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Identifying the Best Multivitamins UK for Men and Women
What should you look for to find the best multivitamin in the UK? We identify the best multivitamins UK for men and women in 2024.
About half of UK adults take some form of vitamin supplement, with multivitamin tablets being the most popular. While women have traditionally led the interest in such dietary supplements, men are increasingly turning to them as well.
Taking a daily multivitamin can provide all the essential vitamins and minerals our body needs on a day-to-day basis, with formulations that can vary in quality from brand to brand and product to product. Brands have also widened their product ranges to appeal to certain profiles and health-related desires.
So, how can you identify the best multivitamins UK?
SHORTCUT:
We’ve done the work for you and have compared and reviewed dozens of supplements available on the market today. Here are our favourites for the best multivitamins in the UK…
The Best Multivitamins for Men: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Men
The Best Multivitamins for Women: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Women
Why are Multivitamin Tablets So Useful?
In an ideal world, we would get all the nutrients we need from our food and a healthy diet, but that’s not always possible. Modern farming methods have rendered the food we eat less healthy with poorer nutritional value, so even eating a balanced diet may not provide all the essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need to thrive.
Likewise, we don’t always have the time to cook nutrient-dense meals each day and certain sectors of the population are at risk of missing vital vitamins and minerals because of their diet. Our absorption of certain nutrients such as Vitamin D and calcium also falls as we age.
In fact, studies have also shown that a complete daily multivitamin may help to protect against metabolic syndrome. While we would never suggest opting for multivitamin supplements rather than a healthy diet, it’s fair to say the best multivitamins UK could help address shortfalls in a healthy diet.
Why Our Bodies Need These Essential Vitamins and Minerals
Nutritional deficiencies can cause a host of problems. If you’re not getting enough vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other key nutrients, you’re going to struggle with brain and nerve function, muscle function, normal vision, a healthy immune system, and more. Nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin B, and other essential vitamins are needed for every single process in the body, from creating healthy hair to maintaining eye health, healthy bones, skin health, and healthy red blood cells.
To summarise, we need such essential nutrition for the normal functioning of the body, normal energy release, normal bones, and more.
Taking multivitamin tablets and vitamin supplements can help to keep your body in tip-top shape (or at least normal function!) and provide essential nutrition that you may be missing. We consider them another weapon in a healthy lifestyle.
What To Look For In the Best Multivitamins
It’s no surprise that millions of people in the UK are turning to multivitamin supplements – it’s a way to make sure we’re plugging any nutritional gaps. But what should you look for in a multivitamin and how can you recognise genuine quality? Here’s what we’d suggest considering when you opt for multivitamin tablets…
Wide-Ranging Nutrients and Dosages
The first thing to look for is a multivitamin that has a wide range of active ingredients, ie, vitamins and minerals. This should help to ensure you’re not deficient in any nutrient, and will also hopefully supplement others that you may benefit from.
The total number of vitamins and minerals isn’t the final answer, however; you also need to check dosage. Look at the recommended DV – Daily Value – or NRV – Nutritional Reference Values – of each nutrient. This % tells you how much of an ingredient is included compared to the recommended amount that you should be taking daily in order to avoid disease. You’ll notice that some DVs or NRVs are more than 100%; this is common with certain vitamins. This is generally safe as any excess is excreted in urine.
The best multivitamins will offer 100% in as many nutrients as possible. You’ll also want to ensure your multivitamin includes nutrients to tackle common deficiencies such as vitamin D3, magnesium and potassium.
Gender Specific
We’d also recommend that you opt for a multivitamin specific to your gender. By choosing a multivitamin for men or a multivitamin for women, they should hopefully be tailored to your specific physiological needs. We’ll talk more about this in a moment, but you should know that men and women have different nutritional requirements: men need more zinc, for instance, while women require more iron and folate (folic acid). It’s worth making sure whatever multivitamin you choose takes that into account.
Quality
Finally, we recommend searching for a high-quality multivitamin with a clean label and a superior manufacturer. We believe there is one product that fits the bill perfectly….
Our Choice of the Best Multivitamins UK
We’ve reviewed the multivitamin market in the UK to bring you our recommendation for the best multivitamins. They are:
For Men: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Men
For Women: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Women
Please note — this product was formerly called Performance Lab Whole-Food Multi.
Here are four titles we believe Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi deserves:
- Best Multivitamin for Men
- Best Multivitamin for Women
- Best Vegan Multivitamin
- Cleanest Multivitamin
- Best Multivitamins UK
Allow us to explain why…
Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Men
Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi is our top pick — a natural multivitamin with specialised formulas for men and women. We hold our hands up and admit that we like it A LOT.
NutriGenesis Multi includes more than 20 vitamins, minerals or trace elements crucial for good health, with most of them provided at 100% or more of Nutrient Reference Value (NRV), the daily recommended amount. That’s an impressive example of effective dosages and ingredient choice.
It includes vitamins and minerals to protect the heart, strengthen the immune system, protect bones and joints and encourage metabolic performance as well as healthy ageing. Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi also supports hormone balance, energy metabolism, digestive health, skin, hair and nails and more. You can see an exact breakdown of the ingredients shortly.
Cleanest Multivitamin in the UK
Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi is one of the cleanest multivitamin tablets around. It is gluten-free, caffeine-free, non-GMO, as well as free from soy, allergens, and synthetic additives. The manufacturing process is GMP certified, meaning it’s made in FDA-approved labs. All the vitamins are non-irradiated, and it is vegan friendly. All of which will help to avoid allergic reactions, helping you to start consuming multivitamins without worry.
Best Multivitamins for Vegans
What we really love about NutriGenesis Multi — over and above its ingredient choice and dosage — is the quality of its manufacturing as well as its super clean formula. The ultramodern NutriGenesis technique adds natural cofactors, enzymes, micronutrients and prebiotics identical to those found in nature, as opposed to the synthetic variations you often find in other multivitamins. Meaning the body can absorb them much more easily.
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BUY: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Men
BUY: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Women
Do Men and Women Really Need a Separate Multivitamin?
In a word, yes. Men and women have different physiologies and dietary needs, so it makes sense to choose a multivitamin specially designed for that. Choosing a one-size-fits-all multivitamin risks underdosing one gender while overdosing the other!
Let’s take a quick look at the most important vitamins and minerals for men and women separately and then we’ll look at how Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi delivers…
Best Multivitamins for Men
Men, of course, benefit from consuming a wide range of vitamins and minerals but particularly important vitamins for men include vitamins A, C, D, vitamin E and the B-vitamins. Vitamin K is also useful for men. Important minerals include zinc, calcium, magnesium, potassium and selenium.
We already know that men are deficient in most key nutrients. The USDA warns of serious deficiencies in zinc and magnesium; to make up the shortfall, you’d need to eat 350% more leafy greens and 150% more fruit daily. Zinc contributes to men’s fertility while magnesium is involved in more than 300 active processes in the body.
One-fifth of men are also thought to be low or borderline low in vitamin D [1]: the NHS recommends supplementing with at least 10mcg of vitamin D throughout the autumn and winter months. Vitamin D is needed to help the body absorb calcium to prevent weak muscles and bones and maintain normal bones, especially important as men age. Osteoporosis doesn’t just affect women: about 20-25% of hip fractures occur in men. [2]
The point of a quality multivitamin supplement is to combat deficiency in any essential nutrient and to provide additional doses of anything that could benefit you further.
Best Multivitamins for Women
Key vitamins and minerals for women that you’ll find in the best multivitamins – over and above the useful nutrients for everyone – are calcium, vitamin D, iron, folate, magnesium, and B12.
Calcium and vitamin D work together to build and maintain strong bones, while iron absorption is especially important for menstruating women to avoid anaemia.
B-vitamins (folate and B12 in particular) support the metabolism and keep brain function and nervous system healthy and in normal function. Older women typically experience a reduced ability to absorb B12, so supplementation is useful.
Magnesium and iodine are also important for female-health needs. The former is used in hundreds of processes in the body, helping to regulate blood pressure and blood sugar levels, potentially reducing the risk of diabetes and heart disease. In women over 40, it is also particularly useful for its role in preventing bone loss that could lead to osteoporosis.
Folate or folic acid is very important for pregnant women or women trying to get pregnant to prevent birth defects and conditions such as Spina Bifida. Performance Lab NutriGenesis for Women has higher amounts of folate (folic acid), ideal for women who may be thinking of getting pregnant. (Of course, we’d recommend following your doctor’s advice on vitamins if pregnant).
So there we have it: now it’s time to see how Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi delivers. Let’s have a look at the ingredients…
Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Women
NutriGenesis Multi Ingredients
- Vitamin A
Vitamin A is an antioxidant and essential vitamin, important for maintaining normal vision. It also supports the immune system and plays a role in tissue repair, bone strength and healthy skin. Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi provides 75% of your recommended daily NRV.
- Vitamin C
A potent antioxidant, vitamin C is essential for good nutrition and helps to protect the normal functioning of the cardiovascular system as well as the muscles and joints. As a strong antioxidant, vitamin C also tackles free radicals that typically attack healthy cells; as a result, vitamin C may help slow the signs of ageing. NutriGenesis® Multi provides three-quarters of your daily recommended dosage of vitamin C; the rest can be gained from eating fruits and vegetables.
- Vitamin D
As mentioned earlier, vitamin D is a common deficiency, especially in the UK. The NHS recommends everyone over the age of one to supplement with at least 10mcg of vitamin D; in the U.S., the recommended dosage is 15mcg. Here we have 25mcg. This is still a safe and very useful dose, but you should not exceed 50mcg from supplementation.
Vitamin D helps to maintain testosterone levels in men and is important for both men and women, especially as we age, for its ability to help the body absorb calcium and prevent weak bones and muscles. Taking a multivitamin tablet with decent levels of this will help prevent vitamin D deficiency or shortfall.
- Vitamin E
An antioxidant, vitamin E helps with cardiovascular health as well as skin, hair, nails, and tissue repair.
- Vitamin K (K1 + K2)
Most people haven’t heard of vitamin K – and many inferior multivitamins don’t include it – but vitamins K1 and K2 are important for health, and deficiency could even be the missing link between diet and some chronic diseases. K1 is important for blood clotting while K2 promotes bones and heart health. [3]
- Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1, thiamine, helps with glucose production, enabling the body to use carbohydrates as energy, and plays a strong role in heart, nerve and muscle function. You need a continuous supply of B1 as it is not stored in the body.
Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi provides 181% of the NRV for men, and 363% of the NRV for women. High quantities of B1 are perfectly safe as the body eliminates what it doesn’t need in urine. Note that your ability to absorb vitamin B1 from your diet decreases with age.
- Vitamin B2
Vitamin B2 is an antioxidant that plays a role in cell growth, energy metabolism and red blood cell formation.
- Niacin, Vitamin B3
Niacin or B3 helps the nervous system as well as improving blood cholesterol and fat and protein metabolism.
- Pantothenic acid, Vitamin B5
Pantothenic acid is the name given to vitamin B5. Pantothenic acid plays a role in hormone production, energy metabolism and is critical in enzyme production.
- Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 offers small benefits across a wide range of areas, from blood cell formation to oxygen transportation and from cognitive function and brain chemical synthesis to blood sugar levels.
- Biotin, Vitamin B7
You’ve no doubt heard of biotin; it’s famous for playing an important role in the health of your hair, skin and nails. It also helps to convert certain nutrients into energy and helps to break down fat in the body. Biotin is not stored in the body, so a continuous supply is important. Biotin is considered very safe even in very high doses as the body eliminates any it doesn’t need in urine.
- Folate, 400mcg DFE for men, 1336mcg DFE for women.
* DFE is Dietary Folate Equivalent, how much of the folate your body absorbs.
Folate is an incredibly important vitamin for both men and women. It may help to protect against heart disease because it prevents the build-up of homocysteine – heart and circulatory diseases account for 27% of all deaths in the UK, that’s one death every three minutes.
Folate is also vitally important for pregnant women and women hoping to become pregnant as it helps to prevent defects such as spina bifida in the foetus, explaining the higher amounts of folate in Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi for Women.
- Vitamin B12
Also referred to as cobalamin, B12 aids heart health, energy metabolism and cognitive function. Dementia and depression have been linked to low levels of serum B12. Older adults and vegetarians are more likely to have a B12 deficiency which can cause memory loss. There is no recommended maximum amount for vitamin B12, and higher doses have not been shown to be harmful.
- Calcium (in the women’s formula)
Calcium is an important dietary mineral that protects bones, joints, muscles and the nervous system. A deficiency can cause osteoporosis, but calcium is generally easy to obtain from milk and dairy products.
- Iron, 4mg for men, 8mg for women.
Iron is essential for blood cell formation and the transport of oxygen around the body. Women need more iron than men due to menstruation, explaining why levels are higher in Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi for Women than the male version, helping to prevent iron deficiency. Men need a multivitamin low in iron because high levels of iron can become toxic over time.
- Iodine
The primary function of iodine is regulating hormones, thyroid hormones in particular. These hormones are responsible for controlling your metabolism, among other things. Iodine may also influence immune health. A lack of iodine or iodine deficiency can interfere with your thyroid hormones which in turn can have a tremendous impact on your weight.
- Magnesium
Magnesium is important for both men and women and plays a role in more than 300 processes within the body. It can help regulate testosterone and energy in men, can help relax muscles and regulate blood sugar.
It also plays a few extra roles in women’s health. Magnesium is important during pregnancy to build and repair tissues; it may also help to prevent leg cramps and improve PMS symptoms. A magnesium deficiency may also play a role in postmenopausal osteoporosis.
- Zinc, 15mg for men, 10mg for women
Zinc is an important trace mineral, involved in promoting good health down to the cellular level including DNA synthesis, cell growth and division, as well as immune health.
In men, studies have also linked it to testosterone regulation, explaining why Performance Lab NutriGenesis® Multi for Men contains 5mg more than the women’s version.
- Selenium
An essential nutrient, selenium is a powerful antioxidant.
- Copper
Copper is useful for both men and women, helping in numerous systems in the body, from the cardiovascular to the nervous system, as well as red blood cell formation.
- Manganese
Another essential mineral and antioxidant, manganese is an enzyme cofactor, meaning it helps the body to use numerous other nutrients, such as vitamins C, E, choline and thiamine. It also ensures proper liver function.
- Chromium
Chromium brings a lot to the nutrition table: it helps regulate glucose and insulin action, which in turn influences blood sugar and weight management. It also plays a role in the breakdown of carbs and fats, stimulates fatty acid synthesis, ditto cholesterol synthesis, and is important for brain function and other bodily processes.
- Molybdenum
It’s rare to find this trace mineral in your everyday multivitamin but it’s actually essential to your health. It acts as a co-factor for four important enzymes and without it, toxins and sulfites would build up in the body. Any excess is eliminated in urine.
- Potassium
Potassium acts as an electrolyte, helping the body to regulate fluid, regulate muscle contractions, send nerve signals and maintain a healthy heartbeat. It may also help to reduce blood pressure and protect against strokes, as well as protect bone density. Studies suggest that few people consume enough potassium in the diet, true more so for men than women. [4]
- Inositol
Inositol is a carbohydrate molecule that plays a role in many bodily processes. It may help to boost mood and treat anxiety and depression by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain including serotonin. It is also involved in the nervous system, cell signaling and cognition. Again this is another important molecule that inferior multivitamins often miss.
- Boron
Boron is a mineral thought to boost natural testosterone; it has also been shown to protect joints and connective tissue.
Final Word: How to Choose the Best Multivitamin for You
Why is Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi Better than its Competitors?
Where to start? The manufacturer behind the Performance Lab range — Opti-Nutra — is known and praised for its nutritional expertise. Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi has special formulas for both men and women with generous dosages, making it a quality natural multivitamin supplement for overall health. It’s vegan-friendly and is made with superior ultramodern manufacturing techniques with an emphasis on a clean, safe and ethical product.
The NutriGenesis technique creates highly bioavailable nutrients, meaning the vitamins and minerals provided in this product are easily absorbed by the body. Plus it provides all of your daily needs for most of the vitamins and minerals it provides and delivers generous doses of the rest. We believe there is no better multivitamin available to buy in the UK today.
Pros
- Quality production processes
- Generous dosages of a wide variety of vitamins and minerals
- NutriGenesis process makes superior nutrients
- One of the cleanest multivitamins you’ll find for sale in the UK and anywhere
- Respected manufacturer with an excellent reputation and strong customer service
Cons
- Only available via the official website
- A bit pricer than some inferior alternatives, but we think it’s well worth it.
BUY NOW!
BUY NOW!
BUY: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Men
BUY: Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Women
STACK PERFORMANCE LAB NUTRIGENESIS MULTI WITH
Performance Lab Omega-3
Here’s the beauty of the Performance Lab range. All of its formulas have been engineered to stack (mix and match) safely and effectively with any other product from the Performance Lab range. That means that you can take care of the basics with NutriGenesis Multi and then build on whatever aspect of additional health you need via a second supplement.
Performance Lab offers specialised supplements for Vision, Mind, Sleep, Energy, and more. Or you can opt for a powerhouse nutrient that supports overall health and vitality, such as Performance Lab Omega-3.
We’d go as far as to say that if you only choose one supplement to stack with NutriGenesis Multi, you should consider Omega-3. Here’s why:
Omega-3 Supports…
- Heart health
- Blood flow and blood pressure
- The immune system
- Joints — helping to lubricate and fight inflammation
- Sleep
- Fat loss efforts
- Energy
- Mood
- Cells
It’s one of the most beneficial nutrients you can take for overall health and vitality.
Why You Should Choose Performance Lab Omega-3
Having seen the excellence of NutriGenesis Multi, you won’t be surprised to learn that Performance Lab Omega-3 is also top-notch. Rather than source its Omega-3 from fish oil, as many other manufacturers do, it goes right to the original source — the algae that the fish eat.
What does that mean for you? It means Performance Lab Omega-3 is 100% vegan-friendly, eco-friendly, doesn’t impact fish stocks and — crucially — it doesn’t taste or smell of fish! A big bonus, I’m sure you’ll agree. It also ensures that you’re not ingesting any toxins from fish sourced from polluted waters as may be the case with inferior Omega-3 products.
Performance Lab Omega-3 is also an incredibly clean formula — it’s GMO-free, free from synthetic additives, soy, gluten, and other allergens, is produced according to Good Manufacturing Practices, and is non-irradiated. In our opinion, you really can’t buy a better Omega-3 supplement than Performance Lab Omega-3.
STACK PERFORMANCE LAB NUTRIGENESIS MULTI WITH:
PL-Immune
Self-described as ‘today’s most dynamic immune performance supplement’
PL-Immune is a broad-range support supplement for the immune system. PL-Immune is the ONE supplement you need to tackle a wide range of immunity challenges, such as toxins, stress, overtraining, and nutritional deficiencies.
It contains vitamins D and C, minerals zinc and selenium, as well as Setria Glutathione, and LC-PLasma, a highly effective probiotic that ramps up the performance of the immune system significantly.
Together, the ingredients trigger FIVE different immune cells to jump into action, helping to keep your system strong. PL-Immune also replenishes your antioxidant levels, provides front-line and longer-term support for the immune system, boosts wellbeing to boost performance and tackle health issues caused by overtraining.
It really is one of the most effective and modern immune-boosting supplements on the market today.
References
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5494092/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22854410
3. https://www.forthwithlife.co.uk/blog/vitamin-deficiency-statistics-uk/
4. https://www.iofbonehealth.org/references-facts-and-statistics#ref_13
