Are you a woman who tries to prioritize healthy eating, but still worry you are not getting all the nutrients you need to thrive? Do you try to eat the rainbow every day, but sometimes get sidetracked by the many commitments in your life? If so, you are not alone. Even if you try to lead a healthy lifestyle, it can be difficult to eat the amount and variety that is needed to maintain optimal levels of nutrients.
Avoiding nutrient deficiency should be a concern for everyone, but especially for women. In a 2017 population study in the United States, 41% of women age 19-50 were at risk for at least one micronutrient deficiency. And although we would all prefer to maintain perfect health without using supplements, it turns out multivitamins really do make a difference. In the study, only 14% of those who took a full-spectrum multivitamin were at risk for deficiencies, compared to 40% of those who took no supplements (1).
There is little question that multivitamins are helpful in preventing deficiencies, but what if you could go a step further and obtain the benefits of whole foods in a multivitamin? Although a pill still can’t replace real fresh food, whole food multivitamins come closer than your traditional multivitamin with synthetic materials and additives.
Whole food multivitamins are made by dehydrating vitamin-rich plant material and condensing it into pills or capsules. According to the manufacturers, these natural vitamins are more effective than synthetic vitamins because the combination of nutrients from the plant material helps with vitamin absorption. I have not able to find any studies supporting this premise, but I find the idea to be promising.
Even though the value of whole food multivitamins has not yet been proven in studies, consumers are choosing these natural supplements in increasing numbers. If you need a multivitamin to keep up your nutrient levels, why not choose one as close to nature as possible?
Buyer’s guide to whole food multivitamins for women
If you are ready to pick out a whole food multivitamin to fill the gaps in your diet, your top concerns probably include the bioavailability, potency, and purity of the product. It can be difficult to sort out the truly high-quality products from the ones that are all empty promises, but thankfully there are several options to meet your standards.
This list includes only the 5 best whole food multivitamins for women in 2020. They all contain the most bioavailable forms of vitamins from whole foods instead of cheaper synthetic vitamins. These supplements are all highly potent, providing full daily servings of the nutrients you are probably missing in your diet. And just as importantly, they are all made with only the purest formulas. All are vegan and are third-party tested to ensure quality and purity. They are also free from allergens, sugar, and other unnecessary additives. Finally, these supplements all have many satisfied customers, with at least a 4.5 star-rating on Amazon.
Keep reading to learn about the unique benefits of each of these whole food multivitamins for women and to find out which one is the best fit for you.
1. Naturelo Whole Food Multivitamin for Women
Naturelo’s Whole Food Multivitamin contains an incredible blend of nutrients from 24 whole foods such as algae, grapes, tomatoes, black olives, and turmeric. Each capsule contains vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, along with numerous other essential nutrients, all from an organic fruit and vegetable blend. This multivitamin can give you all the basic vitamins and minerals you might be missing in your diet, but it does not stop there.
This unique supplement also includes digestive enzymes as well as special botanic blends for energy, brain health, heart health, and eye health. So if you are interested in using natural products to enhance your health in those areas, now you can without buying a dozen different supplements!
The ingredients in this multivitamin are sourced from the United States except for the calcium, which is from Ireland, and the folate, which is from Italy. The vitamins are manufactured in the U.S. and are made without fillers or preservatives. The manufacturer recommends taking two capsules twice daily with a meal and a glass of water. They also indicate you can open the capsules and add the powder to your food or drink, so this would be a good option if you don’t like pills.
2. Codeage Women’s Fermented Multivitamin
This multivitamin contains over 25 essential vitamins and minerals from a blend of whole plant foods and organic herbs to support your everyday health. A unique feature of this supplement is that it includes fermented vitamins, which are formulated to help with bioavailability. It also offers a probiotic blend and an enzyme blend to help with digestion.
In addition, this supplement contains omega 3 from microalgae, lutein from marigold, fermented turmeric, boron, and CoQ10. I especially like the omega-3, which is important for heart health and cognitive function. Since the main dietary source of omega-3 is fish, plant-based eaters may not get much of this nutrient, and most multivitamins do not include it. If you are at risk for heart disease or cognitive decline, you may want to consider a multivitamin like this one which contains omega-3.
This product is manufactured in the United States from high-quality ingredients with no ingredients sourced from China. It is free from carriers, fillers, or artificial ingredients. The daily serving size is 4 capsules, which should be taken with a glass of water, with or without food. You also have the option of opening the capsule and adding the powder to your food or drink.
3. Vitamin IQ Multivitamin for Women
This multivitamin is another excellent choice, containing essential vitamins and minerals from 24 nutritionally dense whole food sources. It features an antioxidant blend including ingredients such as blueberry powder, cranberry powder, and grapseed extract, as well as an enzyme blend for digestion. The Vitamin IQ Multivitamin includes superfoods such as green tea leaf extract for brain health and metabolism support and gotu kola for cognition, circulation, and skin repair. It also offers an eye health blend containing zeaxanthin, lycopene, astaxanthin, and lutein.
Unlike most multivitamins for women, Vitamin IQ’s formula does not include iron, making it suitable for women over 50. It is also the only multivitamin with lithium orotate, which has benefits for folate and B12 transport, brain health, and inflammatory regulation.
Vitamin IQ supplements are manufactured in the United States. They are formulated to work synergistically for maximum absorption and to be easy on your stomach. A daily serving is 4 capsules, which the manufacturer recommends taking as two capsules twice daily with meals.
4. MegaFood Women’s One Daily
This multivitamin boasts a broad spectrum of vitamins and minerals from a blend of organic foods and herbs. Just a few of the nutrients it offers are 9 mg of iron, 400 IU of vitamin D, and a B vitamin complex to support energy production. Unlike some of the other supplements in this list, MegaFood Women’s One daily is focused solely on providing the basic vitamins and minerals needed for your body’s basic functioning.
This supplement contains a blend of a wide variety of whole foods, but it does not have probiotics or blends for special health concerns such as eye or brain health. However, if you are sensitive to certain ingredients or simply don’t feel the need for the extra vitamins, you may prefer this simpler formula.
Since this multivitamin has fewer ingredients, a daily serving fits into just one capsule, making it easy and convenient to take. MegaFood manufactures their products in the United States and sources their ingredients from farms that use sustainable practices. Their vitamins are also tested for 125 herbicides and pesticides and are certified glyphosate residue free.
5. Garden of Life My Kind Multivitamin for Women
Garden of Life offers a rare product: a certified USDA organic whole food multivitamin. This means the ingredients in this vitamin are guaranteed to be free of toxic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. This product is also non-GMO certified and certified vegan.This robust multivitamin contains 18 vitamins and minerals and provides at least 100% daily value for most of them. This all comes from a blend of over 30 organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs grown in the United States.
According to the manufacturer, this multivitamin is formulated to support energy, metabolism, blood and heart health, and skin and nails. It provides 250% daily value of vitamin D3 from lichen as well as over 100% daily value of vitamin B12, which is the most important vitamin to supplement if you eat a vegan diet.
The Garden of Life multivitamin is manufactured in the United States according to strict specifications. Nutrients are extracted from the raw ingredients using purified water, and are then combined in the pill with a patent-pending clean tablet technology using only organic ingredients. A daily serving is only a single pill, making this another convenient multivitamin for busy women.
Conclusion
If you are a woman who wants to supplement with a multivitamin without foregoing the benefits of whole foods, there are many great options available. All the products listed here are made to meet high standards of quality and consistency, so this list is a good starting point in your search for a whole food multivitamin. When choosing a brand, you will also want to consider factors such as your stage of life, existing medications, and health conditions. If your diet is low in certain nutrients or you have any deficiencies, you will want to be sure to get a multivitamin that addresses those deficiencies.
It is also important to note that although most people experience no side effects from these supplements, some people have experienced adverse reactions due because of sensitivities to certain ingredients. So if you have any known allergies, it is important to check the ingredients carefully. It is always best to consult with your doctor before starting a supplement and to ask them about any concerns when it comes to potential side effects or drug interactions.
If you have read this far, you clearly are serious about optimizing your health, and hopefully now you understand how a whole food multivitamin might fit into your healthy lifestyle. With their potent blends of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, these vitamins rise a step above the typical multivitamin. They not only fill the gaps in your diet, but also can potentially improve your energy and mental clarity and protect your whole body from heart to skin to eyes. If you are ready for a multivitamin that truly helps you to live your best life, try one of the options above and please share your experience in the comments below!
The review on this article of Multivitamins for our health is a great topic. I am up there in age, and from the old school in eating, I usually eat lots of earth food, not supplement, cause I had often wonder how are manufacturers able to condense all the important ingredients in a tiny pill to be good for your health?
In my opinion from past experience, was to eat all organic food plants from the garden, such as green vegetables, and fruits suppose to give you the full benefits in nutrients and vitamins. However, lately being home due to covid, and not active I start feeling some unusual pain here and there, not getting the regular food line for cooking, I was informed to start taking multivitamins, cause I am lacking those nutrients, so I am taking the over 50 Centrum Silver, just started so I am not sure if it is working as yet.
I like the reviews on all 5 products, but so confusing when there are so many to choose from.
Very good article to our health as a women.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree that it is best to get most of our nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables, but it can be difficult to get everything we need. It is especially difficult right now since many of us are stuck inside. I hope your multivitamin helps fill the gaps in your diet and diminishes the pains you have been having.
Hi, Bailey,
Thank you so much for your articles about the multivitamins for women. It is very helpful to every individual especially women like me. It is a complete guide of multivitamins, which I enjoyed much reading all of it. I am 54 years old and presently I also have taken some multivitamins, Sodium Ascorbate Fern-C to boost the immune system (as we have those COVID-19 pandemics), and Ocuvite Lutein for my eyes vitamins as both eyes are already operated. I have taken those vitamins every morning. I am happy if you could recommend a natural vitamin suit my age I highly appreciated it. Thank you so much.
Best of Good Luck to your Site.
Joyce
Hi Joyce. Thank you for reading my article, and I’m glad you found it helpful. Any of these vitamins could be taken by a woman over 50, but the Vitamin IQ Multivitamin for Women would be the most suitable because it does not contain iron, which women over 50 usually do not need. It also contains a blend for eye health with zeaxanthin, lycopene, astaxanthin, and lutein. I hope that helps!