Women's Multivitamins

Best multivitamin for premenopausal women

Premenopausal women lose iron during menstruation, and experts recommend that women in this age group take a multivitamin with 18 mg of iron, such as One-A-Day Women's (*Est. $20 for 250 tablets). This multivitamin also contains 400 mcg of folic acid, which is recommended for all women of childbearing age to prevent potential neural tube defects (like spina bifida). Women's One-A-Day also contains 800 IU of vitamin D, an amount that is recommended by the National Osteoporosis Foundation. Women's One-A-Day is approved by ConsumerLab.com in its latest round of testing, and it's one of the few women's multivitamins tested that contains accurate amounts of the nutrients on its label. Five women's multivitamins tested contain more niacin (vitamin B3) than stated on their label. ConsumerLab.com says that niacin in high doses is usually harmless, but it can cause skin flushing and tingling.

One-A-Day Women's also fares well in recent FDA testing. In August 2008, the FDA tested 324 multivitamins for lead, finding that 320 contain at least some trace of lead. All of the multivitamins are far below the provisional total tolerable intake levels (PTTI) for lead. However, some vitamins -- even though they were well under the safe/tolerable level -- contain more lead than others. Women's One-A-Day had lower amounts of lead than many other women's multis tested, and it did not exceed lead limits in ConsumerLab.com testing. User reviews say women are generally happy with this One-A-Day multivitamin, but several users say they are nauseated or get stomach upsets if they don't take the pill with a substantial meal. Vegans and vegetarians should note that One-A-Day Women's contains gelatin, which is sourced from beef or pork, according to the company's website.

Centrum from A to Zinc (*Est. $17.50 for 250 tablets) is another popular, well-reviewed multivitamin, although it contains less calcium and vitamin D than Women's One-A-Day. Centrum from A to Zinc contains 400 IU of vitamin D and 200 mg of calcium, compared to 800 IU of vitamin D and 450 mg of calcium in Women's One-A-Day. If you prefer more of these nutrients, the new Centrum Ultra Women's (*Est. $20 for 200 tablets) contains 800 IU of vitamin D and 500 mg of calcium. Centrum from A to Zinc does contain more folic acid than Women's One-A-Day, and it has the same amount of iron recommended for menstruating women. Centrum from A to Zinc contains several other nutrients, which experts say aren't really necessary but won't hurt you. These include nickel, silicon, tin and vanadium. Other ingredients, like lutein and lycopene, are advertised as preventing cataracts and promoting heart health, respectively, but experts say the small amounts in most multivitamins are too minimal to have much of an effect. In a 2009 survey by Pharmacy Times, 57.1 percent of pharmacists said they recommend Centrum to shoppers. According to the manufacturer, Centrum A to Zinc contains gelatin that is sourced from pork and poultry products.

If you're on a budget, experts say store-brand vitamins can be a good deal. The CVS Pharmacy Daily Multiple for Women (*Est. $8 for 100 tablets) costs slightly less than the name-brand Women's One-A-Day, but it performs just as well in independent testing. It's approved by ConsumerLab.com, and it's one of the few multis it tested that doesn't contain more niacin than stated on the label. The CVS Daily Multiple for Women contains fish ingredients, so it's also not a good choice for vegans and some vegetarians. Walgreens Advanced Formula A Thru Z (*Est. $10.50 for 250 tablets) has the same ingredients in the same amounts as Centrum from A to Zinc, but for about half the price. You can easily test your own vitamins for dissolvability (so you can be sure they dissolve quickly enough to be absorbed by the body). See the Useful Links section on how to do this.

Viactiv is known for its Soft Calcium Chews (*Est. $7.50 for 60 chews), but it also has milk chocolate and chocolate-cherry Multi-Vitamin Chews ($8 for 60 chews). Viactiv has 400 mcg of folic acid along with nearly 100 percent of the DV for most other essential vitamins and minerals. The milk chocolate Viactiv multivitamin also has one of the lowest amounts of lead among women's multivitamins in the FDA test. However, Viactiv doesn't contain any iron, an essential for premenopausal women, and all of the 2,500 IU of vitamin A is in the form of retinol palmitate instead of the more desirable beta-carotene. In addition, dieters may prefer a pill-based multivitamin without calories; Viactiv multivitamins contain 20 calories per chew. Still, user reviews indicate that these multis taste very good, so they're an option if you don't like swallowing pills.

Vegetarians and vegans have fewer options for multivitamins, because many of the top brands contain animal-derived gelatin or fish products. ConsumerLab.com tests several vegetable-based multis in its latest report, including Pure Encapsulations Multi t/d (*Est. $30 for 120 capsules). The Pure Encapsulations Multi is expensive compared to other multivitamins, but it does not contain gelatin or fish products. However, it's not completely vegan -- the vitamin D comes from lanolin, which is derived from wool fibers. According to the manufacturer, the Multi t/d is hypoallergenic and contains no artificial colors or fragrances. The Pure Encapsulations Multi contains 800 IU of vitamin D and 800 mcg of folic acid, but because this multi is designed for adults in general, it doesn't contain calcium or iron -- two essential nutrients for premenopausal women. The company does offer Pure Encapsulations Nutrient 950 (*Est. $20.50 for 90 capsules), a vegetarian multivitamin with 10 mg of iron and 300 mg of calcium, but we don't have any testing details on this multi.

Another vegetarian multivitamin tested by ConsumerLab.com, Garden of Life Vitamin Code Raw One for Women (*Est. $26 for 75 capsules) is not approved because it did not contain the listed amount of vitamin A. This multi contains 1,000 IU of vitamin D and 800 mcg of folic acid. However, the Garden of Life Raw One multi contains only 6 mg of iron (33 percent of DV) and 16 mg of calcium (2 percent of DV).