My buddies and colleagues have asked me this question hundreds of times over the past 30 years, “What vitamins should I take?” Or, better, “What is the best multivitamin for men?” This usually occurs a week or two before their annual physical. You’d think they’d want to commit a little more time than two weeks to optimize their health. Truth be told, we’re all guilty of this from time to time. My answer is always simple and effective, but it’s not a two-week fix. Think of it as a daily 30 second commitment to the most important aspect of enjoyable living, your health.
There’s a reason trees grow taller and stronger in soil that is rich in essential vitamins and minerals. Plant trees in soil depleted of these essential nutrients and you’ll produce trees that are weak and prone to disease. Want to be a weak tree?
Like trees, all men have essential nutrient needs to be met. Young or old, active, or not, sometimes we don’t always get everything we need from our diet alone. Whether it’s a busy life, food allergies, or that you just don’t like fruits or veggies, a supplement can help cover those nutrient gaps. Candidly, the multivitamin is the foundation of a good vitamin plan. However, I always recommend a couple of additional supplements that, if included in one multivitamin, would be too big to swallow. At the same time, I try to make it an easy vitamin plan, one that doesn’t include too many supplements, making the plan overwhelming, causing someone to quit. Below are my recommendations for what the best multivitamin should contain and a few other recommendations to ensure the unique nutrient needs of men are met.
What to Look For in a Men’s Multivitamin
Vitamin A
An important vitamin for our skin, eyes, and immune system. Recommended daily dose 1,000 - 3,000mcg
B Complex
B vitamins support many important functions needed for optimal health. A good multivitamin should always include a range of eight B vitamins. These vitamins work synergistically with each other, therefore a full spectrum of B vitamins, rather than high doses of individual B vitamins work much better for most men. However, additional B vitamins can be added for specific needs. Below are the individual B vitamins with benefits typically found in a “B complex” and a range of essential daily recommendations.
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B1 – Thiamine: 14mg to 18mg
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B2 – Riboflavin: 14mg to 18mg
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B3 – Niacin: 14mg to 18mg
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B5 – Pantothenic Acid: 14mg to 18mg
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B6 – Pyridoxine: 14mg to 18mg
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B7 – Biotin: 1400mcg to 180mcg
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B9 - Folate: 200mcg to 250mcg
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B12 – Cobalamin: 1400mcg to 1800mcg
Vitamin C
Pivotal to immune health and collagen production for our skin and joints. In addition to what you get in a multivitamin, it is recommended to supplement your daily dose with 500 to 1000mg to maximize the benefits of vitamin C.
Vitamin D
Recently found to have a positive impact on our immune systems, as well as in bone health. In addition to what you get in a multivitamin, recent clinical research suggests increasing your daily regimen between 2,000 to 5,000iu.
And last (but not least), Minerals
Essential minerals are extremely important to our health, these minerals include calcium, chromium, copper, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium and zinc. Because that’s a lot to pack into a single tablet, the strength levels of the minerals are kept at minimum therapeutic levels. That’s why it’s always a good bet to take additional key minerals, such as calcium, magnesium and zinc that are found to be more effective at higher doses.
Multivitamins are foundational for any supplement program, but they can’t cover all our essential needs. Best to take a few additional pills to get the appropriate preventative potency of the supplements I mentioned above, vitamin C and D. To achieve what I believe is an optimized foundational plan add omega 3 oil of approximately 1000 mg. This is an additional supplement I always recommend, as the science supporting the benefits is overwhelming.
The essentials I recommend above can be taken in 4, easy to swallow pills taken just once a day. Not a lot to ask for something that can dramatically improves your quality of life. Think of it as an insurance policy for you and your family.
Important Vitamins for Men
If I haven’t expressed this enough, men have their own nutritional needs. The key elements mentioned above will help with those needs. However, as we age and our lives become more complex, so does our health. It’s very common to have issues with stress, lack of energy, poor digestion, cardiovascular concerns, and so on. It’s sage advice to pay attention to that time tested adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” For men who want to further optimize their health, protect themselves from a future health issue, and/or address a current health challenge, I generally suggest any one of the following to be added to their daily regime in priority order.
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Zinc in an optimal amount of 30mg: We value zincs benefits for immunity, blood sugar control, and wound healing. More important for men, zinc is essential for prostate health and fertility, something that becomes more of a concern as men age
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B12 in an optimal amount of 250ug: Best known to support energy, B-12 also supports a healthy brain and nervous system
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Probiotics: Nearly every day we hear more and more evidence supporting the use of probiotics in maintaining a healthy digestive system and overall health and wellness
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Calcium with Magnesium: together these minerals are known to be vital to muscle contraction and maintaining the structure of bones and teeth. Magnesium goes one step further, supporting cardiovascular health as well as a natural calming agent
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Ashwagandha: This calming adaptogen (an herb that helps your body adapt to stress) helps the body manage its stress response system while enhancing mental clarity
Whether you’re looking for a better men’s multivitamin, a vitamin plan that fits your personal needs, or if you have other concerns you’d like to address, Easy Vitamin Plan makes it “easy” to get state-of-the-art vitamins personalized for you.
CLICK HERE to take our free online quiz to get custom supplement recommendations based on your age, gender, and health goals. Get the vitamins your body truly needs—delivered to your door each month.
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