Chew 1 tablet 1 to 2 times daily. Store in a cool, dry place after opening. Consult physician if pregnant/nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition. Keep out of reach of children. Contains Xylitol, do not feed to pets. Do not eat freshness packet. * Percent Daily Values are based on 2,000 calorie diet.† Daily Value not established. Sugar Alcohols (Sorbitol & Xylitol) Vitamin C (from Sodium Ascorbate and as Ascorbic Acid) Acerola Powder (Malpighia punicifolia) (Fruit) Organic Turbinado Sugar, Sorbitol, Cellulose, Xylitol, Natural Orange Fruit Juice Powder, Stearic Acid (vegetable source), Natural Flavors, Organic Stevia Leaf Extract (Enzyme-Modified Steviol Glycosides), Magnesium Stearate (vegetable source) and Silica. Not manufactured with wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, fish, shellfish or tree nut ingredients. Produced in a GMP facility that processes other ingredients containing these allergens. Caution: Consult physician if pregnant/nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition.
Natural color variation may occur in this product. Do Not Eat Freshness Packet. Store in a cool, dry place after opening. Family owned since 1968. *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.MegaFood Women’s One Daily The nutrients in these multivitamins are sourced from real foods — which also ups their price tag. One big reason these multivitamins went to the top of our list: In an industry filled with misdirection and misinformation, MegaFood is a beacon of transparency. Its supplements are certified as GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) with NSF International, which assures “the product produced has the identity, strength, composition, quality, and purity that it is represented to possess,” and MegaFood adheres to ISO 9001 standards, meaning its labs comply with the highest standards of quality assurance and testing.
Those certifications alone are more than enough to stand out from the crowd, but it doesn’t stop there. MegaFood provides links to the farmers who supply the food it derives nutrients from. It’s certified vegan, gluten-free, and non-GMO. It’s herb- and pesticide-free. And its New Hampshire facilities even have an extensive network of cameras so you can personally watch its lab employees in action. The company is so keen to show what it’s all about, it coined it’s own slogan: Big T Transparency. Advocates say they’re better because they contain fewer chemicals and are derived from real foods. But critics argue synthetic nutrients have a more reliable shelf life. What does the science say? “No one knows for sure,” said Foroutan. “The research is not there.” Beyond Big T, MegaFood has another huge distinction: its multivitamins’ nutrients are derived exclusively from fruits, vegetables, and grains, meaning the vitamin A within is extracted from carrots;
the vitamin C comes from organic oranges; and the vitamin K was once inside a cabbage. Many other nutrients, including the iron in the women’s multivitamin and the vitamin B12 in both blends, were derived from a yeast known as “saccharomyces cerevisiae,” a natural ingredient commonly used in brewing and baking. While the jury is still out on the tangible benefits of food-based supplements, they are must-haves for plenty of consumers, and MegaFood delivers. Another thing we love about these multivitamins is the super-short list of inactive fillers. There are just three ingredients used to bind the tablet together, and all are found in nature: plant cellulose, vegetable lubricant, and the chemical compound silica (basically, sand). An inactive ingredient list this short is a rarity in the supplement world, and that helped push these multivitamins to the top of our pile. (To compare, Kirkland Signature has 13.) MegaFood Multi for Men Formulated for men — notably, there's no calcium, iron, or magnesium.
Across both formulas, MegaFood boasts a nice balance of ingredients. Of the 27 nutrients the body needs, Multi for Men is purposefully missing iron, calcium, and magnesium — and while it does contain potassium, it has only a negligible amount. Women’s One Daily contains all 27, although it also contains barely any potassium. What are the other big differences between the men’s and women’s blends? There are slight variations in some nutrient levels, and the women’s blend contains a suite of 16 herbal additives, including nettle leaf and dandelion root. More notably, the women’s multivitamin contains 9 milligrams of iron, since premenopausal women need more iron than men or postmenopausal women. Finally, the women’s multivitamin requires just one tablet per day, but the mens requires two. A comparison of the nutritional info for MegaFood Multi for Men (left) and MegaFood Women’s One Daily (right). MegaFood also makes versions of these multivitamins targeted for both men and women who are over 55, which have slightly varied formulas.
The MegaFood Multi for Women 55+ doesn’t contain iron and the MegaFood Multi for Men 55+ contains pumpkin seed extract, which MegaFood claims supports a healthy prostate (the science is promising, but scant). There is one clear downside to MegaFood multivitamins: They’ll cost you. The blend targeted at women costs around 68 cents per serving (one tablet) and the men’s blend costs a steep 90 cents per serving (two tablets). If you’re looking for a more affordable option, keep reading. Kirkland Signature Daily Multi A great roster of nutrients, third-party certifications, and only 2 cents per serving. You can’t get a much better bargain than the synthetic Kirkland Signature Daily Multi from Costco. It contains all 27 wishlist nutrients, though it only has 80 milligrams of potassium — about 2 percent of the recommended daily value. Unlike MegaFood, the nutrients in these multivitamins are synthetic, meaning they’re created in a lab instead of extracted from a carrot or a head of broccoli.
(This may make some people squeamish, but there’s no evidence that synthetics are better or worse than naturally sourced vitamins.) The Kirkland Signature Daily Multi is USP-certified and received a B grade from Labdoor, earning high marks for value and purity, but a few red flags for label claim variance. The worst offense was folic acid levels at 31 percent above the label claim. Again, this isn’t a dangerous level — but it shows some inconsistencies in formulation. And one last caveat: This vitamin contains 18 milligrams of iron. That’s 100% of the RDA for premenopausal women, but exceeds the 8 milligram RDA for postmenopausal women and men. Too much iron can cause constipation, but the National Institute of Health guidelines point out an 18 milligram dosage is common in multivitamins and only warn against acute intakes of more than 20 milligrams. Nutritional info for Kirkland Signature Daily Multi. Nature Made Multi for Her A balanced formula with a slew of third-party certifications — and because its a synthetic, it's much cheaper than MegaFood.
Nature Made’s multivitamins are another good choice for anyone looking for a well-rounded daily tablet that has a third-party stamp of approval. Both the men’s and women’s blends are verified by USP to ensure label accuracy, and the Nature Made Multi for Her was one of 70 tested and approved by ConsumerLab. Both the men’s and women’s formulas earned a B+ ranking from Labdoor: Each earned high marks for purity, but also showed some ingredient inconsistencies. (Among other variations, the women’s tablet contained 51 percent more vitamin C than the label claimed, and the men’s tablet contained 175 percent more vitamin B6 than reported. These aren’t dangerous levels or ingredients, but they do indicate a little less precision with formulations.) Nature Made Multi for Him A similar formula to the women's blend, only with no iron and extra vitamin B12. Despite its name, Nature Made is synthetic. It’s cheaper than the MegaFood multivitamins, but more than the Kirkland Signature: The women’s Nature Made multi costs 11 cents per one-tablet serving, and the men’s multi costs 10 cents for the same.