Take one small example: do you find that you’re constantly craving sweets or not satisfied after you eat? It could be the doing of your microbiome — the army of microorganisms living inside of your digestive tract. These microscopic bugs fight to control your thoughts from a “second brain” located in your gut. And we’re not talking about urges caused by feeling hangry.

Diving into the (still young) research and you start to see interesting patterns, such as:

• Your skin health and the creation of acne can be influenced by your microbiome (bad gut bacteria promote inflammation that can lead to red spots).
• Your microbiome can impact your rational decision-making.
• Feelings of anxiety or depression might be controlled or activated by your microbiome.
• Early research shows that digestive bacteria and your microbiome can influence which foods you like (and which you don’t).

How is all of this possible? There are 10 times more bacteria living in your digestive tract than there are cells in your entire body.

There are 10 times more bacteria living within your digestive tract than there are cells in your entire body.

As a result, your body makes alliances and enjoys a symbiotic (that’s science-talk for “win-win”) relationship with the majority of the organisms within your microbiome. Gut bacteria aid in digestion and even produce an important nutrient, Vitamin K2 (think cardiovascular and bone health).

But not all of those bugs are so eager to be friends. There is such a thing as “bad” gut bacteria too. Even the “good” ones can turn on you and become harmful when things like the use of antibiotics, illness, stress, bad dietary habits, or other lifestyle factors shake up your digestive ecosystem. (Yup, basically living life is all it takes.) That’s when things can get rough, and why one of the biggest areas of research is trying to understand the relationship between your microbiome and medical issues such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), obesity, and maybe even cancer.

So how do you make sense of all the microbiome buzz? We know it’s important, but there’s a lot of misinformation swirling around and far too many claims that we can’t yet support (time will tell because we need more research). While “solutions” like probiotics may be helpful for some — and are definitely good, in general — there are many other accessible (and less expensive) things you can do to keep your microbiome healthy.

Microbiome 101: Simplifying the Science

We’ll be honest, anything about gut health can become a little too confusing, so it’s best to think in big picture terms: what it is, why it matters, and what you can do about it.

Your microbiome is the collection of all the microbes and microorganisms that populate your body.

There are unique groups of microorganisms living in many different regions of your body—your skin, mouth and digestive system, to name a few. Your gut microbiome (the “microbiota”) is home to millions of unique bacteria. Experts believe that having a wide spectrum of different bacteria in your GI tract is beneficial to your health (researchers are now trying to understand exactly what role they play in everything from your immune function, to macronutrient metabolism and absorption, and even your mood).

Diversity is a good thing. And research suggests that having less diverse gut bacteria might be linked to health issues like irritable bowel disease, cancer and obesity. While many questions about how and why still exist, there’s enough of a relationship that scientists are trying to figure out how you can best take care of your gut bacteria.

A Healthier Microbiome: Probiotics and Prebiotics

Probiotics are helpful bacteria in your gut. Think of them as adding backup troops when your frontline is a little weak. Probiotics can be found in fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut, and in drinks like kefir and kombucha. The beneficial bacteria from probiotics provide numerous health benefits including enhanced immune function, better digestion, a barrier against microbial infections, and much more.

Prebiotics, meanwhile, are foods that feed the microbes that are already in your body. And there’s been a growing awareness that they are also important because they affect the bacteria in your digestive system in such a way that it might improve your well-being and health. Basically, you help the bugs (by feeding them), and the bugs help you (by protecting you from bad bugs, keeping inflammation down, and so on).

Exactly why this happens isn’t fully understood, but prebiotics are carbohydrates that resist digestion in your small intestine. They reach your colon intact, where they wind up getting fermented by the bacteria there. That can shift gut flora in a positive way.

Some common foods that have prebiotic effects include bananas, whole grain wheat, garlic, leeks, and onions.

How the Microbiome Affects You

Remember how we referred to a “second brain?” That’s where the microbiome becomes more and more interesting for your overall health goals. The gut-brain axis is a two-way line of communication within your body between your brain and gut (at least they made the name easy to remember).

Each one can affect the other — for better or for worse. When your gut bacteria is out of whack, the signals that get relayed back up to your brain might cause or worsen anxiety or mood disorders, including depression. And stress—you know, what you feel when you’ve got looming deadlines or worries about paying the bills—can impact your gut microbiota negatively, and shift it in a less-than-favorable direction

Gut Dysbiosis describes what happens when you have an imbalance of gut bacteria favoring the more pathogenic (potentially harmful) microorganisms. This sort of imbalance is associated with a number of different problems including digestive disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Those can manifest in many different ways, from consistent abdominal pain or diarrhea, fatigue or weight loss. Some skin problems like rosacea can potentially be linked to gut health issues. These types of medical issues will be much easier to notice, so don’t freak out or believe people that want to sell you expensive supplements or cleanses. As always, if you are worried about a medical condition, see a doctor and have the problem diagnosed.

While current research is still developing and learning about the many roles that gut bacteria play in our body, here are some of the things that we do know — and what you can do about it.

How Your Body Processes Calories and Nutrients: There’s growing evidence that shows your gut bacteria impact what you’re able to extract from your food, both in terms of the total number of calories absorbed and the nutrients you take in—and even in determining how much food you want to eat.

There are a number of complex mechanisms that make this possible, so here’s one example of how your microbiome affects energy balance: Gut bacteria break down previously undigested carbohydrates called polysaccharides into smaller bits known as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). When your body’s fat cells sense an increase in SCFAs, they release a hormone called leptin, which essentially sends a signal to the brain that says “We’re full, thanks. You can lay off the nachos.” This is a good thing. But, if you’re not releasing enough SCFA because of a break in your microbiome, then the opposite can happen and you never feel full.

This is part of the reason why some researchers believe there’s a strong link between the condition of the gut and obesity. There’s even some research showing that obese and non-obese people have differing levels of bacteria. (It’s worth noting, however, that no one is suggesting that your microbiome is the only factor causing obesity. Diet and exercise matter, and, certainly, also impact that healthy — and unhealthy — bacteria in your body.)

What Foods You Want to Eat: While most people chalk up their cravings to willpower (this is something that’s repeatedly proven to be incorrect), many researchers now believe that your gut bacteria might be manipulating you “like microscopic puppetmasters” to get what they want.

There is an internal battle in your microbiome where different bacteria in your digestive system are constantly competing for resources (food). Here’s where it gets crazy: these bacteria can create food cravings or generate feelings of dissatisfaction (mood) that can be alleviated by consuming the foods that benefit them. And it can work for good or bad. Your body might be telling you to eat more protein (yay!) or it could be pushing you for endless amounts of sugar (aw shit!). There are four main mechanisms that play a role in this ongoing battle:

1. Microbes (just a fancy name for the bacteria in your stomach) could alter your taste receptors, making certain foods taste better. (And no, they aren’t working to make you like broccoli. Bad-news bugs thrive on bad-news fuel sources like those high in sugar.)
2. Microbes could release toxins that can affect mood negatively, which can make you want to eat.
3. Microbes could influence whether or not you find certain foods rewarding. (That happens by influencing an important part of the endocrine system known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.)
4. Microbes could “hijack” the vagus nerve, which is a major signaling pathway within the body.

Your Immune System: Your gut bacteria can assist your immune system by preventing potentially harmful pathogens from entering into the digestive system. You can think of the good bacteria as bouncers setting up velvet ropes along the walls of your intestines. They won’t let bad bacteria ruin the party. This helps protect the intestines against inflammation and prevents pathogenic bacteria from forming colonies.

What’s “Good” or “Bad” for Your Gut Health?

The colonization and development of your gut bacteria began at your birth and continues to evolve throughout your life. Some of the things that can adversely affect the microbial diversity in your gut include:

Antibiotics. Let’s be clear: We are not advocating against antibiotics. They can be potentially lifesaving drugs that absolutely have a time and a place for use. Antibiotics, however, indiscriminately kill the microbes in your body, which can lead to a disturbance of gut flora that you will need to work to rebalance and improve. The takeaway: Save the antibiotics for when you’re really sick. (But when a doctor says take them, take ‘em.)

Stress. Stress comes in many shapes and forms, but, on a basic level, stress is anything that removes your body from homeostasis or equilibrium. That stress can be psychological (worry, anxiety), physical (sleep deprivation is a physiological stressor that can negatively impact your gut bacteria), to social (feeling like a “loser”). All of them can disrupt the composition, diversity, and number of microorganisms in your digestive tract.

(Too Many) Processed Foods. A high-fat, sugar-rich diet feeds the pathogenic bacteria in your gut. Note that eating some sugar, or processed food here or there, isn’t a problem (We’ve discussed the overblown fear of sugar). It becomes problematic when you eat too much of them, combined with too little fiber — and most Americans get far less than the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day.

Diets that are high in processed foods, and low in fiber, have been shown to wreak havoc on gut microbes in trials in mice. Obviously, mice aren’t human, but similar results have occurred regularly enough that Dr. Justin Sonnenburg, an associate professor of microbiology at Stanford University, says simply: “It’s now evident that everybody should be eating more dietary fiber.”

Can You Test Your Microbiome?

Where there is a health problem, you can usually find a business offering a solution. This is not necessarily a bad thing (we all need cures to problems), but sometimes business interests come before practical applications. In other words: people are happy to sell you something based on theory and not on proof.

There are many new tests that claim to give you insight into your microbiome (most involve you sending your poop to a lab, so don’t be surprised when that’s the request). The problem: you will provide science with more (much needed) data…but it won’t really help you get more answers.

As discussed in a recent New York Times article (that we highly recommend), here are a few important takeaways about the big limitations of personalized microbiome testing:

• “It’s not ready for prime time.” (referring to personalized microbiome testing) -Dr. Rashmi Sinha, a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute 
• “You’ll get an enormous amount of data that is basically uninterpretable,” -Dr. Martin J. Blaser, director of the Human Microbiome Program at New York University, though he added, “there are people who will be very happy to take your money and tell you they can interpret it.”
• “What you can do with the information at the moment is limited. It’s very much a science project, not a diagnostic test.” – Dr. Rob Knight, director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation at the University of California, San Diego

Translation: we know the microbiome is important, but interpreting your microbiome, knowing what will or won’t have and impact, and how those changes will help your health is all still being investigated.

While that doesn’t help you figure out if you have a healthy (or unhealthy microbiome), it’s good to know that if you spend your money on any “microbiome services” it’s not likely your best use of money. The value from these tests will come with time and more clarity and understanding. But that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your microbiome.

How You Can Improve Your Gut Health

The good news is many basic practices that are good for your body are also good for your gut health. While you can’t assess those changes directly, there’s enough evidence to suggest that the recommendations below are good general practices for a healthy microbiome.

• Eat more fiber. We’re not trying to beat a dead horse, but carbohydrates and fiber are the most important sources of energy for the beneficial bacteria living in your colon. The fermentation of carbs and fiber in your digestive system helps lower its pH and therefore helps limit the bad bacteria. So you’d do well to consume more fiber-rich foods like:
  • Fruits such as raspberries (8 grams of fiber per cup), apples (4.4 grams per medium-sized piece), bananas (3.1 grams), oranges (3.1 grams), and strawberries (3.0 grams per cup)
  • Vegetables such as peas (8.1 grams of fiber per cup), broccoli (5.1 grams). Brussels sprouts (4.4 grams), corn (3.6 grams), or a baked potato (2.9 grams)
  • Grains such as barley (6 grams per cup), oats (4 grams) or brown rice (3.5 grams). Whole-wheat spaghetti has 6.3 grams of fiber.
  • Beans, whether they’re black, kidney, pinto, or you-name-it, are glorious sources of fiber. A cup of any one of them will give you a double-digit dose of fiber.
  • Nuts, especially almonds (3.5 grams per ounce, or about 23 nuts), pistachios (2.9 grams) and pecans (2.7 grams).
• Cook more at home. Research shows that food eaten away from home tends to have less fiber on a per-calorie basis. Pressed for time? This approach to meal prep may help you simplify things and get more done in less time.
• Eat fermented foods that contain probiotic bacteria, such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut or kimchi.
• Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep. Having trouble getting to sleep? Here are some non-obvious solutions you may want to try.
• Try to keep your stress levels in check. (Obviously, easier said than done, but something like meditation or journaling might help.)

READ MORE: 

Wheat Belly Deception: Understanding Wheat, Insulin, and Fat Loss

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The Foods That Fight Inflammation

The post How Gut Health Affects Your Health, Weight Loss, and Mood appeared first on Born Fitness.

One of those errors is overthinking the small stuff. You agonize over questions like “how many meals should I eat?” (Answer: it doesn’t really matter so long as you’re hitting your overall daily needs.)

But then people also under-think questions. They tend to assign broad, sweeping value judgments to foods and supplements. They want to know whether whatever it is they’re taking is “good” or “bad.”

No matter what marketing will sell you, taking megadoses of vitamins does not bulletproof your immunity.

The problem is that, without knowing who you are and what you are trying to do, the question is meaningless. The only honest answer is, “It depends.” And as you already know, that response always feels like the worst answer in the world. It doesn’t help you get any closer to the answer you want.

That’s especially true for multivitamins. The overall data on them is conflicted. Read one article, and you find out they’re not going to make you live longer or prevent cancer. Or maybe you’ve heard that they cause cancer, but that suggestion is also false.

The mess led the National Institutes of Health to say that “it is not possible to recommend for or against” using them.

But there’s no need to throw your hands up in frustration. If you dig into the research, you’ll find that science has a clear picture of multivitamin’s usefulness for common fitness goals like losing fat or building muscle.  

In order to crack the multivitamin code, you just need to ask yourself two questions:

1. Why do I want to take a multivitamin?
2. What do I hope to achieve with it?

“Should I take a multivitamin?” is a question that only you can answer, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult decision. The guide below will help you gauge a multivitamin’s usefulness for your wants and needs, and help you know the options (if you choose to use a multivitamin) that are safe and effective.

Do You Need a Multivitamin? Start here. 

Here’s an ironic fact: Most people use multivitamins as a nutritional insurance policy. Those who take them often follow healthier, more mineral-rich diets. When you think about it, the approach makes sense — healthier people are more likely to engage in health-ish behaviors. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: People who eat less nutrient-rich diets are less likely to take multivitamins.

At least those that are avoiding multivitamins aren’t falling for the belief that taking a multivitamin can help offset the flaws of a terrible, junk food diet. Because they won’t. But that doesn’t mean that those with less-than-stellar diets don’t need a multivitamin.

If you want to consider taking multivitamins, you should do a quick self-assessment. That’s because certain people run a higher risk of nutrient deficiencies even with a healthy diet.

For example, women tend to have a greater risk of iron deficiency, especially when pregnant. Vegans and vegetarians are more likely to be deficient in Vitamin B12. Research indicates that most just about all of us are lacking in magnesium, zinc, and–especially–vitamin D.

When it comes to figuring out exactly what you need, your best option is to start by having a basic blood panel. Otherwise, you’re just guessing. Once you are armed with your results (and know where you are deficient), you can move on to finding answers and knowing if multivitamins are the right decision for your goals and needs.

Will a Multivitamin Help You With Fat Loss?

Let’s start with the most common goal in the health and fitness industry: fat loss. Unfortunately, multivitamins do not improve fat loss. If they did, everyone would take them—and then go skipping off for seconds at the soft-serve ice-cream machine, knowing that their six-pack abs were protected by this miracle pill.

Achieving fat loss largely comes down to being in a caloric deficit. You have to burn more calories than you consume. In the most basic sense, that means you either eat fewer calories or increase exercise and activity.

If you go the low-calorie route during a fat loss plan, you might run a greater risk of nutrient deficiencies due to you eating less or enjoying a smaller variety of foods. Now, ideally, when you’re on any plan, you’ll be eating plenty of fruits and vegetables. But reality doesn’t always follow ideal situations, so if the above scenario describes you, it might be a good idea to take a multivitamin.

That said, a word of wisdom: feeling hungry all of the time and eating only chicken and broccoli is both boring and unnecessary. Which is why we recommend you listen to the under-heard, more balanced voices in nutrition—people like Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, Alan Aragon, John Berardi and Mike Roussell. They won’t focus on restriction. They’ll tell you to eat more of the good proteins (meat/chicken/eggs/fish/plant sources), fats (oils, nuts, dairy sources, avocados, seeds), and carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, rice, potatoes, grains) that you enjoy. You’ll probably be amazed at how much more full you feel—and how much longer that satisfaction lasts—even as you consume fewer total calories.

You know what else happens when you go with this approach? You’re more likely to meet your micronutrient needs. Making a multivitamin less necessary, or not needed at all.  

The verdict: Multivitamins have no benefits for fat loss, but they could help if you’re eating less and not enough vegetables, fats, and proteins.

Multivitamins and Muscle Mass

There is no evidence to support the idea that a multivitamin helps you to gain muscle mass. When you gain muscle, it’s primarily the result of a proper strength training plan combined with a diet that supplies adequate protein and calories, and enough sleep so your body can rebuild and recover.

One supplement that has consistently demonstrated that ability to assist with muscle growth and repair is protein powder. (Creatine has a host of muscle-building benefits too, but that’s a different discussion.) But even then, there’s nothing magical about the powder; it’s the role of protein that makes the biggest difference, whether it’s a supplement, meat, chicken, fish, eggs, or plant-based sources.

The verdict: If your goal is to add mass, your first priority should be to eat enough high-quality food to help you build it. Any muscle-building benefits claimed by a multivitamin are as of yet unproven.

Multivitamins, Energy, and Cognitive Function

Interestingly enough, Northumbria University in the UK conducted two studies—one of 216 females aged 25-50 years old, the other of 198 males aged 30-55 years old—and found that in both groups a multivitamin improved cognitive function, lowered fatigue, and improved subjects’ ability to multitask. The participants who took a multivitamin did better compared to the placebo group.

These two studies, on their own, are not reason enough to conclude that a multivitamin is your fix for mental fog or will stop you from nodding off at your desk at 3 p.m. It’s worth noting that the studies didn’t discuss a host of variables that could have a significant impact on the results, such as sleep, nutrition, or exercise habits of their participants. However, both studies were randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind, which is a fancy way of saying that they deserve attention and more research.

The verdict: If you’re looking for a low-risk, potentially effective way to beat fatigue and increase your energy, multivitamins are a good option to try.   

Will Multivitamins Help Prevent Sickness?

The performance of your immune system depends on a variety of complex factors. One of those is your micronutrient levels, which help create a defense system for your body. Specifically, vitamins A, C and E work along with zinc to help the skin barrier function, while vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D and E work along with a host of other trace elements to support the immune cells.

Nutrient deficiencies suppress your immunity. So for that reason, a multivitamin could be helpful. But then again, so could a smoothie that loaded with the above vitamins (here’s an easy-to-make one that we like that supports immune function).

It’s important to note that while nutrient deficiencies can hamper your immune function, the reverse is not true. Taking megadoses of vitamins does not improve your immunity. So you can put down the Airborne and slowly back away.

While most multivitamins contain the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamins and minerals, RDA is what’s required strictly to achieve the bare minimum level of health. In essence, RDA gives you what you need to survive, not necessarily to thrive and live optimally. It’s tough to say whether your specific multivitamin contains the right doses needed to bring your levels to an optimal range.

Even if its label says it hits all the RDAs, some multivitamins aren’t so beneficial as advertised because they use less-than-optimal components. A common example of this would be vitamin D2, which is less biologically active in the body than vitamin D3, and therefore less effective at boosting vitamin D levels. Similarly, studies show that magnesium citrate has superior bioavailability when compared with other forms of magnesium, but those other forms often end up in people’s daily multis.

The verdict: Similar to fat loss, be honest about your diet. If you’re not eating enough of the foods that are high in nutrient content, then it might be worth your while to boost your defenses by taking a multivitamin. Or, the easiest way to measure your deficiencies (as we mentioned in the beginning), is to take a blood test. Then, you can decide if you want to supplement your needs with whole foods or a multivitamin.

Men’s Multivitamin vs. Women’s: Is there a difference?

A common theme you’ll see from popular brands is age- or gender-specific multivitamins. There’s something to this idea. Men and women do have different nutritional needs, and those needs do change as you age.

For example, women who are menstruating have a higher need for iron than men due to the blood lost during menstruation. After menopause, women no longer need that higher iron intake. At that point, their iron needs equal those of men. But menopause brings about another change, this one to a woman’s need for calcium. Estrogen plays a role in calcium reabsorption and bone turnover, so with the decreased estrogen production that stems from menopause, a woman’s need for calcium increases.

The verdict: The idea that your multivitamin formulation should change over time has some merit. You’ll just want to subject any claims on the label to the same type of scrutiny you’d give any other supplement. The same facts still apply: The vitamin won’t cure cancer or add years to your life. It may provide more of the nutrition you need. 

Buyer’s Guide: Not All Multivitamins are Created Equal

Because multivitamins are categorized as supplements and FDA regulation of supplements is extremely hands-off, the quality can vary and it’s easy to purchase a product that might be less effective.

You can’t take the claims on a multivitamin’s label at face value because they aren’t managed by a governing body that holds them to a standard. There are, however, certain seals of approval from non-government organizations that can tell you if the supplement has passed their tests for quality, potency, and contaminants.

These seals of approval show that the supplement was manufactured properly and actually contains the ingredients listed on the label. (Which is important when you consider that false labeling is rampant in the supplement space.) They also test for the presence of harmful contaminants. Here are two that offer you a reasonable assurance that what’s inside the bottle matches what’s on its label:

U.S. Pharmacopeia – USP tests a supplement for four P’s: Positive Identity, Potency, Purity, and Performance. Positive Identity means the vitamins and minerals on the label are actually present in the supplement. Potency means those micronutrients are present in the proper amounts listed on the label. Many supplements on the market will have too much, too little, or none of some of the listed ingredients. Purity means the supplement does not contain unwanted ingredients, which could include heavy metals, pesticides, and even banned substances or pharmaceuticals. Lastly, Performance means the supplement will actually break down and be absorbed by your body. After all, if a supplement doesn’t dissolve in your digestive system, it won’t be of a lot of benefit to you.

NSF – NSF is an international health and safety organization that monitors many different types of products including kitchen appliances, water filtration systems, and even plumbing fixtures. When it comes to supplements, the NSF “Certified for Sport” label is especially useful for athletes. Any product bearing that label has been tested for banned substances and verified as safe.

Ideally, the multivitamin you buy would have both of these seals on its label. If it does, and the dosages listed meet at least the RDAs, it shows that multivitamin is more likely to be higher in quality than average. But you also should check the vitamin manufacturer’s website. There you should find more information on the production and testing process the company uses to ensure quality. (And if you don’t, there’s a warning sign for you.)  

Another way to check a product’s quality is to visit Labdoor. Labdoor is unique in that they buy supplements directly from retail stores then test them in an FDA-registered lab. Those supplements are then ranked by category based on how well they perform. While Labdoor hasn’t tested every product on the market (and some other ratings — like taste — are more subjective), you can find a breakdown of every multivitamin they’ve tested to date.  

Are More Expensive Multivitamins Better?

While the saying, “you get what you pay for” is oftentimes true, that’s not always true with multivitamins. In fact, some of the less expensive options are quite good.

Full disclosure: Born Fitness does not have any financial agreements in place with any of these brands. We’re including them solely based on what we know about them through their reputation, reviews, and other available information.

Thorne Research is a well-respected company in supplement space. They’re known for having extremely high standards for purity and precision. Thorne offers a wide array of NSF Certified for Sport supplements, and has partnered with the Mayo Clinic to run randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical studies investigating the effects of a variety of nutritional supplements. When it comes to multivitamins, all of Thorne’s offerings contain adequate amounts of the necessary micronutrients, including both vitamin D and K. They also offer several options tailored to those who have specific needs. For example, some of their formulations have copper, iron, or iodine removed for individuals who are sensitive to those nutrients. Thorne multivitamins range from $26.99 for 60 capsules to $44.85 for 180 capsules.

Garden Of Life also provides high-quality multivitamins, according to their test performance on Labdoor. Three of the top five ranked supplements on Labdoor are from Garden of Life. The brand’s multivitamins are USP certified. Garden of Life’s products cover a wide range of needs including specific offerings for men, women, and prenatal. Garden of Life multivitamins range from $34.54 for 120 capsules to $60.52 for 240 capsules.

Nature’s Way is a brand you’ve likely seen in your grocery store. Their Alive Max Daily ranks among the top 5 multivitamins on Labdoor. While you don’t see it on the bottle, they are an NSF certified company. The Alive Max Daily multivitamins cost $22.49 for 180 tablets. One thing to note is that The Alive Max Daily multivitamin contains large doses—ones that far exceed the RDA—of every nutrient it contains. You can take less than the recommended three-tablet dose if that is a concern.

Costco’s Kirkland Signature. If you’re on a tight budget, you’ll be thrilled to hear that Costco’s multivitamin performs really well in tests. The Kirkland Daily Multi is USP certified and ranks in the top 50 multivitamins on Labdoor. There’s nothing fancy about Costco’s multi—especially not the label—but it provides all the essential nutrients in an easily digestible form, and is extremely cost effective at $14.49 for 500 tablets.

To Take Multivitamins or Not to Take Multivitamins…

If you do decide to take a multivitamin, first be honest with yourself about your expectations. Research does not support the notion that any large-scale physical changes will result from a multivitamin alone.

From there, assess your needs. Bloodwork is the most thorough option. Age- or gender-specific vitamin formulations may be helpful.

For any multivitamin you consider, do your homework. Check the label. Look for seals from USP and NSF. Visit the manufacturer’s website, and see how the product scored on Labdoor.

Of course, you should also consult with your physician.

Whether or not you take a multivitamin, you still need to eat high-quality foods, exercise appropriately, and manage your sleep and stress. These are truly the low-hanging fruit when it comes to disease prevention and living a vibrant, healthy life.

Follow those rules, and you may find that you don’t need a multivitamin at all.

READ MORE: 

Fix Your Diet: Understanding Proteins, Carbs and Fats

How Many Eggs are Safe to Eat?

7 Supplements Worth Trusting

The post Are Multivitamins Right for Your Body? appeared first on Born Fitness.