Every parent and caregiver knows how tough it is to make sure your whole family is healthy. No matter how hard you try, you feel like you could always be doing better. 

That’s why a lot of families turn to supplements. It’s an easy way to ensure the people they love, especially their kids, are getting the nutrients they need to thrive. 

A multivitamin supplement is a simple solution that lets you support your family’s health. But how do you know which ones are the best multivitamin for the people you love?

Today, we’ll cover several aspects of multivitamins so you can find the best multivitamin brand for your family. But first, let’s talk about how many multivitamins you actually need.

A lot of parents and caregivers start down the supplement path and find themselves overwhelmed with choices. There are a ton of supplements marketed towards different age groups, genders, activity levels, etc. 

Despite what these products often say, almost every human needs the same nutrients, though the exact amounts might vary depending on age, gender, and lifestyle. Unless you or a family member has a health condition that affects their diet, your whole family can use the same multivitamin. 

U.S. Dietary Guidelines list seven key nutrients that most people miss out on, regardless of their age (1). They are:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Magnesium
• Calcium
• Potassium
• Fiber

Even a well-rounded, seemingly healthy diet can miss these nutrients. With a great multivitamin, you’ll get commonly missed vitamins and minerals like these, and you won’t have to create a detailed meal plan to do it.

You don’t have to buy a dozen different supplements to make sure your family is healthy. Simply find a multivitamin that includes the vitamins and minerals you’re looking for, and you can help everyone in your family thrive. 

Best Multivitamin for Kids

As we mentioned above, kids don’t have different nutritional needs than adults. The same core ingredients that make up a great multivitamin for adults are in kids’ supplements, too. 

Different age ranges don’t play a huge part either, besides determining the amount of a nutrient a kid needs. The best vitamins for a 12 year old are the same as those found in the best multivitamin for a 1 year old, just in larger doses. 

While kids of all age ranges might need the same nutrients, the younger a child is, the more important it is that they have a healthy diet (2). They’re still developing their brains, bones, muscles, immune system, and everything else. Without the support of a healthy diet, they could end up with serious problems later in life. 

In today’s world, a strong immune system is especially important. If you want to find the best vitamins for kids’ immune systems, you don’t have to look far. 

According to the Cleveland Health Clinic, it’s easy to boost your children’s immune systems (3). Just make sure you’re giving them a multivitamin that includes zinc, potassium, folate, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, E, B2, and B6. 

Beyond a strong immune system, another common concern among parents is their young children’s weight development. Lots of parents use supplements to help their children gain weight and make sure they’re in the right range for their age. 

However, you don’t need specific vitamins to help your kids grow. With a balanced diet and all the vitamins and minerals they need, kids will naturally start to have a stronger appetite and absorb nutrients better. The best vitamins for kids to gain weight are comprehensive multivitamins that have all the nutrients they need.

Whether you’re looking for the best organic vitamins for toddlers or the best multivitamin for teens, you don’t need to buy a bunch of different supplements. The best vitamins for kids can all be found in a single comprehensive multivitamin.

Liquid Multivitamin for Kids

Now that you know you only need one multivitamin for your kids, you might be considering some well-known gummy vitamins or pill supplements. However, the easiest and healthiest method to support your children’s health is to use a liquid multivitamin for kids. 

Liquid supplements are a lot easier to absorb, and you don’t have to worry about unnecessary fillers or additives. Pills are often made up of more binders than actual vitamins, and they taste terrible. Add on to the challenge of getting children to swallow pills, it almost becomes more trouble than it’s worth. 

While gummies might taste good, they usually contain lots of sugar, food colorings, and dyes. Neither of these options is great if you want to give your kids the best multivitamin.

Instead, you can give them a liquid multivitamin. Simply add the right dose to their drink, and you’re done! You don’t have to fight over swallowing a pill, and you don’t have to worry about extra sugar or unhealthy additives. 

Everyone with kids can benefit from a liquid multivitamin, but parents with toddlers especially. We all know how difficult toddlers can be, and a liquid multivitamin takes the fuss out of ensuring your children have a healthy diet.

All you have to do is find the best liquid organic multivitamin for toddlers, which can really be any comprehensive liquid multivitamin. 

Best Multivitamin for Adults

When it comes to adults, our vitamin needs are pretty similar to kids’. The best multivitamin for men, women, and all adult people is the same as the best multivitamin for kids, just in different doses. 

There are also a lot of questions about the difference between men’s and women’s nutritional needs. In certain cases, people do require different nutrients at different enough levels to have their own supplements. 

People who menstruate might experience low iron, especially during times of menstruation. If they do, they can simply add an iron supplement to their vitamin routine as needed. 

Someone who is pregnant or nursing will need a completely different set of vitamins. They’re developing a whole new person, which takes a lot of nutritional support. 

Other than those cases, the best multivitamins for men and the best multivitamins for women are the same. A good multivitamin that delivers all your basic vitamins and minerals is all you need. 

As long as your multivitamin contains the basic vitamins and minerals people need, it doesn’t matter your gender or age. So - the best multivitamin for men over 50 or the best multivitamin for men over 60 does not need  to be a special, personalized vitamin unless you have specific health considerations you have to address 

Also, like kids’ supplements, the best multivitamins for adults are in a liquid format. You get an easily absorbed supplement full of the vitamins and minerals you need, without any of the unnecessary fillers or additives that you’d find in most of the proclaimed best multivitamin tablets for men. 

With a good liquid multivitamin, you can help everyone in your household get the nutrients they need to thrive. Whether the people in your house are kids, adults, or seniors, a great liquid multivitamin that includes the basic nutrients and minerals people need is the best way to help everyone you love to get a healthy diet. 

Best Multivitamin for Seniors

As with kids and adults, finding the best multivitamin for seniors is not as complex as it seems. The best nutritional supplements for elderly just have to contain the basic vitamins and minerals that every human needs to function. 

If you have aging parents living at home with you, or if you want to support your elderly relatives living alone, you can get them an easy-to-take liquid multivitamin. As long as it contains the recommended vitamins for seniors from the Mayo Clinic, a good liquid multivitamin is a great option for seniors (4).

Just as there aren’t differences between adult men’s and women’s nutritional needs, there are no differences between the best multivitamin for senior men and senior women. 

Finding a well-rounded liquid multivitamin especially important for seniors with health conditions. They already have to take multiple pills, so they don’t need more in the form of supplements. 

The best vitamins for seniors with diabetes, high cholesterol, or other health concerns are easy-to-take, absorbable liquid multivitamins. With a comprehensive liquid multivitamin, you can trust that your elderly loved ones are getting the nutritional support they need to live a great life. 

Vitamin Brands to Avoid

Now that you know about the best multivitamins for your family let’s cover what vitamin brands to avoid. The key to finding a great vitamin supplement is checking its absorption rate and ingredients.

We’ve already talked about some of the benefits of vitamins in a liquid format, including the increased absorption rate. It’s easier for your body to absorb liquid multivitamins for a variety of reasons (5). That’s why the best multivitamin for absorption, regardless of brand, needs to be in a liquid format. 

Additionally, liquid supplements don’t contain unnecessary binders or fillers. A common issue with vitamins in pills, capsules, or gummies is that they contain ‘neutral’ ingredients with conflicting safety information. 

Rather than risking unsafe ingredients, you should stick with a liquid supplement. Whether you’re looking for a specific vitamin or a general multivitamin, try to get it in a liquid format. 

Resources

1. Griffin, M. R. (2007, August 27). Missing Nutrients in Your Food. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/missing-nutrients-in-your-food#1
2. Streit, L. (2020, December 16). Vitamins for Kids: Do They Need Them (And Which Ones)? Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamins-for-kids#nutrient-needs 
3. G. (2020, August 25). How to Boost Your Kid’s Immunity Heading Into the New School Year. Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-boost-your-kids-immunity-heading-into-the-new-school-year/
4. Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource. (2009, July). Vitamins and Minerals: What You Should Know About Essential Nutrients. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/documents/mc5129-0709-sp-rpt-pdf/doc-20079085
5. ConsumerLab.com. (2018, June 23). Are liquid vitamins better than pills? https://www.consumerlab.com/answers/are-liquid-vitamins-better-than-pills/liquid-vitamins/
6. Marsden, L. (2018, June 14). What Are the Most Common Fillers and Excipients Used in Supplements? Medium. https://medium.com/@laylamarsden27/what-are-the-most-common-fillers-and-excipients-used-in-supplements-df2703bf8088