Most multivitamins you buy at your local store are not carefully
formulated to give you the optimal nutrition you need. Their
manufacturers use low-quality ingredients that are not potent or
bioavailable enough to be beneficial. They may meet the government’s
recommended daily intake guidelines (or not), but they don’t use the
nutrient forms that are most easily absorbed by your body.
For these reasons, the vast majority of multivitamins
available today are simply not good enough to spend your hard-earned
money on. You want the benefits of the best vitamin and mineral
supplement you can find, but you’re not sure how to find the best
multivitamins to take. We always recommend doing your own research
instead of trying to wade through the marketing noise of most vitamin
companies, and this Multivitamin Guide is a good start.
We’ve done exhaustive scientific analysis of over 100 vitamin
brands, including popular supplements such as Centrum, One-A-Day, GNC,
Shaklee, Nutrilite/Amway, Equate, Nature Made, NOW Foods, Melaleuca, and
Puritan’s Pride. We’ve also included many brands that are not so
recognizable, including Xtend-Life, Douglas Labs and
USANA.
Each of the reviewed vitamins was evaluated against four
criteria, including synergistic effect, composition, bioavailability,
and potency. Each supplement received a score ranging from 0 to 10 to
help you easily compare the effectiveness of the different brands and
determine the best multivitamin to take.
How effective are the vitamins you currently take?
The table below provides a summary of the Effectiveness
Scores of some of the more popular vitamin supplement brands available
on the market. For the best vitamins, look for a score of 8.0 or above,
which is considered excellent.
Most widely available supplements scored low in our review, while eight relatively unknown brands were the best scoring products
Effectiveness scores of the most popular multivitamin brands
|
| Xtend-Life | Total Balance | 9.6 | 1 |
| Douglas Laboratories | Ultra Preventive X | 9.4 | 2 |
| USANA Health Sciences | Essentials | 9.3 | 3 |
| Shaklee | Vitalizer Gold | 8.9 | 4 |
| Source Naturals | Life Force Multiple | 8.7 | 5 |
| FreeLife | Reverse! | 8.6 | 6 |
| Nutrilite (Amway, Quixtar) | Double X | 8.3 | 7 |
| Life Extension Foundation | Life Extension Mix | 8.2 | 8 |
| Vitamin Research Products | Extended Plus | 7.9 | 9 |
| Karuna | Maxxum 4 | 7.9 | 10 |
| Solgar | Omnium | 7.8 | 11 |
| Ultimate Nutrition | Super Complete | 7.7 | 12 |
| SportPharma | Multiguard | 7.6 | 13 |
| Dr. Julian Whitaker's | Forward Multi-Nutrient | 7.6 | 14 |
| Metagenics | Multigenics Intensive Care | 7.2 | 15 |
| Mountain Naturals of Vermont | Superior Care | 7.1 | 16 |
| amni | Added Protection III | 7.0 | 17 |
| Purity Products | Perfect Multi Focus Formula | 7.0 | 18 |
| GNC | GNC Mega Men Sport | 6.9 | 19 |
| Doctor's Nutrition | Mega Vites | 6.8 | 20 |
| DaVinci Laboratories | Spectra | 6.8 | 21 |
| Nutrition Dynamics | Optimum Health Essentials | 6.8 | 22 |
| TwinLab | Daily One Caps with Iron | 6.7 | 23 |
| FoodScience of Vermont | Superior Care | 6.6 | 24 |
| Puritan's Pride | High Potency Ultra Vita Time Release | 6.5 | 25 |
| Colgan Institute | Formula MCS | 6.4 | 26 |
| Rainbow Light | Advanced Nutritional System | 6.4 | 27 |
| NOW Foods | Multiple Vitamins - Liquid Gels | 6.4 | 28 |
| EAS | Multi-Blend | 6.3 | 29 |
| Mannatech | PhytoMatrix | 6.2 | 30 |
| Nature's Way | Alive! Whole Food Energizer | 6.1 | 31 |
| Jean Carper's | Stop Aging Now! | 6.0 | 32 |
| Natural Factors | MultiStart | 5.9 | 33 |
| Advanced Physician's Products | Maximum MultiVitamin/Mineral without Iron | 5.8 | 34 |
| EcoNugenics | Longevity Rhythms Gold | 5.8 | 35 |
| Solaray | Iron-Free Spectro Multi-Vita-Min | 5.8 | 36 |
| Nature's Blend | Vitaminix Ultimate | 5.6 | 37 |
| Pharmanex (Nu Skin) | LifePak Prime | 5.4 | 38 |
| Melaleuca | Vitality Pak | 5.3 | 39 |
| Herbalife | Formula 2 Multivitamin Complex | 5.3 | 40 |
| QCI Nutritionals | Ultra Vitality #1 | 5.2 | 41 |
| KAL | Multiple Energy | 5.2 | 42 |
| Essentials by Megafood | Essentials for Life | 5.2 | 43 |
| Optimox | Androvite | 5.1 | 44 |
| Swanson Ultra | Whole Food Multi without Iron | 5.0 | 45 |
| Jarrow | Multi E-Z Powder | 5.0 | 46 |
| Great Earth | TNT - Total Nutrition Tablet | 5.0 | 47 |
| Nikken | Kenzen Mega Daily 4 | 4.9 | 48 |
| Garry Null's | Supreme Health Formula | 4.8 | 49 |
| Thorne Research | Al's Formula | 4.8 | 50 |
| Atkins | Basic #3 | 4.7 | 51 |
| Vitamin World | Daily 3 With Antioxidant Factors | 4.7 | 52 |
| PhytoPharmica | Clinical Nutrients | 4.7 | 53 |
| Centrum | Silver | 4.6 | 54 |
| 4Life | BioVitamins Type III | 4.5 | 55 |
| Bronson Laboratories | Performance Edge | 4.5 | 56 |
| One A Day | Essential | 4.5 | 57 |
| Country Life | Maxine | 4.4 | 58 |
| Nature Made | Multi Complete | 4.3 | 59 |
| Quest | Maximum Once A Day | 4.2 | 60 |
| Nature's Bounty | Green Source Vegetarian Formula | 4.1 | 61 |
| Matol | Matolife | 4.1 | 62 |
| Greens+ | Multi+ | 3.9 | 63 |
| Michael's Naturopathic Programs | Pedia Vites | 3.8 | 64 |
| Natrol | My Favorite Multiple Original | 3.8 | 65 |
| Nu-life | Ultimate One | 3.7 | 66 |
| Jamieson | Super Vita-Vim | 3.7 | 67 |
| Walgreens | Ultra Choice Premium | 3.5 | 68 |
| Swiss Natural Sources | Super Adult Chewable | 3.4 | 69 |
| Ripple Creek | Mega-100 (Slow Release) | 3.3 | 70 |
| Thompson | Human Nature Green Multi | 3.0 | 71 |
| Safeway Select | Super Multivitamin | 2.9 | 72 |
| Perfect Choice | Multivitamin Specially Formulated | 2.9 | 73 |
| Watkins | Superfood Multiple | 2.8 | 74 |
| Vitamin Power | Power Source 100 | 2.8 | 75 |
| Pilgrim's | Silver Stars Multi | 2.7 | 76 |
| Absolute Nutrition | Dieters' Multi's | 2.7 | 77 |
| Nature's Sunshine | Super Supplemental Vitamins and Minerals | 2.7 | 78 |
| Freeda Vitamins | Ultra Freeda Iron-Free | 2.7 | 79 |
| ZonePerfect | Multi Vitamin & Mineral | 2.6 | 80 |
| Sisu | Only One | 2.5 | 81 |
| Schiff | Single Day | 2.4 | 82 |
| Nature's Plus | Uitra One | 2.0 | 83 |
| Kirkland Signature (Costco) | Daily Multi | 1.9 | 84 |
| Sunkist | Multi-Men's | 1.7 | 85 |
| Lifestyles | Lifecycles | 1.6 | 86 |
| Western Family | Multra Forte | 1.3 | 87 |
| Avon | VitAdvance Complete Multivitamin | 1.2 | 88 |
| Flora | MultiCaps | 1.2 | 89 |
| Reliv | Classic | 1.1 | 90 |
| Sundown | Complete Ultra | 0.9 | 91 |
| YourLife | Super Multi with Herbs | 0.9 | 92 |
| Rite Aid | Whole Source | 0.8 | 93 |
| 21st Century | One Daily Maximum | 0.7 | 94 |
| Spring Valley | Maximum One Dally | 0.6 | 95 |
| Life Brand | Optimum | 0.6 | 96 |
| Good Neighbor Pharmacy | Balanced Care Complete Multi | 0.6 | 97 |
| Kroger | Advanced Formula Complete | 0.6 | 98 |
| Equate | One Daily | 0.6 | 99 |
| Action Labs | Essential Nutrients | 0.5 | 100 |
| Geritol | Complete | 0.4 | 101 |
