kristen-
I definitely don’t see any reason for a child to be on iron unless they are truly anemic–is that the case with your baby? Of course I am not a doctor so I encourage you to consult with yours. From what I’ve seen so far, Honest Company adult vitamins look fine.
Jami Josephson Chace says
Maia… I agree on some points you mentioned here.. But please do look into Shaklee supplements… They’re the only company I know whom has 125 published peered reviewed papers, does 250 more tests (gov does 80) than any company for purity, and has PROOF that vitamins (multi’s) can improve ones health. I get that there’s a lot of fraud out there… But as I have requested before, I wish you would really look into Shaklee… I think you will be pleasantly surprised, and I bet you mom knows them too 🙂
Suzanne Weaver-Goss says
Hi Jami,
Thanks for your comment!
I do know about Shaklee supplements. They have been around for a long time! I am sure that their products are fine, if you want to take supplements. I prefer to purchase supplements in the retail market, although I am not a huge supplement fan. When we do more extensive research on supplements and vitamins, we will include Shaklee. Suzanne
John says
I think if the diet is full of healthy food, a vitamin seems redundant. and useless esp. for an 11 month old child. Have confidence that your instincts will serve you well. If it doesn’t make sense, run. Most Doctors will not advocate vitamins and if they do they are the cheap toxic ones. Additionally a child can get too much iron, folate, etc….I’m a fan of vitamin c (non gmo) d3 and fish oil for older children. But of course, fish oil can be poor quality so you want to do your research. I think teenagers should have a stress vitamin b complex (Food based) and d3 and fish oil. For adults, I personally take Carlson’s super D3 killing 2 birds w/one stone (pardon expression). Try not stressing. Believe all is well. 🙂
lm1212 says
Anything on honest company vitamins?(multivitamins, Dha/ fish oil, lactation plus, baby/ toddler multi powder, prenatals)
Thanks!
Maia James says
We haven’t gotten enough info on them to make a call one way or another. When we do an updated post on vitamins, we will be sure to include them!
Julie says
Hi Maia,
I was wondering what your thoughts are on Zarbee’s Vitamins and how they compare to your recommendations? There is a Honey Omega 3 Supplement as well as a toddler Multivitamin.
Maia James says
I haven’t researched this brand enough to give a recommendation. I’ll look into it when we post again about vitamins!
Nikki Boyd says
Maia,
I appreciate your advice and come here frequently for tips and advice. I recently purchased the Rainbowlight womens multivitamin (we already used the brand for probiotics), but I cannot swallow the vitamin. Even breaking it in two, or more, I’m finding to be a challenge. Is there a chewable equivalent or smaller one that you know of and would feel confident recommending? Thank you for any advice you can provide!
Nikki
Josh says
Hello,
I feel like a blog like this should be recommending real whole food supplements, instead of ones made from all kinds of chemicals, that if you saw them in a body care product you would tell people not to use it. Unfortunately none of the vitamins mentioned in this article or in the comments are actually true whole food supplements. A whole food supplement is one that is made entirely of food concentrates, no synthetic or isolated vitamins are added at any time during the process. The vitamin in c in most multivitamins for example is made using corn syrup, acetone, and sulfuric acid, for example.
Unfortunately many companies claim to be whole food supplements, but are simply synthetic and isolated vitamins fed to yeast or mixed with a small amount food. There are some great companies out producing true whole food supplements like nutriplex formulas and a few others.
As a consultant who has been in the industry for over 10 years, I would be happy to speak with you about whats really in supplements (hint, its scarier than whats in body care products) and what they are really made from as opposed to what the supplement companies and stores tell you is in them.
John Goss says
Hi Josh,
It seems that you have a lot of experience. Feel free to contact me directly at john@gimmethegoodstuff.org
Best,
John
Nikki Boyd says
Since (as above) I couldn’t swallow the Rainbow Light ones, I ended up getting Garden of Life Raw One for women. I can actually swallow it and it seems like it’s a good one.
Niti says
Hi Maia,
Thank you for the post. What are your thoughts regarding giving probiotics to toddlers? I give those to my 18 mo old when we travel, or when she was on antibiotics and if/when she has weaker digestion than normal and could use some help with gut health.
Thanks!
Maia James says
We recently blogged about probiotics:) https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/baby-biotics-what-are-the-best-probiotic-supplements-for-babies-kids/
Grace says
Do you worry about the vitamin A level in the Nordic Naturals Baby DHA? I had trouble finding any without, though. Honest makes a baby DHA without Vitamin D, but I’m kind of on the outs with them now with all the recent controversy!
Maia James says
Yes, I know, a lot of people have sort of had it with Honest, although for the most part I do think it’s still a good brand. I think the Nordic Naturals is the best option for baby DHA, high vitamin A and all…
Yolanda says
Hi! I love your thoughtful reviews!
Have you read much about how part of the population really can’t tolerate folic acid? I was surprised that you recommended a multi with folic acid (rainbow) rather than folate. The second multi’s description of folate seems suspicious to me as well…
This might be of special interest when you look at prenatal vitamins – as it’s thought that folic acid, for those who can’t tolerate it, could cause miscarriages (among other unpleasant things).
Thanks and take care!
Rachel B says
I’m a big fan of the Mega Food brand. I am taking their Vitamin D and Prenatal Vitamin and my husband takes their Men’s Multi. As for DHA, I take OmegaZen. It’s algae based so not from fish. I order it on Raw Power now because the Amazon distributor stopped supplying it regularly. Highly recommend OmegaZen. I haven’t looked yet but would love to hear more about some other supplements used in green shakes i.e. spirulina etc.
Linda says
Hi thank you for you site! I love it.
While looking at your review for children’s vitamins I noticed that there was a lack of information regarding vitamin B complex. Vitamin B complex are very important for mental development from everything that I have learned from being in the healthcare industry and was also something our pediatrician discussed with us as something that is commonly lacking in children’s diet. Vitamin D and calcium the often receive in milk and fortified juices so our pediatrician feels there should be more focused and vitamin B. Do you have any information regarding this, I would love to hear your research and opinion on this. Thanks again for the great site. Take care
MICKEY says
Hi Maia,
What about Nordic Naturals Baby DHA with D3? You’d recommended Nordic Naturals Baby DHA but also recommended a different brand Carlson Lab for Baby Vitamin D. Just wondering if there was something you’d found in the Nordic Naturals Baby DHA with D3 that you didn’t like?
Maia James says
Nope, nothing bad in that brand;)
Brittany says
Reading through the comments it looks like you were looking to do another post about vitamins- have you> I’m interested in learning about what prenatal vitamins are the best out there
THanks! love your site!
Leesa says
Hi Maia,
Thanks so much for this post and sharing your research with us. I have learned so much and have made much more informed decisions about the products I purchase for my kids and myself.
Quick question about the kids Vitamin D – why did you choose the Carlson’s brand? What are your thoughts on Baby Ddrops? What about VitaDaily D3 drops?
Also, if I am taking an Omega 3 supplement and I’m still nursing my 15 month old, does he get enough through breast milk? Would you still supplement?
Natalie says
I would love an updated supplement post! My husband and I and our four kids do take some supplements, and it’s changed over the years. My toddler does use the Honest baby/toddler multi vitamin powder, and although the recommendation is for two packs, he’s only ever taken just one a day. The rest of our family currently takes garden of life. I’m taking the women’s vegetarian, my husband takes the men’s vegetarian, my teenager takes the family vegetarian, my 6 & 10 yr olds take the children’s chewables. My 6 year old, 3 year old and myself all take Carlson’s cod liver oil as well.
Jacqui says
Hi Maia,
We don’t use a multivitamin, but in our daily routine we use LifeChoice brand for our probiotics, cal/mag, and B complex (I am a huge fan of the quality of their products.) We also use St. Francis vitamin D & Nutrasea fish oil daily.
John says
Green tea extract, natural flavors and sunflower oil in their fish oil? I would be cautious taking these products. The bottles are pretty, but natural flavors is usually code for any number of questionable hidden ingredients. And green tea extract has a lot of bad publicity for its potential link to liver issues. But don’t take my word for it, research further. The B vitamins (lifechoice) have maltodextrin, silicon dioxide, sucrose and (Spirulina) source (?) I personally would not take this product. It has too many “other ingredients.” that I don’t think should be in a quality vitamin. MegaFood B complex is what I take and is very good.
Aria says
Would you recommend rainbow light prenatal one or garden of life mykind Organics prenatal once daily? Thank you!
Maia James says
Our prenatal guide will be out by the end of the month and will answer this:).
Tina says
Any thoughts on Nature’s Plus vitamins? I love that they are whole-food supplements. I am in the process of transferring my whole family over to a healthier medicine cabinet so I am specifically looking at the animal parade multi, calcium, vit. D as well as the garden life prenatal and the mens multi.
Bethany says
What Vitamin D do you recommend for toddler’s 2-4?
Kayla says
I’m not really a fan of multivitamins either. But when my 6 year old started getting bad leg cramps, I tried to do all the recommended things to help keep them at bay such as upping magnesium, potassium and calcium in his diet, making sure he was getting enough water, ect…), but he was still getting them very often. So I decided to try giving him a whole food vitamin every other day and his cramps have almost completely stopped. I really don’t like giving vitamins but it really does seem to help him. I give him naturello kids multivitamins, do you think the ingredients look ok? I chose it because it came from whole foods and it had higher magnesium.
Maia James says
Yes I like Naturello!
Jiene says
I’ve given my daughter, now 3.5 Rainbow light kids multi, mostly because I thought the probiotic in it was important. Now that I see it’s unnecessary to give her a multi, I’d love to hear what you think about the importance of a probiotic for children (& adults). And if you think helpful, then I’d love a brand suggestion. She does eat a small amount of a relatively healthy organic, whole milk, Greek yogurt daily too. Thank you.
Maia James says
Hey! We wrote about probiotics here: https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/baby-biotics-what-are-the-best-probiotic-supplements-for-babies-kids/
Kay says
Hello Maia,
Do you also recommend “Essential for Women” as a multivitamin, for those of us who are not pregnant, (https://ritual.com/products/essential-for-women-multivitamin) based on your prenatal guide: https://gimmethegoodstuff.org/safe-product-guides/organic-prenatal-vitamins/?
Let us know and thank you for all your good work. It’s appreciated.
Carlin says
My doctor always recommends thorne supplements. In fact, every naturopathic doctor that I’ve ever been to recommends their brand of supplements. I do give my children a half dose of a vitamin (pure encapsulations), because I want them to get the methylcobalamin and methyl folate that they might not be getting enough of from food. I used to be a big believer that my kids were getting everything from food, but nowadays there is no guarantee of that because of quality issues. I can’t speak to lab stats, but overall my daughter says she notices a difference in her energy. We also do calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D.
Kerry says
What are your thoughts on Juice Plus products? I give my kids the gummies and I take them in pill form.
Kim Lavelle says
Two questions:
1) You mention everyone needing a Vitamin D supplement. I live in California and make it a point of being outside (without sunscreen) for at least 5 minutes daily with my 11 month old. On rainy days (where we won’t be standing outside!) I do take a large quantity of Vitamin D so that he’s getting it through the breast milk. Do you think everyone needs a Vitamin D supplement daily if they are in a sunny environment? I was told I was okay to not take anything if we were in the sun daily.
2) I can not eat dairy and while I know there are dark leafy greens that provide calcium, I’m concerned that I don’t get a sufficient amount of these in my diet. While working to increase my consumption of them, I also thought it safest to ingest calcium supplementation either in a multi or separately. Would you recommend calcium in this instance?
Alison Lakoff says
Hi,
Thanks for all your research on this and everything else! I give my children this in juice b/c of the following from his site: “Fish and fish oil are unfavorable sources of DHA and EPA because most fatty fish contain harmful pollutants. Dr. Fuhrman’s DHA+EPA Purity is derived from lab-grown algae and contains no contaminants.”
Please let me know if you see anything wrong with this brand. Thanks!
https://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/products/52/dhaepa-purity
Rachel Thompson says
I’m really surprised you don’t recommend a probiotic? That’s top on my list. In fact my pediatrician recommends Reuteri probiotic – 1/4 tsp 2x a day which I put in her milk. For myself, I’m a huge fan of Klaire Labs
Maia James says
yes, love Klaire labs!
🙂