People take multis for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s to be healthier and live longer, and sometimes it’s to perform better. In the study, the author reviewed the current literature regarding multi use for three purposes: filling nutritional gaps, preventing disease, and improving cognition.

Nutrition

The study points out that the best way to get your nutrition is to consume whole foods. However, getting all your nutrition via food might be harder than you think. In fact, even in countries like the United States, nutritional deficiencies are common. For example, potassium, fiber, calcium, and vitamin D are all common dietary deficiencies, even in the American diet.

As such, nutritional status may be improved by the use of a multi. The author points out that many multis are low in calcium and virtually absent in potassium, so those nutrients may still need to be obtained elsewhere. With a healthy diet plus vitamin use, these needs should be covered.

Disease Prevention

Another reason people take vitamins and minerals is to reduce their risk of disease. Several studies were reviewed here to find out if multis are effective at disease prevention.

The results of studies examining the prevention of cancer by using multis are mixed, but there is little evidence that a balanced multi increases the risk of cancer in the general population, either. It seems that, in general, multis don’t affect cancer much. When they do, it’s a slight positive benefit. High-dose individual vitamins or minerals can have negative effects in certain populations, so stick with a quality multi for cancer prevention.

As for cardiovascular diseases, the story is pretty much the same. There is minimal evidence showing any harm, and a good amount of evidence showing that multis do some good for disease prevention. Understand that human disease studies aren’t easy to perform, but so far it seems that multis provide a benefit, albeit a mild one.

There wasn’t much information regarding eye diseases, but there does seem to be a benefit. Only three studies examined multis and macular degeneration, and one found a benefit. Out of four total studies on cataracts, all four demonstrated the preventive power of multis.

Finally we have all-cause mortality. This means dying for any reason. Human death studies are some of the hardest to conduct. According to the research, there wasn’t much to report here. There doesn’t seem to be a health risk from taking multis, but it’s hard to say if there’s a benefit. No study has examined a group of lifetime multi users.

Cognition

Sometimes people take vitamins to help their mental performance as well as the physical. According to this review, there has never been a report of negative impact on cognitive ability or mental decline. There are some studies showing a benefit to mental function, but it’s usually limited to some specific type of mental exercise.

Conclusion

So there you have it – multis are good. Notice that there are also no reports of magical effects of multis, and bear in mind that they are an adjunct to your nutrition. Multis will have a slightly positive effect, and only if you’re missing nutrition from your diet – which, as this study shows, you probably are.

References:

1. Elizabeth Ward, “Addressing nutritional gaps with multivitamin and mineral supplements,” Nutrition Journal 2014, 13:72

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post Multivitamins Improve Nutrition and Prevent Disease appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I recently tried out a bottle of SEAL multivitamins and have been pleased with the product. The SEAL multi is a solid, basic supplement that covers all the bases for athletes who need to keep their performance high. The creator of the SEAL multi, Jeremy De Bie, was a Navy SEAL himself. During his training, he noticed he and his teammates required greater nutrition than they could obtain from diet alone since they were pushing themselves to their physical limits every day. He also believed the inclusion of supplemental vitamins and minerals would allow them to go beyond their perceived limits. Not only that, but De Bie also wanted to give back to his fellow SEALS. With all this in mind, 10% of the profits from the SEAL multi are donated to the families of fallen and wounded Navy SEALS. Pretty cool, right?

The pills come in capsule form, which many people find to be easier to swallow. This also means they are more vulnerable to damage from light and heat, so be sure to follow the directions and keep them in a cool, dark place. The bottle itself is dark and opaque, which makes this easier to do.

The SEAL multi has no herbs or other bells and whistles. It is simply a collection of the basic recommended vitamins and minerals for daily intake. One striking thing about this product is that more than half of its active ingredients are at 100% of the United States recommended daily values.

The SEAL formulation stands out for a few other reasons. First, it doesn’t have the extreme quantities of vitamins that you’ll often find in other multivitamins. While some people may benefit from, say, more vitamin C, the SEAL multi can be looked at as more of an insurance policy. In other words, if you didn’t get enough in your diet today, then no worries – the SEAL multi will have you covered.

Even more important than just covering nutritional bases are the magnesium and calcium quantities found in this multivitamin. Even the highest quality multis often skimp on these ingredients. Since you need greater quantities of these two minerals for good health, the logistics of having a capsule with high-mass ingredients like calcium and magnesium often means either a lot of pills, huge pills, or low quantities of these ingredients. Many companies opt for the last option. With 20% of the daily allowance for calcium and 100% for magnesium, these two ingredients alone account for perhaps a third or more of what you get inside the SEAL multi capsule. And that’s a conservative guess I made from eyeballing the numbers.

While the SEAL multi doesn’t have a lot of fluff that you don’t need, their “no bullshit” policy has left out some other potentially high-quality ingredients, so I added that to the cons section at the beginning of this review. Don’t read this wrong, though – the multi itself is quite good, and the ingredients in it are higher quality than you will find in many cheap products. Nevertheless, some ingredients not found on a daily allowance chart are still beneficial to athletes.

If you’re looking for a good quality multivitamin without breaking the bank, the SEAL multi is a great option. On their website, it mentions that this formulation is designed for men, but I see no reason why it won’t benefit women. However, women may want to take an additional iron supplement to meet their daily requirements. The SEAL multi will make sure your basic needs are covered and that your nutrition isn’t limiting your performance.

SEAL Multi is available from the manufacturer for $24.99.

The post Product Review: SEAL Multivitamin appeared first on Breaking Muscle.