When selecting your multivitamin, you may find yourself faced with a wide array of choices. Not only are there many different brands available, but there are also various formats for supplements, including liquids, gummies, pills, and powders. When it comes to ingredients, you also need to decide whether or not going organic is a priority for you and your loved ones. There are tons of benefits to utilizing an organic multivitamin as opposed to more synthetic alternatives. In this article, we will take a look first at what it means to be an organic supplement, then at the potential benefits you may see when taking these organic liquid vitamins.

What Makes a Supplement Organic?

To know whether or not a multivitamin is truly organic, you must pay close attention to its label. In the United States, the USDA certifies supplements as organic when they contain 95% or more organic ingredients. Any supplement that has been certified will sport the USDA organic seal on its label or somewhere on its website, if purchasing online. The USDA seal is the best way to ensure you are taking a supplement that truly makes use of as many organic ingredients as possible. Some brands may include a statement on their label that reads “made with organic ingredients” while lacking the USDA official organic seal. In this case, these supplements utilize only 70% or more organic ingredients. Depending on how dedicated you are to only consuming organic foods, this may be an important factor to keep in mind while searching for the perfect supplement to fit your family.

If you are new to organic foods, then you may not know what it means for ingredients to be certified as organic. According to the USDA, all organic ingredients must be harvested naturally in accordance with the standards of organic farming. For a full explanation of all the organic farming regulations, you can visit the USDA website, but some of the most important regulations include banning the use of GMOs, insecticides, and pesticides for all crops (1). Without these chemicals and synthetic additions, organic crops may look less aesthetically pleasing than those that are grown with them, but they do tend to be of higher quality and are less likely to cause harm to the body.

Synergy with Your Body

Now that you know what it really means for a supplement to be organic, let’s start examining some of the benefits that come along with going organic. The first is an important concept known as synergy. When your body absorbs nutrients directly from food, these nutrients are typically accompanied by a host of other vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants that are necessary to help your body absorb the main nutrients. Without these other micronutrients present, your body may not be able to properly utilize the nutrients it absorbs. Synthetic nutrients often lack these extra vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, as they represent just one isolated nutrient by itself. Some synthetic nutrients may not even be able to be transformed properly without the presence of the accompanying “synergists.”

An excellent example of this phenomenon is the nutrient vitamin E. Studies have shown that the natural form of vitamin E absorbs twice as effectively as its synthetic form, likely because the natural form is accompanied by the extra nutrients needed for vitamin E to be utilized fully in your body (2). If you want to make sure that the ingredients in your multivitamin are really doing the work they are meant to be doing, you may want to turn to an organic option that makes use of the natural forms of all the nutrients it contains.

Increased Absorption from Bioavailability

Bioavailability is the ability of a substance to be absorbed and used by the human body. As you might imagine, you want all of the ingredients in your multivitamin to be bioavailable so that your body can fully take advantage of them. When supplements utilize ingredients that are not bioavailable, absorption rates can drop, meaning that you may not be receiving the full dosage of nutrients each time you take your multivitamin. Organic multivitamins tend to contain more bioavailable ingredients than those that use synthetic nutrients because of the synergy that we discussed in the previous section. Your body typically absorbs the natural forms of vitamins and minerals more efficiently than the synthetic forms.

If you are familiar with Better Family’s organic liquid multivitamin, Liquid Daily, then you might already know that liquid multivitamins alone sport a higher absorption rate compared to solid supplements. And, as you can see, organic formulas like ours also provide an added absorption bump thanks to their bioavailability. Not to mention, our unique blend includes an organic fruit blend that boosts your antioxidant intake as well. This mix of elderberries and superfruits even adds a rich, reddish color (completely free of synthetic dyes) that any kids in your family are sure to enjoy.

Resources

1. McEvoy, Miles. “Organic 101: What the USDA Organic Label Means.” USDA, 13 March 2019, https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means.
2. Burton, G.W. et al. “Human plasma and tissue alpha-tocopherol concentrations in response to supplementation with deuterated natural and synthetic vitamin E.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9537614.