The Best Multivitamin Everything you need, nothing you don’t

If you grew up popping Flintstones vitamins like most of us did, you might think that of course it’s a good idea to take a multivitamin every day. That’s just what healthy people do, right?

Kind of. “You really cannot supplement your way out of an unhealthy diet,” says Robin Foroutan, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. If you’re eating a diet that includes grains, lots of leafy vegetables, a wide variety of brightly colored fruit, and lean meats, you probably don’t need to take a multivitamin at all.

But Foroutan says she sometimes advises her clients to take one, especially if their diets lack important nutrients. If your meals are more Guy Fieri than Jamie Oliver, try MegaFood Women’s One Daily or MegaFood Multi for Men. MegaFood gets high marks from third-party certifiers, offers remarkable transparency in an industry not known for it (you can literally watch a live stream of its New Hampshire facilities), and limits its inactive filler ingredients to three — by far the lowest we’ve seen. Most notably, both formulas are derived entirely from real food sources, which is a big plus for some. The one downside? They’re expensive.

Our budget pick, Costco’s synthetic Kirkland Signature Daily Multi, also received high marks from third parties and is much cheaper — only 2 cents per serving. The biggest difference: its nutrients are derived entirely from synthetic sources. Science hasn’t proven synthetics to be better or worse than their natural counterparts, so if you don’t feel strongly one way or the other, we think Kirkland Signature is a great way to go. (It also includes calcium and potassium, which MegaFood lacks.)

For kids, our favorite was Rainbow Light Kid’s One MultiStars. Each crunchy, star-shaped tablet contains the same essential nutrients we looked for in our adult picks, at child-friendly doses. This supplement is food-based, and free of the fillers and artificial dyes we saw in many other kids’ formulas. The brand came highly recommended by our experts and is intended for children of all ages.

Older adults have slightly different dietary requirements, often needing higher levels of vitamins like B12 and D. For this category, we suggest Kirkland Signature Adults 50+ Mature Multi — a synthetic formula that hit our nutritional benchmarks for older adults and is quite affordable at just $0.03 per dose.

All that said, the amounts of nutrients included in all our top picks vary — as will the amounts you need to be your healthiest. It’s important to consult with your doctor to determine if you have any vitamin deficiencies (usually via blood test) and what amounts you might require to get back up to speed. If it’s a severe deficiency, your doctor will likely recommend or prescribe a supplement for whichever specific nutrients you lack. Only mild deficiencies can be ameliorated by a multivitamin.