Whole Food Multivitamins -- Myths and Facts

Whole food multivitamins (indeed many formulations of multivitamins) have some awesome benefits in health. They have had their positive effects on physical health, mental health, disease fighting and overall wellbeing proven in many scientific studies. Unfortunately, they have been around long enough for quite a few myths about their use to have arisen as well! Today we are looking at what whole food multivitamins do, and don't do, in your body, and other general common myths about them.

Myth 1: Quantities matter, price tags don't

In many foods, a higher price tag simply reflects a greater marketing budget for the product. In whole food multivitamins, products which come at "everyday low prices" generally use the cheapest forms of ingredients, which may or may not be bioavailable. Even if they can list the same number of milligrams of a vitamin, you mightn't be able to use it. You may be paying for something that won’t dissolve in your body, and if it does, the nutrients won't be processed and reach your cells. Look for quality brands of whole food multivitamins, with discounts from business practices like online stores and buying in bulk to save money instead.

Myth 2: Multivitamins are completely unnecessary, a balanced diet will take care of your needs

This can be true. However, in reality, try to think of the last time you got your five serves of vegetables and two serves of fruit in a day. When was the last time you ate fresh fruit or raw vegetables twice in a day? When have you got the greatest proportion of your calories from unsaturated fats, whole grains, lean meat? So yes, you CAN do without whole food multivitamins if you have a good diet. But do you have that?

Myth 3: If one whole food multivitamin is good, two is better

You should only take a single dose of one whole food multivitamin a day (even if that dose is split into morning and evening tablets, for instance). Mixing them may cause some nutrients to be locked out, and can also cause dangerous overdose related side effects.