All-in-One Vitamins: The Supplements of the Future

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In a short span of years, we’ve seen our electronics shrink in size and grow in power. As demanding consumers with active lifestyles, we want top performance with as little burden as possible. The bar is high. We want efficiency, but we don’t want to sacrifice quality. When it comes to our health, we’re no different. This might mean choosing vitamin-packed energy bars. Engaging in interval training. Or perhaps downing power foods like barley, spinach, black beans and papaya.

Or it might be taking the powerhouse of an all-in-one vitamin.

William Fletcher noted the importance of vitamins in 1905 when he found that eating “unpolished” rice with vitamin-rich husks intact prevented the disease Beriberi. Cashmir Funk, in 1911, created the term “vitamine” because he believed that certain “amines” were “vital” for life. Certain vitamins were found between this time and 1922.

Yet, when it comes to vitamins and essential nutrients, how do you get quality and avoid spending half of your morning gulping pills?

The Three “C’s”: Hallmarks of a Great All-in-One Multivitamin

Convenience

There are many basic essential nutrients for health. Taking these one at a time might mean downing 10-20 pills each day. Carl Rehnborg invented the first multivitamin in 1934, after noting the mass amount of poor health during his trip to China. He spent years researching plants and health on an island off the coast of California after he returned home to the U.S. This followed a period of time in China when he and his friends, due to political unrest, had little access to the usual market. They ate vitamin-rich grasses, roots, herbs and ground up rusty nails, limestone and animal bones for vitamins, iron and calcium (don’t try this at home, folks!). He and his friends noted better health than others eating vitamin-anemic diets. Clearly, placing essential nutrients in one vehicle makes getting these essential nutrients more likely.

Cost

Taking these vitamins and essential nutrients separately each day would likely cost upwards of $75 a month.

Vitamin A
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin B6
Folic acid
Thiamine
Vitamin E
Vitamin B-12
Pantothenic acid
Iodine
Zinc
Choline
Omega 3s or fish oil
Inositol

Choosing a high-quality, all-in-one vitamin can save you about 300 percent, when compared to taking these all separately. Already taking a multivitamin but need to add vitamin D and omega 3s for good health? Cut your cost in half by choosing a high-quality all-in-one vitamin combined with vitamin d and fish oil.

Caliber

Cost savings and convenience won’t do you much good if the caliber of the ingredients is low. What’s the point of pocketing extra dollars or saving a few minutes for no health benefit from poor quality vitamins? Not only will low quality vitamins not be absorbed well by your body (giving you very expensive urine), but can also put toxins in your body (cyanocobalamin, anyone??) High quality all-in-one vitamins with extra D and fish oil, on the other hand, promote health. In a 2010 study, researchers confirmed that high folate intake was linked with a lower risk of colon cancer. In a 2009 study, researchers found a lowered risk of total mortality when taking vitamins C and E. Another 2009 study noted that taking a multivitamin lengthened “telomeres” in women. Telomeres are parts of our DNA and a shorter telomere length is associated with cell aging.

Many multivitamins may not contain enough vitamin D for best health. Vitamin D is linked to many health benefits, including good bone health and reduced cancer risk. Research suggests that vitamin D might play some role in preventing and treating diabetes, high blood pressure, MS and other health issues. Recent research remarks that getting enough vitamin D may reduce overall mortality.

Turn over your multivitamin bottle and check out what’s in it. Chances are very good that it does not contain fish oil. Recent studies support that omega 3 in fish oil may help heart, mental, brain, bone, lung and gut health. Studies also support that it may help reduce some types of cancer.

With the advent of high quality all-in-one vitamins, the days of having to buy 4 different bottles to meet our nutrient needs are coming to an end. This is great news for our bodies and for our wallets. No more horse pills, no more lost counter space, no more giving up on vitamins because they are too much of a pain. The 21st century has arrived, and it’s in your vitamin.

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