Last Updated December 20th, 2021
Do you really need multivitamins?
Multivitamins (MVMs) are a combination of many different vitamins. They are normally present in foods and other natural sources. Vitamins are essential to our overall health. They perform many critical roles in our body, from producing energy to ensuring proper function of bodily systems. Multivitamin supplements are used to provide vitamins that are not consumed through the diet. They are also used to treat vitamin deficiencies, which is caused by illness, pregnancy, poor nutrition, digestive disorders, etc.
A typical diet followed these days bears little resemblance to what dieticians recommend. As time passes, deficiencies in one or more micronutrients may lead to serious health issues. A common reason people take multivitamin and mineral supplements is to maintain or improve health. Multivitamins fill up the small but critical nutritional gaps, which may help prevent medical conditions such as anemia, neural tube defects, and osteoporosis.
MVM supplements are generally well tolerated among people and do not appear to increase the risk of mortality, cerebrovascular disease, or heart failure. The potential benefits of MVM supplements outweigh any minor risk in the general population and particularly beneficial for older people. Following are the uses of different vitamins, which is essential for a human body:
- Vitamin A: It is necessary for skin, eye, and immune health.
- Vitamin C: Essential for immune system and collagen production.
- B vitamins: They are involved in energy metabolism and red blood cell production.
- Calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin K, and zinc: These components are vital for bone health.
- Vitamin E and selenium: Protect cells from damage.
Best multivitamins for men
There are numerous multivitamins designed specifically for men, which vary in form and function. The following multivitamins are some of the best options to consider as a supplement.
Rainbow Light Men’s One Multivitamin
This food-based vitamin provides added support for heart, reproductive and prostate health. One tablet contains 100% of the recommended daily intake for nearly all essential vitamins and minerals. This multivitamin also contains a blend of vegetable juices, digestive enzymes, and probiotics. Rainbow Light is free of gluten, dairy, peanuts, soy, eggs, fish, and shellfish, making it an excellent choice for men with food allergies.
Smarty Pants Men’s Complete
Smarty Pants multivitamin contains around 15 essential nutrients in six fruit-flavored chews. Smarty Pants chews contains the active forms of vitamin B12 (methylcobalamin) and folate (methylfolate) for better absorption. This multivitamin provides CoQ10 and omega-3 fatty acids for heart health and lycopene and zinc for prostate health. The Smarty Pants chews are non-GMO and free of common allergens, including milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, gluten, and wheat.
Megafood Men’s One Daily
Megafood Men’s One Daily is a whole-food-based vitamin and has all essential vitamins, plus added support for energy, stress, mood and prostate health. It is made from non-GMO whole fruits and vegetables and contains no animal products, making it suitable for vegetarians and vegans. This multivitamin can also be taken on an empty stomach.
Garden of Life Vitamin Code Men
This is a raw-food multivitamin and contains a blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants from 23 fruits and vegetables. Four capsules provide 100% of the recommended daily intake for nearly all the essential nutrients, except calcium and magnesium. It is formulated to promote energy and bolster heart, prostate, digestive, and eye health. This multivitamin contains live probiotics and enzymes for digestive support. This multivitamin is vegetarian and gluten and dairy-free, with no added fillers.
Nature’s Way Alive! Once Daily Men’s
Nature’s Way Alive multivitamin contains 22 vitamins and minerals, 12 digestive enzymes, 14 greens and 12 varieties of mushrooms. They also contain adaptogens namely ginseng and Eleuthero for energy, saw palmetto and lycopene for prostate health and Resveratrol and CoQ10 for heart health. It is free of gluten, wheat, and soy and has no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or sugar. It provides 400% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin D for immune support and bone health, selenium and lycopene for prostate health and antioxidants to protect against cell damage. Additionally, this multivitamin contains a fruit and vegetable blend, key amino acids and nutrients, which are helpful for brain health, such as inositol, choline and grape seed extract.
NOW ADAM Men’s Multiple Vitamin
Two capsules of NOW ADAM contains 100% of the recommended daily intake for nearly all the essential nutrients except calcium, magnesium, and copper. This multivitamin contains plant sterols and CoQ10 for heart health and saw palmetto and lycopene for prostate health. This is a soft gel formulation and is easier to swallow than a tablet or capsule. NOW ADAM is free of sugar, yeast, wheat, milk, egg, shellfish and preservatives, but it does contain soy.
Centrum One A Day Men’s Health Formula
A tablet of this multivitamin contains all essential nutrients for men, except iron. This multivitamin is formulated to support heart health, energy and metabolism and also provides 300 mcg of lycopene, which is known to support prostate health. This multivitamin is free of gluten, wheat, dairy, fish, shellfish, and artificial colors and sweeteners.
New Chapter Every Man’s One Daily
This is considered to be a whole-food multivitamin and contains the majority of the essential nutrients for men other than iron, magnesium, and calcium. Moreover, this multivitamin provides herbal and superfood supplements for heart health, immune support, stress, and energy, such as Maca, ginger, turmeric, and chamomile. This multivitamin includes beneficial probiotics and is fermented, which makes it easier to digest and allows it to be taken on an empty stomach. This MVM contains fermented soy and wheat but meets the FDA requirements for gluten-free foods. It is considered to be non-GMO verified, 100% vegetarian and certified organic.
Source Naturals Men’s Life Force
Three tablets of Source Naturals provide 100% of the recommended daily intake for most of the essential nutrients for men. It also provides small amounts of calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, chromium, and iodine. This multivitamin contains herbal support for men’s health concerns, including energy, prostate health, and reproductive health and is also known to contain soy.
Nature Made Multi For Him
This multivitamin is considered to be an iron-free and contains 22 essential vitamins and minerals specific to men’s health. It is a rich source of antioxidants, vitamin C, selenium, and beta-carotene. It is a basic multivitamin and mineral supplement with no added herbs or Superfoods. This multivitamin contains no artificial colors or flavors, no preservatives or yeast and is also gluten-free.
Vitafusion Men’s
Vitafusion is a gummy multivitamin and provides 15 essential nutrients in two berry-flavored chews. It is formulated to fulfill the specific health needs of men as well as to support energy metabolism and a healthy immune system. This is gluten and dairy-free. It contains no artificial flavors, sweeteners, corn syrup or synthetic dyes. Two Vitafusion gummies contain 4 grams of carbs and 3 grams of added sugar.
INNATE Response Formulas Men’s One Daily Iron-Free
This multivitamin is a food-based multivitamin and is designed to support energy levels, heart health, and immune response. It is prepared from real fruits and vegetables, which makes it easier for the body to digest and absorb, compared to synthetic vitamins. INNATE Response Formulas contain more than 20 key nutrients required for men, as well as a blend of Superfoods and herbs for antioxidant and immune support.
Naturelo Whole Food Multivitamin for Men
Four capsules of Naturelo Whole Food Multivitamin formulation contains extracts of 24 different fruits and vegetables and provide 100% of the recommended daily intake. Since this multivitamin is made from food, it has active forms of vitamin B12 and folate. Its vitamin C is derived from Acerola cherries and its iodine is derived from kelp. Naturelo Whole Food Multivitamin contains digestive enzymes, probiotics and herbal blends that are known to support brain, heart, prostate and eye health and antioxidants namely green tea, turmeric, ginger, resveratrol, and CoQ10. It is also considered to be non-GMO, gluten-free and does not contain soy, gluten, egg, dairy, corn, yeast, caffeine or fillers.
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men
Three tablets of Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men multivitamin provide 25 essential nutrients as well as 1 gram of amino acids. This multivitamin can provide 100% of the recommended daily intake for most vitamins and minerals, with the exception of calcium, magnesium, iron, and vitamin K. Optimum Nutrition Opti-Men multivitamin also contains superfood and herb blends for antioxidant support and reproductive health and is comprised of over 75 different ingredients. This multivitamin contains ingredients from oysters and a few people may be allergic to them.
Are there any side-effects?
Multivitamins are generally safe when consumed in moderation and are widely used to fill the gaps of essential nutrients. Multivitamins, when taken initially, can cause some side effects such as constipation, diarrhea, or upset stomach and are usually temporary and disappear as the body adjusts to this medication. A serious allergic reaction is rare. However, it is advised to seek immediate medical attention when people notice any of the following symptoms of a serious allergic reaction namely rash, itching, swelling, especially of the face, tongue, throat, severe dizziness, and trouble breathing.
Before taking any supplements, it is advised to consult the doctor for the optimum dosage. Special precautions should be taken by people who suffer from allergies and who are allergic to ingredients such as soy, peanut, and oysters since some of the products may contain these ingredients.
A thorough medical history should be considered before prescribing multivitamins especially for people who abuse alcohol, who have liver problems, stomach/intestinal problems. It is important to inform the medical practitioner about vitamin B12 deficiency since some of the multivitamins may contain folic acid. This may affect certain laboratory tests for vitamin B12 deficiency. Untreated vitamin B12 deficiency may result in serious nerve problems such as peripheral neuropathy.
Drug interactions
Drug interactions may change the way medications work and also increase the risk of serious side effects. It is recommended to not start, stop, or change the dosage of any medicine without the doctor’s approval. Certain multivitamins contain iron and should be avoided when taking antacids, bisphosphonates, levodopa, thyroid medications, or some antibiotics. If the brand of multivitamin contains folic acid, it is necessary to inform the doctor when people are on anti-seizure drugs. Multivitamins are also known to interfere with certain lab tests, possibly causing false test results and is important to let the pathologist know about the intake.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309636/
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/best-multivitamins-for-men#section3
- https://www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-18820-9038/multivitamin-oral/multivitamins-includes-prenatal-vitamins-oral/details
- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/healthy_aging/healthy_body/is-there-really-any-benefit-to-multivitamins
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