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Women’s multivitamins can be an excellent addition to your daily routine, especially if you want to ensure you’re getting the proper amount of essential vitamins and minerals. Still, not all women’s multivitamins are made equal.
Unfortunately, the industry is still largely unregulated, which means some subpar products can fall through the cracks. And determining not just which brand to trust but which type of multivitamin is right for you can be complicated.
To help, we’ve considered several major factors to pick the best women’s multivitamins on the market, including:
- Best Overall: SkinnyFit
- Best CBD Multivitamin: CBDfx
- Best for Pregnant Women: Organixx
- Regulate Women’s Hormones: Pure Essence
- Best for Those with Dietary Restrictions: Onnit
- Best Prenatal Supplements: Akasha Naturals
Hopefully, seeing why these brands made the cut can make shopping for your next vitamin supplement an easier experience.
Best Multivitamins for Women for Overall Health Support
A few brands and products rise above the rest in the women’s multivitamin market.
1. Best Overall: SkinnyFit
As its name may suggest, SkinnyFit’s Skinny Gummies are formulated with weight control in mind. That task is primarily delegated to the product’s apple cider vinegar, an ingredient long-noted for its dietary effects, including gut health support.
That’s not to say the gummy isn’t filled with several other nutrients that make it an excellent choice for a women’s multivitamin.
Indeed, the vitamin supplement includes several female-friendly ingredients, such as folate (AKA folic acid), vitamin B6, and iodine. And the company goes the extra mile, adding all-natural additives like beetroot and pomegranate juice to the mix to give this multivitamin an extra boost of all-important antioxidants.
This added punch helps support immune health and can be a boon for the skin.
Pros:
- Added benefits of apple cider vinegar
- Vegan- and vegetarian-friendly
- Tropical fruit flavor
Cons:
- Not suitable for those with tree nut allergies
Dosage: Recommended 2 gummies daily
Why People Love It:
After trying this product, customers have glowing reviews about the glowing skin they saw. Many also commented on the tasty flavor of the daily multivitamin. At the same time, a number said the apple cider vinegar helped them control hunger and helped them with joint pain.
2. Best Gummy Multivitamin: CBDfx
Keeping CBDfx’s Multivitamin CBD Gummies for Women near the top of the list are many top-notch qualities that not just every company considers when manufacturing their product.
The gluten-free and vegan aspects of these multivitamins make them suitable for various diets. In addition, the company ensures all its products go through third-party testing, accounting for the safety of the ingredients and the quality of the overall product.
And the list of ingredients going through those tests is impressive, including the full suite of B-Complex vitamins, rare-to-find vitamin D3, and biotin, calcium, and zinc, which are all particularly important for females.
Still, keeping it from the top spot is the inclusion of CBD with trace amounts of THC. More research is still needed on how this could potentially impact pregnancy.
Pros:
- Easy-to-eat gummies (rather than taking multiple pills)
- Added benefits of CBD
- Vegan and gluten-free
Cons:
- Includes trace amounts of THC
Dosage: Recommended 2 gummies daily
Why People Love It:
Many loved that this product didn’t just help their nutritional needs but helped them with pain relief or getting better sleep—both aspects that are regularly linked to CBD. Others commented on the tasty flavor of these vitamin supplement gummies.
3. Best for Pregnant Women: Organixx
Oranixx’s Multi-Vita-Maxx isn’t just the best women’s multivitamin for pregnant women—it’s one of the best women’s multivitamins on the market.
The company is meticulous about every detail, sourcing its components from USDA-certified organic fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and other plants and going the extra mile to have the products go through third-party testing.
Because it generates all of its vitamins and minerals from natural sources, the product will never run the risk of serving up a potentially dangerous “megadose” of these compounds—great news for all women but especially those who are pregnant.
And the ingredients it does utilize for its non-synthetic mix—including bell peppers, turkey tail mushroom, broccoli, orange, and spinach, among others—provide several all-important minerals and vitamins specially formulated to support a healthy pregnancy, such as folic acid, zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B6, and some pre- and probiotics to boot.
Pros:
- Third-party tested
- Easy-to-swallow soft gels
- Vegan and gluten-free
- All-natural (non-synthetic) ingredients
Cons:
- Not as many different vitamins and minerals included in the mix as some other brands
Dosage: Recommended 3 capsules daily
Why People Love It:
Women of all ages—pregnant and not—have showered love on this product, saying it simply helps them feel healthier and more energetic. Some even mentioned a new glow to their skin, likely a result of the probiotics.
4. Regulate Women’s Hormones: Pure Essence
There’s certainly a lot to love about Pure Essence’s LifeEssence Women’s Multivitamin.
The product combines an exhaustive list of vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients that are important for everyone to have. But it really shines by focusing on the “women” aspect of a women’s multivitamin.
Among some of its most unique herbal additives are:
- DIM (Diindolylmethane), an all-natural supplement that helps balance hormones, including estrogen and testosterone
- Dong Qui, an herb long used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to help alleviate menstrual cramps and reduce hot flashes
- Chaste Tree fruit, which also works to balance the female-centric hormones of estrogen and progesterone
These are vegan-friendly ingredients that are third-party tested before being bottled and sold.
Pros:
- Vegan-friendly and gluten-free
- Third-party lab tested
- Hard-to-find phytochemicals
Cons:
- Hard pill may be hard to swallow
Dosage: Recommended 4 tablets daily
Why People Love It:
Customers seemed to love the unexpected energy boost these women’s multivitamins lent them, despite not including any stimulants. On the other end of the spectrum, one woman said she sleeps better after taking these vitamin supplements, and several raved about the access to hard-to-find nutrients.
5. Best for Those with Dietary Restrictions: Onnit
There are any number of dietary restrictions people may embrace nowadays. So how does Onnit manage to satisfy them all? The company sticks to the basics.
With its Key Minerals women’s multivitamin, Onnit utilizes only the essential minerals that may be missing from most people’s diets. Including calcium, hard-to-find molybdenum, magnesium, iodine, and boron, the daily supplements can help with everything from bone and dental health to improved thyroid function and helping the body process and absorb other essential nutrients.
And while digesting minerals may sound tough on the body, Onnit formulates its mineral mix to be ready for optimal absorption.
Still, there’s one caveat to the company’s claim to the dietary restrictions title. Its iodine is sourced from all-natural kelp grown outside Iceland. While most final products are fine, the company allows that trace amounts of fish or shellfish can sometimes get in the mix.
Pros:
- Affordable price
- Hard-to-find minerals and nutrients
- Gluten-free
Cons:
- Limited ingredient list
Dosage: Recommended 4 capsules daily
Why People Love It:
Customers are routinely impressed by the company’s mix of hard-to-come-by minerals, referred to as a powerful product and credited with helping many users feel more energetic. Others said the combination helped with muscle pain, while many purchasers also mentioned the clean taste.
6. Best Prenatal Vitamin: Akasha Naturals
Akasha Naturals prides itself on keeping the whole person in mind when designing its products, and its Vital Multi-Vitamins and Minerals Tablets are no exception.
The product blends several essential ingredients to help round out a person’s diet and bring all aspects of their health in line. And a number of these ingredients are beneficial for women trying to get pregnant.
Specifically, this women’s multivitamin includes the all-important addition of folic acid (AKA folate), one of the most important prenatal vitamins for women. But it also adds several others to the mix, such as zinc, choline, iodine, and biotin, which have all been noted as prenatal must-haves.
Plus, the company puts its money where its philosophy is, founding the Akasha Center to conduct further research on the potential of natural medicine.
Pros:
- Includes hard-to-find vitamins and minerals
- No unnatural additives
Cons:
- May be hard to swallow hard pills
Dosage: Recommended 2 tablets daily
Why People Love It:
Many customers simply said this product worked, helping them feel healthier and happier. And many customers—including several celebrities—who live nearby the Akasha Center also praised the facility and its staff for their knowledge and helpfulness.
How We Choose the Best Multivitamins for Women
Multivitamins can be an essential part of your daily routine. But it’s equally important to get the right brand.
A lot goes into creating a safe, trustworthy, and effective women’s multivitamin, so we look to many factors to help us separate the companies that care about their product from those that only want a profit.
Quality Sourcing and Processing
Sourcing and processing are often under-examined aspects of product production, but it plays a huge role in the overall quality of the final product.
It’s not just the women’s multivitamin you ultimately purchase that matters. Those pills, powders, or capsules are often mixtures representing many different compounds that can be sourced from various places. We ensure that the company putting all the pieces together isn’t using cheap or unethical sources to do so and that these various parts are assembled in a safe and sterile facility.
Effectiveness
A company may do a great job selling its product, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a worthwhile purchase. So looking into a product’s effectiveness safeguards against this sort of false—or, at least, idealized—advertising.
When looking at different types of women’s multivitamins, we’ll examine the ingredients used and measure that against current scientific ideas. Certain combinations of minerals and vitamins will offer a more potent product or provide different benefits for different types of women.
We also comb through verified online reviews to ensure that buyers were happy with their results overall—with everything from product quality to customer service.
Ingredient Integrity
If you’re in the market for dietary supplements, you’re most likely thinking about your health. And products made from harmful, unethical, or unnecessary ingredients are the farthest thing from healthy.
We ensure each product on our list utilizes all-natural, organic, ethically-sourced, or healthy botanical ingredients whenever possible. We also like to see brands who get their women’s multivitamins third-party tested, meaning sent to the lab to ensure safety and quality.
Mission-Driven Brands
The business world can be a brutal and cut-throat place, with many brands going out of their way to dazzle new clients with flashy graphics and slick ads. But in our research, we’ve found that the best products usually come from mission-driven brands.
These companies aren’t just out to make money but are driven to do something helpful, giving back to the people and even the earth itself. These types of companies are more likely to use well-sourced materials and care more, overall, about their product quality and customer satisfaction.
How to Choose the Best Women’s Multivitamin for You
It’s easy to assume that since vitamins and minerals are generally good, all types of multivitamins must be good. But the reality of the matter is much more nuanced.
Choosing the best women’s multivitamin for you depends on several personalized factors.
What the Multivitamin is For
You may be trying to get pregnant, may be trying to balance a particular deficiency, or have another goal. These plans call for different vitamins and minerals, so make sure you’re getting what you want and need.
Your Regular Diet
Vitamin supplements are meant to be supplementary to a regular balanced diet. Most whole foods include essential vitamins and minerals, and depending on how you eat, you may already be getting enough of certain nutritional compounds. In fact, taking too much of certain compounds can have adverse effects.
Your Age
As the body grows and goes through life, it generally requires different minerals and vitamins or different amounts of these compounds. Someone who is considered elderly will need a different women’s multivitamin than someone of childbearing age, etc.
Dietary Restrictions
This doesn’t just impact vegetarians or vegans looking to avoid animal products in a women’s multivitamin. Dietary restrictions can also influence the levels of minerals and vitamins in your body, causing specific deficiencies or the need to supplement different types of compounds.
Health Conditions
Like diet, someone’s general health can also impact the types of vitamins and minerals they may—or may not—need. Everything from getting pregnant to smoking cigarettes may influence the type of supplement that will help you best.
Determining the best women’s multivitamin for your personal needs can be complicated. You may also want to consult your healthcare professional before trying any new supplement routine.
Essential Vitamins & Nutrients for Women
Everybody is different, but there are some critical differences in what makes a woman’s and man’s body tick.
Different types of hormones and hormone levels in the sexes create different nutritional needs to help both women and men achieve optimal health. And as time goes on, women and men experience the aging process differently, making it essential for women and men to get specific compounds that will best help their bodies.
Vitamin B9 (Folate/Folic Acid)
For women who are pregnant or hoping to get pregnant, vitamin B9 is one of the essential nutrients to include in a daily diet. That’s because this vitamin—also known as folic acid or folate—is needed to create DNA and RNA, red blood cells, neurotransmitters, and several major proteins that constitute the building blocks of life.
Still, women of childbearing age who aren’t interested in becoming pregnant could benefit from this critical vitamin (which you’ll get from a prenatal multivitamin), as women between 19-50 are more likely to have a folic acid deficiency.
Vitamin B-12
Another essential vitamin, B-12, is also involved in the production of DNA and red blood cells and helps carry out several neurological functions. Failing to reach adequate levels of this crucial vitamin could lead to autoimmune diseases or malabsorption of other essential vitamins and minerals.
It’s especially important for pregnant women, vegetarians, and women aged 50 and older to look into B-12 vitamin supplements as they typically have a deficiency.
Vitamin D
One of the more difficult vitamins to find in a regular diet, vitamin D is one of the most common vitamin deficiencies, though women with obesity, older women, African-American women, and pregnant women are most likely to be lacking the vitamin.
This crucial compound helps maintain calcium levels, essential for proper bone development and overall bone health. That adds up to greater protection from osteoporosis, which can be a particular issue for women as they get older.
Calcium
One of the most important minerals for women of all ages is calcium.
The compound contributes heavily to bone density and helps support overall bone health, making it an important factor in the growing bones of younger women and preventing the deterioration of bones in older women.
Pregnant women or women hoping to get pregnant can also benefit immensely from calcium, as a growing fetus will take calcium directly from a woman’s bones if there isn’t enough available through her diet.
Iron
While iron is an essential mineral for everyone, women tend to need more of the compound than men for optimal health.
That’s thanks largely in part to the menstrual cycle. Iron is a fundamental building block of red blood cells and works to boost blood health overall. Meanwhile, women with a regular cycle can lose 110 to 125 milligrams of iron during each menstrual cycle.
Who Should Take Women’s Multivitamins (And Who Shouldn’t Take Them)
Nearly half of all American adults and 75% of those 71 and older take a daily multivitamin. And while this may work out well for the majority, these supplements aren’t the answer for everyone.
Experts recommend that women’s multivitamins may be a good bet for people who are at higher risk of vitamin deficiency, including:
- Women who are pregnant
- Older women
- Women with potential malabsorption concerns brought on by:
- Celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, or cystic fibrosis
- Gastric bypass or other surgeries involving digestive organs
- Illnesses that cause excessive vomiting or diarrhea
- Alcoholism or cigarette smoking
And while vitamin supplements are usually a safe addition to a daily diet, they may cause complications for some women.
You shouldn’t take a multivitamin if you’re on certain medications that may react poorly to multivitamins. Some people also have severe reactions to multivitamins or some of the synthetic versions of vitamins and minerals included in many of these products.
It’s always best to speak with your doctor before starting on any vitamin or dietary supplement.
Benefits of Women’s Multivitamins
The best women’s multivitamins will offer a quick and easy way to support your health and help you reach your optimum health potential.
Vitamins are easy to include in a daily routine with a well-balanced diet. For women experiencing particular vitamin and mineral deficiencies, vitamin supplements can offer a safe and predictable way to keep levels up. This is particularly helpful for women with specific dietary restrictions or health conditions.
Those who are pregnant or trying to get pregnant also typically benefit from vitamin supplements (e.g., vitamin C and vitamin D) to help their body make enough of the vital minerals and compounds to support all stages of pregnancy and postpartum.
And some components are better to take in pill form, including vitamin D and folic acid. That’s because, in these cases, the compounds are broken down in certain ways that make them easier for the body to absorb than they would be if taken in through food or other sources.
Potential Side Effects of Multivitamins
Once again, vitamin supplements can be a tricky biological business. The body is an extremely delicate ecosystem, and adjusting the levels of certain elements can lead to unintentional cascading effects.
Unfortunately, this bears out in a number of studies on multivitamins.
Many of these studies simply found what multivitamins did not do: Namely, reduce the risk of heart disease or certain cancers, stroke, premature death, or increased cognitive function.
Other studies drew conclusions on what they could do in terms of potential adverse effects. Common reactions included:
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Upset stomach
- Nausea
These gut-related effects can be triggered, in part, by how much food is in your stomach when taking your vitamin.
Less common side effects include:
- Insomnia
- Nosebleeds
- Headaches
- Gout
And a lack of regulation over multivitamins means some products may include “megadoses” of specific components, far above the upper limit of what a person needs in a day. These extreme amounts of vitamins and minerals can be harmless, but occasionally, they could contribute to serious health concerns.
Still, if you have reason to supplement your diet, speak with your doctor, and follow dosing suggestions, you should be able to find a safe and healthy vitamin supplement that works for you.
FAQs
The world of supplements can be complicated, making it challenging to find the best women’s multivitamin. There are several questions many people have about the process.
What do multivitamins do?
There are a number of claims about what multivitamins do, including that dietary supplements support everything from brain health to stronger hair and nails to healthier aging. In addition, many people say these supplements can help compensate for poor or restricted diets, boost health, and reduce the risk of some chronic diseases.
And while a number of these claims may be valid, the specifics depend on the type of multivitamin and the person’s details.
Do women need to take multivitamins?
While it’s not strictly necessary for anyone to take a multivitamin, the practice can have many benefits.
Women’s multivitamins can provide several hard-to-come-by minerals and vitamins, helping to boost or round out your daily dietary intake. These essential compounds are frequently involved in important bodily functions, helping support overall health.
Taking a multivitamin can be particularly helpful for women in certain situations, including:
- Those who are pregnant or those who hope to get pregnant (e.g., a nursing formula supplement or a prenatal multivitamin)
- Women with specific dietary restrictions
- Those on certain medications
- Those with certain health conditions which may impact the amount and type of compounds their body can absorb through food
At what age should women start taking multivitamins?
There’s no official recommendation on when to start taking multivitamins. And in fact, multivitamins can be beneficial—and are specifically tailored—for women of any age.
If you’re interested in starting a multivitamin supplement, just make sure to do your research, speak with your doctor, or both. Different types and amounts of vitamins and minerals are needed at different stages of life.
What is the purpose of a multivitamin?
Multivitamins are a type of supplement. They’re intended to fill in any potential nutritional gaps between the types and amounts of essential compounds you’re getting in your daily diet and the types and amounts your body needs.
It can be challenging to fill nutritional gaps caused by not having a balanced diet of all food groups, and supplements help with this.
What are the best multivitamins for pregnant women?
Women who are pregnant have a specific set of nutritional needs and are typically at risk for certain vitamin deficiencies. Therefore, the best women’s multivitamins for this group should tailor to those needs.
Usually, it’s recommended for those pregnant to include more folic acid/folate, vitamin D, calcium, choline, vitamin B6, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin C in their diets, thanks to the various processes these substances are involved in that lead to safer pregnancies and healthier fetuses.
Before taking multivitamins while pregnant, speak to a healthcare professional.
Is it possible to take too many multivitamins?
It may be possible to take too many multivitamins. While many people experience nutritional deficiencies, which can lead to health problems, having too many specific vitamins and minerals can also lead to complications.
It’s possible that you already have a diet rich in certain compounds, which you would no longer need to get from a supplement.
Compounding the issue is that multivitamins are not regulated, which means they can include “megadoses” of certain minerals and vitamins. Therefore, when considering a new multivitamin regimen, it’s important to research the different vitamin levels involved in the product. You may also want to talk to a healthcare professional before changing your nutritional routine.
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