Multivitamins - cheap and expensive

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Answer to Differences in Multi-vitamins
by: Sherilyn

Hi Roger, Thanks for your question. I think it was a good one that many people wonder about.

Usually the difference between cheap multivitamins and more expensive ones is in the ingredients used, and the way they are processed.

Since the question was general, it is hard to provide specifics, but I will give you some specific examples in hopes that it will help you understand the principles.

One example would be the one you mentioned in your question, the form of iron used in the vitamin. Most multivitamins also include minerals. Frequently there are different forms of minerals available, but only certain forms can be used by the body.

The easier it is for the body to use something, the better, if it is a supplement. How easily your body uses something is called its bio-availability. If the right type of mineral isn't included, your body may not be able to use it at all. That might be true of certain iron chelates.

Another example would be if synthetic vitamins were used instead of natural vitamins. For example when buying Vitamin E, if it is d-alpha-tocopheryl, that is the natural form, but if it is dl-alpha-tocopheryl, that is a synthetic form of the vitamin that is not nearly as effective in your body.

So frequently, the cheaper multivitamin formulas use synthetic forms of the vitamins that don't work as well as the natural forms, or they use forms of minerals that aren't bio-available to your body.

In addition, the quantities of the nutrients included are so low that they won't be of much help to you, and at times cheap fillers are used instead of healthful nutrients.

On the other hand, a good multivitamin will be made up of high quality ingredients that are as bio-available as possible. They will include high enough quantities of the listed ingredients to truly support your health.

One final thing that should be realized is that how much nutritional support you can receive from a multivitamin formula will depend, in part, on how many pills you are willing to swallow. You can't expect to get as much nutritional support from a "one a day" multivitamin, as you can with a formula that gives you a daily dose of many pills. You can put more nutrients in more space.

For further discussion about the question of how to choose a good multivitamin, please read this page on anti-aging-vitamins which starts with a discussion of how a good multivitamin can help you stay young.

I hope this helps, if you have further related questions please comment in response, or if you have another question feel free to enter it on the questions page of the site.

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Submitted by: Sherilyn

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Hi Roger, Thanks for your question. I think it was a good one that many people wonder about. Usually the difference between cheap multivitamins and more expensive ones is in the ingredients used, and the way they are processed. Since the question was general, it is hard to provide specifics, but I will give you some specific examples in hopes that it will help you understand the principles. One example would be the one you mentioned in your question, the form of iron used in the vitamin. Most multivitamins also include minerals. Frequently there are different forms of minerals available, but only certain forms can be used by the body. The easier it is for the body to use something, the better, if it is a supplement. How easily your body uses something is called its bio-availability. If the right type of mineral isn't included, your body may not be able to use it at all. That might be true of certain iron chelates. Another example would be if synthetic vitamins were used instead of natural vitamins. For example when buying Vitamin E, if it is d-alpha-tocopheryl, that is the natural form, but if it is dl-alpha-tocopheryl, that is a synthetic form of the vitamin that is not nearly as effective in your body. So frequently, the cheaper multivitamin formulas use synthetic forms of the vitamins that don't work as well as the natural forms, or they use forms of minerals that aren't bio-available to your body. In addition, the quantities of the nutrients included are so low that they won't be of much help to you, and at times cheap fillers are used instead of healthful nutrients. On the other hand, a good multivitamin will be made up of high quality ingredients that are as bio-available as possible. They will include high enough quantities of the listed ingredients to truly support your health. One final thing that should be realized is that how much nutritional support you can receive from a multivitamin formula will depend, in part, on how many pills you are willing to swallow. You can't expect to get as much nutritional support from a "one a day" multivitamin, as you can with a formula that gives you a daily dose of many pills. You can put more nutrients in more space. For further discussion about the question of how to choose a good multivitamin, please read this page on <a href="http://www.effective-health-supplements.com/Anti-Aging-Vitamins.html">anti-aging-vitamins</a> which starts with a discussion of how a good multivitamin can help you stay young. I hope this helps, if you have further related questions please comment in response, or if you have another question feel free to enter it on the <a href="http://www.effective-health-supplements.com/Questions-about-Supplements.html">questions</a> page of the site.

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Multivitamins - cheap and expensive

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