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Choosing a Multivitamin

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It’s a fact that you can get all the vitamins and minerals you require as long as you eat different kinds of foods. But taking a pill may help picky eaters or those who don’t eat right. In such a case, a lot of registered dietitians and nutrition experts advise taking a multivitamin supplement daily to make up for poor eating habits.

But with the large number of multivitamins found in the market today, choosing a multivitamin can be confusing. There are many questions to answer. How do you find the right brand? How do you save money? Should you buy a multivitamin with extra calcium and vitamin C or go for so-called special formulas instead?

First, don’t assume that you’re in good hands with expensive brands or multivitamins sold exclusively at health food stores. In truth, you can find good products that don’t cost a fortune at your local drug store. Some generic products are great too. The National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine said multivitamins should meet at least 100 percent of the Daily Value for the following: B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B12, B6 (at least 100 milligrams or mg), vitamins C and D, less than 100 mg of vitamin E, and folic acid.

The product should have not more than 15,000 International Units (IUs) of beta-carotene (the vitamin A found in foods) and over 4000 IUs coming from retinol. As far as minerals are concerned, the multivitamin should contain 18 mg of iron and at least 100 mg of magnesium. These basic requirements should be found in the product you select. To check this, just read the label.

Other minerals that are beneficial to health are 0.9 mg of copper, 50 micrograms (mcg) of selenium, and 11 mg of zinc. If you’re worried about calcium, you’ll learn that multivitamins normally have only 200 mg of calcium. Since your body needs 1000 to 1200 mg of calcium daily, get the rest by taking three servings of dairy products everyday. One serving has about 300 mg of calcium and can be found in a cup of milk or yogurt, an ounce of cheese or a cup of calcium-fortified orange juice. 

The things you can do without are extra iodine, manganese, molybdenum, chloride, boron, biotin and pantothenic acid since you’ll find them in the foods you eat. There’s also no need to take extra potassium and phosphorous because these are required in small amounts and happen to be in many foods like fruits and vegetables. 

I been writing romance and science fictions for a long time and blogging is one of my escape and inspiration. Writing is not an easy job and researching is more tedious. But while sharing my experience and interest through blogging, I happened to see a whole new world.

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SM Brings the Spirit of Bayanihan to Schools

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SM Supermalls joins Brigada Eskwela 2026 to help create cleaner, safer, and more welcoming learning spaces Through SM Cares, SM Supermalls supported the Department of Education’s Brigada Eskwela 2026 as part of its continuing commitment to youth empowerment, nation-building, and community service. In time for the start of classes, participating SM teams from its most-loved malls nationwide worked hand in hand with partner schools to help create learning environments that are cleaner, safer, and more inspiring for students and teachers. Guided by this year’s theme, “Bayanihan sa Paaralan: Nagkakaisa para sa Kaayusan at Kaalaman,” SM employee-volunteers, together with school communities, local partners, teachers, parents, and volunteers, came together to help prepare public schools for the opening of classes. The volunteer activities included general cleaning of classrooms, corridors, and school grounds; repainting and repair of walls, furniture, and school facilities; minor repairs an...
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