Getting A Multivitamin That’s Worth Taking

Bette Dowdell

A health-promoting nutritional supplement program builds its foundation on a good multivitamin/mineral. But not just the first one you lay your hands on. I recommend TwinLab Daily One Without Iron. Why? That ‘s what I’m here to discuss. .     I pretty much don’t know how to be casual about my recommendations, so, after 30+ years spent studying the vitamins and minerals we all need, I spent days doing computer research on multi ingredients, then more days going to health food stores to read labels and talk to people. I had ingredient labels floating through my dreams. To arrive at my recommendation, I matched what we need against what each multi offered. I have no connection with the TwinLab company. I receive no compensation of any sort from them. I based my choice strictly on the merits. So, what are the merits?TwinLab enjoys a good reputation as a quality provider of nutritional supplements. I like that. This multi offers significant amounts of minerals. Many multis come up short in minerals, which I don’t understand. Studies show we all need more minerals. People dealing with fatigue and endocrine problems REALLY need more minerals. I want a multi that packs a punch. The minerals are  balanced, too. You can’t take minerals willy-nilly. For instance, zinc and copper have to hit a proper ratio to be a blessing and not a problem. And different forms of the minerals are preferable to others; this multi has good minerals. (More on that later. )And my recommended multi has a simple formulation, another plus. It covers the basics well, with no frills. I like that. Today’s multis make me tense with their large array of herbs. We have very little solid research on individual herbs and NO research on combinations of herbs. Bunches of herbs create an unnecessary risk. I’m not opposed to herbs. I take a few herbs, and I’m researching more, but throwing them in by the handful is nuts. Simple, straightforward supplements acknowledge our uniqueness. We’re all different, our needs are different and we react differently to everything we take in. By keeping things simple, we can spot and fix problems pretty quickly. I also like the idea of one pill getting the job done. Taking pills doesn’t make anybody’s top ten list of things to do, so having to take only one increases the chances it’ll happen. And one-pill adds flexibility. With a known problem of absorbing nutrients, I take two a day. And I’d build, say, a cancer patient up to three a day, for a while, to maximize the cancer-fighting components. So, you can ramp up without reaching overwhelming numbers. And the minerals stay in their proper ratios. Never take a multi with iron. Long story. Just don’t do it. This multi has molybdenum, which does a lot of what iron does–plus adds a few benefits of its own–but without the risk. As I said, this is the best multi I could find. But I can’t declare perfection. I wish it had a different form of chromium. However, it does have a goodly amount of chromium, which significantly compensates. I wish it included boron. Among its several talents, boron helps us absorb the minerals we get. Finally, I wish it didn’t include soy lecithin. Soy gets me crazed. But my research says lecithin doesn’t wreak the havoc of most soy. Plus, it shows up near the bottom of the ingredient list, so there’s not much. Also, it’s in all the other multis of value, too. Sigh. To sum up then, no other multi matches my positives, but all the other multis offer a bunch of negatives. Add the fact that TwinLab Daily One Without Iron is reasonably priced and widely available and you have it. If I ever find something even better, I’ll let you know.