There are many different products of multi-vitamins.

How do you know if you should take

one? I compared the different multivitamins on the market. In comparing multivitamin
and mineral supplements, I emphasized on women supplements. I picked three
supplement brands that cater towards women. It is surprising how different they are
from each other as well as how different they are from the Recommended Daily
Allowance.

Ingredients: Centrum for women

Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Potassium Chloride, Dibasic Calcium Phosphate,
Microcrystalline Cellulose, Ascorbic Acid (Vit. C), Ferrous Fumarate, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl
Acetate (Vit. E), Maltodextrin, Crospovidone. Contains < 2% of: Beta-Carotene, BHT (to
preserve freshness), Biotin, Blue 2 Lake, Calcium Pantothenate, Cholecalciferol (Vit. D3),
Chromium Picolinate, Copper Sulfate, Corn Starch, Cyanocobalamin (Vit. B12), Folic Acid,
Gelatin, Hydrogenated Palm Oil, Lecithin (soy), Magnesium Stearate, Manganese Sulfate,
Modified Corn Starch, Niacinamide, Nickelous Sulfate, Phytonadione (Vit. K), Polyethylene
Glycol, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vit. B6), Red 40
Lake, Riboflavin (Vit. B2), Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Ascorbate (to preserve freshness),
Sodium Metavanadate, Sodium Molybdate, Sodium Selenate, Stannous Chloride, Talc,
Thiamine Mononitrate (Vit. B1), Titanium Dioxide, Tocopherols (to preserve freshness),
Vitamin A Acetate, Yellow 6 Lake, Zinc Oxide. Contains: Soy.

As you can see there is a substantial difference between what the Nutrition and Diet
therapy by Stanfield and Hui present and Centrum for women presents.
Each vitamin or mineral even though they may have IU after it there are different
conversions for each one. No wonder people get confused between micro grams (ug),
micrograms (mcg), and International Unit (IU). Some of the vitamins are in line with the
book but the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K are over or near the DV%. Fat soluble
vitamins should be taken weekly since the body stores excess in fat for storage.
Supplements are really truly for people that dont eat a balanced diet. Another aspect I
found wrong was the DV% for vitamins B1, B2,B6, and B12 were based on the male Daily
Value and not women. This miss representation could cause confusion of the
requirements when women take a supplement specifically for women. You think the
manufacture would do a little research on the RDA and the different requirements
between the sexes.
INGREDIENTS: One A Day

Calcium Carbonate, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Ascorbic Acid, Ferrous Fumarate; Less

than 2% of: Beta-Carotene, Biotin, Cholecalciferol, Chromium Chloride, Croscarmellose
Sodium, Cupric Oxide, Cyanocobalamin, D-Calcium Pantothenate, dl-Alpha-Tocopheryl
Acetate, FD&C Blue #2 Lake, FD&C Yellow #5 (tartrazine) Lake, FD&C Yellow #6 Lake,
Folic Acid, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Magnesium Oxide, Manganese Sulfate,
Niacinamide, Phytonadione, Polyethylene Glycol, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine
Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Silicon Dioxide, Sodium Selenite, Stearic Acid, Thiamine
Mononitrate, Titanium Dioxide (color), Vitamin A Acetate, Zinc Oxide.
As the One A Day label suggests, it is lacking some essential vitamins. Vitamin K can
come from food but the main sources are green leafy vegetables and cauliflower. This
supplement is lacking especially when not everyone eats green leafy vegetables, only
the iceberg lettuce in a Big Mac.

Orchard Fruits Blend: Alive

Pomegranate (seed); Acai Extract (whole palm fruit); Juice Powders; Grape; Plum;
Cranberry; Blueberry; Strawberry; Blackberry; Bilberry; Cherry; Apricot; Papaya; Orange;
Pineapple. Garden Veggies Juice Powder Blend:
Parsley; Kale; Spinach; Wheat Grass; Brussels Sprout; Asparagus; Broccoli; Cauliflower;
Beet; Carrot; Cabbage; Garlic.
Cardiovascular Blend
Hawthorn (berry); Japanese Knotweed standardized to 50% resveratrol; Coenzyme Q10
(ubiquinone).
CranRx Cranberry fruit solids standardized to PACs (proanthocyanidins).
Hair, Skin & Nail Blend with MSM
Horsetail grass (stem, leaf); Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM); Tru-OPCs grape seed
extract standardized to 95% antioxidants (65% oligomeric procyanidins [OPCs], 30%
other active polyphenols).
Flax Lignan Blend with SDG Lignans
High lignan flax fiber (seed); Flax lignan extract (seed hulls) standardized to 20%
secoisolariciresinol diglycoside (SDG) lignans.
Green Food/Spirulina Blend
Spirulina (microalgae); Kelp/Bladderwrack (whole thallus); Alfalfa (leaf, stem); Barley
Grass (grass); Dandelion (leaf); Wheat Grass (grass); Melissa (leaf); Lemon Grass (grass);
Nettle (leaf); Blessed Thistle (stem, leaf, flower); Chlorella (broken-cell microalgae);
Plantain (leaf); Blue Green Algae (microalgae); Cilantro (leaf)

Organic Mushroom Defense Blend

Cordyceps; Reishi; Shiitake; Hiratake; Maitake; Yamabushitake; Himematsutake;
Kawaratake; Chaga; Zhu Ling; Agarikon; Mesima.
Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex (from lemon, orange, grapefruit, lime, tangerine) providing;
Hesperidin, Naringin, Narirutin, Eriocitrin, Flavonols and Flavones.
The last ingredients are choline, inositol, rutin, boron, and lutein (Natures Way Products,
2015).
Out of all the multivitamin supplements, Alive had the more balanced and conservative
fat soluble vitamins A, D, and E. The ingredients were more from foods then by synthetic
means. Since this product is closer to food the body may absorb more of the nutrients of
the supplement.

Vitamin water, are they good for you to drink? Lets take a closer look at how
marketing tricks you into thinking you are doing good for yourself..
Since most of the vitamins are water soluble you are basically excreting out what the
body doesnt use. Its good that it has a conservative Vitamin A content at 25% since
most people drink more than one a day. The frightening part is the sugar content of 32g,
it is almost as much as a soda. Vitamin waters may give you the thought that you are
doing something right for your body but in reality it is not.
With all the supplement products boasting about the benefits of taking extra vitamins to
supplement our diet, it should make consumers even more prudent before consuming
even more. There are supplements in drinks, fortified foods such as bread and milk, plus
daily supplements, people are getting to many vitamins, when you look at it from this
perspective. The consumer needs to do their research and also ask their doctor,
nutritionist, or dietician if they need supplementation in their diet before starting on a
multi-vitamin regimen or you are basically, hate to put it bluntly, pissing your money
away.