What or which is the Best Multiple-vitamin? There are websites that appear to give criteria and advice for this question. Some offer up examples. They mostly fail!
Here is the only appropriate answer. The Best Multiple-Vitamin and Mineral Supplement is one that most closely fits into a person's lifestyle, diet, and genetics. That is really just another way to say the one that achieves the most benefits for the body with the least disruptions. This website contains many of the basics to support this search. Plus, a general vitamin criteria is offered that was developed with current vitamin scientific research. This serves as a good beginning point until Nutritionists recognize and incorporate this new criteria into recommended vitamin protocols. Why do you think the professionals have been so slow to update faulty theories about vitamins and minerals?
FACT: Over 98% of current multiple vitamin and mineral supplements fail to satisfy this new vitamin criteria. To FIND OUT WHY, go here and use this guide to find your best multi> Vitamin Criteria
CONFLICT WITH MULTI-VITAMINS
A number of studies have found that vitamin consumers exhibit increased mortality rates over people who do not take supplements. Other studies of course find just the opposite. A positive for vitamins study found that vitamin consumers had cells with longer telomeres, a sign indicating longer cell life, as well as better DNA repair. This means healthier cells with less DNA damage potential leading to disease.
Some of the negative study results can be dealt with in a positive approach using the correct information in the new vitamin criteria offered on this website. Remember, 90% or more of multi-vitamin supplements have faults in nutrient forms, improper dosages, missing synergistic family members, exhibit interferance with other nutrients and body processes, or have improper nutrient to nutrient ratios. Minerals come into play with this last aspect. Vitamin E represents one of the largest dilemmas for analyzing study results. There are many negative aspects to using vitamin E as either synthetic or just the isolated natural of only d'alpha tocopherol. See here.
A meta-analysis of many studies out of Johns Hopkins University found that vitamin E over 400 IU was associated with higher mortality. Of course the Public did not see that behind the scenes other scientists worked the same data using different scientific methods and didn't find this negative result. But, there are other studies that have found slightly negative effects using vitamin E such as the SELECT study looking at Selenium and vitamin E on prostate cancer. At the midway analysis, the vitamin E group exhibited slightly more cancers and the selenium group had slightly higher diabetes rate. The SELECT study used the synthetic form of vitamin E and thus the only true conclusion is that the synthetic form of vitamin E is not effective to prevent prostate cancers. It turns out it is another vitamin E family member, gamma tocopherol, that is needed with alpha tocopherol to completely protect prostate tissue. Alpha T works on oxygen radicals, but it is gamma T that is needed for nitrogen radicals, which alpha T does not touch.
Too much Selenium, an antioxidant, simply worked to quickly to neutralize a vital free radical. This radical is used by the body for a positive function. It has to switch on glucose insulin uptake by cells before it is neutralized or destroyed. Thus, in the study people who were already higher in selenium, adding extra increased the selenium antioxidant function so much that the free radical was neutralized before it could turn on glucose insulin uptake into cells, and this increased the diabetes effect.
Now, these are just two examples of nutrients in a multi-vitamin that have to be in the correct form and within a given window of dosage to be sure they do not exhibit these negative aspects that might increase mortality. There are more. Calcium to magnesium, zinc to copper, vitamin C family, natural source Beta carotene complex, Vitamin C with family, should be iron free, limit Vitamin D, watch for excess vitamin B1, B6, and folic acid, which should rarely be consumed since it is fortified in many foods. Folate should be OK at or below 250 mcg. There is a class of cancer chemo-drugs called anti-folates. Cancers use folate to grow faster. Plus cancers also abuse vitamin B1. Vitamin B6 is associated with nerve damage at both too low as well as excess. Vitamin D and calcium, used by many for bone health, is also associated at higher amounts with greater brain lesions, as well as the aggressive form of prostate cancer.
These are just the tip of the iceberg for why this newly developed vitamin criteria is an important base to follow for safe and effective multi-vitamin choices.