What Should Men Look for in a Multivitamin?

Women are healthier than men.

This statement is based on mortality rates, life expectancy, and other irrefutable statistics.

Although this may be attributed to the differences in our physiological makeup, there are other factors that can contribute to this, such as the way men approach health in general.

And while a healthy and balanced diet should always be your first line of defense against common illnesses, it’s getting harder and harder these days to get the necessary nutrients from what we eat.

That’s why many doctors prescribe multivitamins and other supplements to fill in the nutrition gaps.

The question now is, which multivitamin should you take?

What Men Should Look for in a Multivitamin

First, when we use the term multivitamin, what we really mean is a multivitamin, multimineral supplement.

These micronutrients are considered essential, as your body needs them to survive, and cannot make them. We must obtain them from the diet (including supplements).

The only exception is vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin,” which in theory you could get solely from sun exposure.

But many of us spend too much time indoors, or too far north, or otherwise don’t expose enough skin to strong sunlight in the absence of sunblock. So even for vitamin D, we really need to ingest it.

As with all supplements sold in the U.S., multivitamins are a “let the buyer beware” offering. There is no prior approval process with the FDA or any other regulatory agency when a company decides to market a multivitamin. They might know how to do it right, and they might not.

Competing on price, they might cut corners, in terms of ingredient quality or the testing of ingredients and finished product. One step a consumer can take is to only buy supplements from a company that has been in business for a long time while maintaining a good reputation.

If you’re shopping for a multivitamin, here are some of the qualities you should consider in choosing one:

1. Contains All the Major Essential Vitamins and Minerals

The essential vitamins and minerals that should be included in a multivitamin are: vitamins A, C, D, E, and K, the B vitamins, calcium, potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, selenium, and zinc.

Shaklee’s Vita-Lea Men contains all of these in the right amounts, along with manganese, copper, chromium, iodine, and molybdenum.

It also has 100% of the Daily Value of biotin or B7, which is an expensive nutrient. Biotin helps metabolize fats, proteins (amino acids), and carbohydrates.

The one essential micronutrient Vita-Lea Men doesn’t have is iron. Since men don’t go through menstruation or pregnancy, they can easily get the iron they need from the food they eat. 

Unless testing determines that a man has iron deficiency anemia, supplemental iron intake is undesirable; it actually poses health risks, such as increased risk of eye disease.

2. Uses the Natural Form of Vitamin E

There are two forms of vitamin E: natural (d-alpha-tocopherol), typically derived from vegetable oils and synthetic (dl-alpha-tocopherol), typically derived from petroleum products.

The bioavailability is approximately 2:1 for natural-source vitamin E over synthetic vitamin E.

Studies also show that there is a real danger of negative health consequences when products contain the synthetic petrochemically-derived form of dl-alpha tocopherol.

Vita-Lea Men uses d-alpha-tocopherol mixed with tocopherols, which increases antioxidant activity.

3. Has the Best Form of Vitamin D

Vitamin D3 is the naturally occurring animal form of Vitamin D. Starting from a waxy substance isolated from wool when sheep are sheared, vitamin D3 is made by the same process your skin uses—exposure to light. D2, on the other hand, is produced by fungi. 

While D2 is effective and has been used by Shaklee in a vegan product, the clinical evidence is strongest for D3. 

Vita-Lea Men contains 200% of the Daily Value of vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol), the most active form of vitamin D.

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Other factors that make Vita-Lea Men so special:

– Has a patented micro-coating delivery system that improves absorption of folic acid
– Designed to dissolve rapidly in the stomach to help optimize the absorption of all the nutrients
– Has higher levels of calcium and magnesium than many leading multivitamins. That higher potency is why Vita-Lea is a two tablet dose, when almost all multis are a one tablet dose.
– Has 10x more biotin than the competition
– Offers twice the Daily Value of vitamins C, D, and E
– Also includes beta-carotene for extra antioxidant protection and to avoid too high levels of the retinol form
– Is supported by 7 clinical studies
– Is formulated without artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners, or preservatives

“The best multi out there! I have tried many multivitamins and most of them are horse pills I cannot even swallow! Also the others taste terrible going down! This is hands-down the best multivitamin out there and I have been taking it for 25+ years!”

– D. Jones

“I like the fact that Shaklee vitamins have no fillers and have all-natural ingredients. Over the years my wife and I have had excellent health. I attribute a significant part of this to the vitamins we have taken, especially the Vita-Lea multivitamin (which has a full range of the basic daily value one needs of various vitamins and minerals), as well as eating natural foods as much as possible and getting regular exercise.”

– D. Erlandson

Ingredients You Should Avoid in a Multivitamin:

1. Sweeteners or artificial flavors
2. Preservatives
3. Food coloring

When you consume something that’s not found in nature, the body becomes combative and either makes it ineffective or produces adverse reactions to the substance.

Vita-Lea Men has none of these cumulatively harmful ingredients. The final product, not just the raw materials, are scientifically tested and approved.

Thanks for reading,

Nicole & Bob