Many of my clients ask me if I take a multivitamin and if I have one to recommend. The answer is yes to both questions. But before we get to that, just a bit of background. If you have worked with me or read any of my books, you likely know that I am not a supplement guy. There are several reasons why this is true:
-It is always better to get whatever nutrients you are looking for by eating healthy.
-Because of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health And Education Act, there is virtually no regulation of the supplement industry. In other words, no one is testing if your supplement has what it says it does. And no one is testing whether anything else unsafe may be added to it. This has caused a ton of problems. Some supplements have been found to have prescription drugs like Prozac or Viagra when tested. Not good!
However, multivitamins have several benefits:
-Recently a Harvard study showed that taking a daily multivitamin improved memory and slowed cognitive decline in older adults (Reference 1).
-Most of us need to supplement vitamin D, particularly in the winter months. It is really hard to get enough from your food. You can find a multivitamin that includes Vitamin D to take care of this.
-A multivitamin can act as insurance for your healthy diet. Sometimes even the best diets lack certain nutrients. A multivitamin can make up this small difference.
I have for years been recommending a great multivitamin sold by Cooper Concepts. It is called Cooper Complete Basic One Iron Free. Dr. Kenneth Cooper is an amazing Physician, Researcher and Entrepreneur who has focused on exercise and preventative health for his entire career. One of his companies, Cooper Concepts, sells a one a day multivitamin that checks all my boxes.
Pro’s
1) Dr. Cooper consulted with leading nutrition researchers, including the
Department of Nutrition at Harvard School of Public Health, to help him
determine what nutrients to include in this multivitamin.
2) This vitamin contains 2000 IU’s of Vitamin D.
3)Most importantly, Dr. Cooper has an independent lab test this multivitamin to be sure that it contains what it says it does and nothing else. This is huge!
Con's
1) This multivitamin is a bit more expensive than other brands. It is priced at $29.98 for 60 tablets.
What I Recommend To My Clients
If a client’s diet is otherwise good, I recommend taking this multivitamin 3 times per week as insurance and to make sure they are getting enough vitamin D. This is particularly important in the winter, when the sun is less strong (we make vitamin D through our skin from sun exposure).
This also brings the cost down quite a bit. At 12 pills a month, the bottle will last 5 months or so, which is $6 a month. Since each pill contains 2000 IU of Vitamin D, taking 3 a week averages just over 800 IU per day, which is a level I am comfortable with. For more information or to pick up this multivitamin, click here.
References
1) American Journal Of Clinical Nutrition 2023 118:273-82
Disclosure: I am not affiliated with the company that makes Cooper Complete supplements and make no money if you buy any of their products.
2 comments:
I've read your newsletter for years and was excited to read you recommend Cooper Concepts multivitamin. I too take this vitamin, as well as other Cooper Concepts supplements, and the main reason I choose this brand is my complete confidence that it contains only what it says it contains. Dr. Cooper's excellent reputation for pioneering improving health and healthy aging through exercise also lifted this vitamin brand to the top of my list of quality supplements.
Glad to hear all of that Amy! Dr. Cooper's body of work is truly inspiring.
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