Traditionally, the men’s share of the vitamin and mineral supplement market has been small, but that’s starting to change as more men are getting in on the action. The latest figures available show that the men’s vitamin market increased by 29% between 2015-16 alone and is expected to continue growing.
According to Mintel, 43% of men in the UK now report taking daily vitamins and supplements.
The key is to choose the right one, which can be difficult to do among the dozens of multi-vitamins on the market. So, let us pick the best for you.
Here at Supplement Reviews UK, we pride ourselves on our independent and thorough reviews of everything from multi-vitamins, to T-boosters, protein supplements, fat burners and more. We don’t recommend products lightly; we must be 100% convinced that they are the best on the market.
When it comes to men’s multi-vitamins, we recommend Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi Men’s Formula. Read on to find out why…
Table of Contents
Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi for Men
Why Choose a Men’s Multi-Vitamin?
Let me try to answer a few questions you may have about vitamins.
- Do I really need to supplement with vitamins?
Answer: Yup, very probably. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the majority of men are deficit in nearly every nutritional category (beans and meat excepted). More specifically, they claim that men between 31 and 50 need to eat 150% more fruit each day and 350% more dark green veg to meet federal guidelines. That’s tough to do without supplementation.
- Why choose a multi-vitamin over individual supplements?
Answer: There’s a school of thought that suggests multi-vitamins are more effective at replicating the complex interaction of nutrients in food, making them more useful than individual supplements alone.
- Do I really need a gender-specific multi-vitamin? Won’t a generic multi-vitamin work just as well?
Answer: We would recommend choosing a multi-vitamin specifically designed for men rather than a generic option. Why? Because men’s nutritional needs differ from women’s, including their recommended daily allowances of vitamins and minerals, and a one-size fits all approach can’t cater for that as effectively as a gender-specific multi-vitamin.
You want a multi-vitamin with little to no iron. Iron is more of a dietary requirement for women. In men, iron tends to build up over time and can potentially cause organ damage.
Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi Men’s Formula does NOT contain iron, ensuring it is suitable for men of any age, but it does have generous levels of male-friendly ingredients boron, zinc, B-vitamins and more.
The Ingredients in Detail
Heart-Healthy Vitamins
Approximately 42,000 men die from heart disease in Britain every year, so it’s important to look after your heart. You need to ensure any multi-vitamins you take includes the heart-healthy vitamins B1, B6, folic acid, C, E and selenium.
As you would expect from any men’s multi-vitamin that we recommend, Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi for Men includes all of the above in generous quantities, with a whopping 533% of Daily Value of B1.
Zinc
Zinc is one of the most important minerals for men, thanks to its ability to boost the body’s testosterone production. For that reason, it is vital for reproduction and virility, and yet it is often lacking in the average man’s diet.
Zinc also helps to boost the immune system, repair tissue and help maintain cognition, as well as caring for hair, skin and nail heath.
Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi, Men’s Formula, has a hefty 150% of zinc’s recommended Daily Value (22.5mg).
B-Vitamins
All of the B vitamins found in Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi Men’s Formula reach a minimum of the recommended Daily Value for men, with several well above the limit, as mentioned above.
B vitamins (B2, 5, 6 and 12 especially) are particularly good for men with stressful jobs or lives as they help the body’s stress-coping mechanisms to stay in tip-top shape. They also help to boost energy and improve muscle function, useful if you’re feeling run down.
Vitamin D
Commonly known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, vitamin D is another important nutrient for men. It’s hard to obtain enough vitamin D from food alone (most sources are animal-based too so vegans particularly suffer), and we’ve been told for decades to be careful in the sun. It’s no wonder low levels of vitamin D are a concern for many. Indeed, the NHS predicts one in five people have low vitamin D levels.
If you have muscle weakness or bone pain, you may have a vitamin D deficiency. Don’t be fooled into thinking bone-related issues are only for women; men suffer too. Lack of vitamin D has also been implicated in other health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and cognitive impairment in older men (and women).
It’s important to realise that the sun in the UK is just not strong enough to create vitamin D during the autumn and winter months (October through to March) so some supplementation is essential and recommended by the NHS.
Here’s where it gets interesting. The UK government recommends adults should have 10mcg (400IU) every day. However, our American counterparts recommend higher dosages. The Food and Nutrition Board recommends that men (and women) up to 70 should have 15mcg (600IU), increasing to 20mcg (800IU) for the over 70s.
So, who should you listen to? Well, here’s the good news. Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi, Men’s Formula contains 1000IU of vitamin D3 – 250% of Daily Value (25mcg) – meaning that you are covered no matter which advice you follow.
Boron
Boron is a strong addition to a man’s multi-vitamin, thanks to its ability to boost testosterone and support strong muscles and bones. Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi for Men contains 4mg of boron. (Daily Value is not established for boron).
Note that Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi Men’s Formula contains a total of 26 vitamins and minerals including the above, with 18 of them delivering 100% of the recommended daily value, if not more.
The Secret Weapon
There’s another reason we are happy to recommend Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi-For Men, and it speaks to the way the manufacturers produce the vitamins and minerals included in the supplement.
Performance Lab® have discovered a unique way – called BioGenesis™ — to significantly increase the body’s absorption rate of the vitamins and minerals included in this supplement.
This increased bioavailability occurs because the BioGenesis™ process allows Performance Lab® to produce nutrients identical to those found in nature.
By growing nutrients on probiotic, yeast and plant cultures under laboratory control, the nutrients produced include enzymes, antioxidants, fibre, cofactors and natural probiotics, essentially the same as you would find naturally.
This makes the vitamins and minerals within Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi Men’s Formula easier to absorb and therefore more effective, meaning it can include lower dosages for the same effect and avoid the potential health concerns associated with megadose vitamins.
Performance Lab® also creates clean, eco-friendly supplements which are gluten, soy, allergen, GMO and additive-free, with no banned substances. As such, they are safe for long-term daily use.
Performance Lab ® Whole-Food Multi for Men can also be taken alongside the company’s other formulas, such as T-Booster, Fat Burner, BCAA, Mind, Energy, Sleep, and more.
Our Final Word…
We are big fans of the Performance Lab® range, produced by Opti-Nutra, also manufacturers of our favourite nootropic, Mind Lab Pro.
In a supplement market crammed with inferior products, we appreciate companies that use science and good faith to produce clean, ethical and effective supplements.
We believe Performance Lab ® Whole-Food Multi Men’s Formula is THE best men’s multi-vitamin on the market in the UK, natural or otherwise, and we aren’t afraid to recommend it as such.
Performance Lab® Whole-Food Multi for Men can be bought only at the official website: https://www.performancelab.com/supplements/multi-men-women/
