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So many people take multivitamins. The main reason is they think they are swallowing nutrients that the body is lacking. Our very own Holly Haze says, “People think vitamins are pretty harmless but if you don’t do some research, it might be better to just leave them on the shelf.”
Every year sales of multivitamins hit over $3 billion. Every year, many are tested and proven harmful. Manufacturers and distributors do NOT need FDA approval to sell their dietary supplement products. That is alarming.
ConsumerLab continually tests multivitamin products and recently 13 failed due to contamination, lower ingredient levels than what the label promised, or inability to dissolve and absorb.
Let me give you some examples.
A very popular gummy bear multi contain high levels of lead ( yes LEAD) and less than half the folic acid claimed on the label. Three others passed but contained a higher amount of some nutrients than deemed safe for some children, such as vitamin A.
One prenatal vitamin did not dissolve and another was low on vitamin A.
A liquid multi vitamin marketed at seniors contained less than 20% of the manganese that was stated on the label and was very low in vitamin A and folic acid.
A popular multivitamin contained over 3 mcg of LEAD in a daily serving.
3 vitamin waters had less than 2/3 of the claimed vitamin A and another contained only 3/4 of the declared amount of folic acid.
Ideally, you really are better off getting your nutrition from food than from any multi-vitamin or isolated nutrient supplements. It is very hard to get the servings of fruits and vegetables that we are supposed to be getting every day (9-13 RAW servings). We need the raw servings before the phytonutrients get destroyed. Holly says, “There are many good whole food type supplements at health food stores. I’ve been taking the same one since 2004!” The reason why whole food type supplements are far superior is because of the way the body absorbs micronutrients. Isolated vitamins aren’t the best because the nutrients in whole fruits and vegetables work together in synergy. You can’t just pull one isolated nutrient out and expect it to work!
Take away tip….and this is important. Don’t confuse reputable with popular. Many name brands are among THE worst on the shelves. Try to find the published research on the product, or at the very least, evidence that the manufacturer conducts research with some regularity on some of their products. Again, it should be PUBLISHED research.
