As recommended by most expert nutritionists, just over half of the UK population take a daily multivitamin or probiotic.* Multivitamins are designed to help protect against nutrient deficiencies and to boost your overall wellbeing, such as your energy, immunity and focus.
However, men and women have different nutritional requirements, so the one-size-fits-all approach found with most generic multivitamins often falls short.
Whilst men and women share many nutritional needs (and a high quality daily multivitamin is a good start point to cover your bases), as we get older the nutritional requirements start to become more clinically significant, and men and women need a multivitamin tailored to their biology.
Here are just a few examples of some of the key nutrient differences between men and women.
Iron is found in many generic multivitamins, but too much iron can have a negative impact post-menopause for women, with a potential increase in oxidative stress and neurodegenerative and cardiovascular risk. Learn why iron is so important for women. For post-menopause, the day after a women has been without a period for 12 consecutive months, iron should only be taken as a supplement if advised by a healthcare professional.
Women have less oestrogen as they get older, which means bone density becomes a priority. Key nutrients like vitamin D3, calcium, and magnesium support bone density and should be factored into a multivitamin for women. Discover the importance of exercise for bone health in menopause.
Post-menopause, women are at a higher risk of anxiety and memory impairment due to the oestrogen decline, which means there is a greater need for nutrients that support brain function, including Ginkgo, Ashwagandha, and amino acids.
The balance of women's vaginal microbiome alters post-menopause, leading to a higher risk of discomfort, dryness and UTIs. Targeted probiotics which are proven to reach the vaginal microbiome, including Lactobacillus reuteri and Lactobacillus crispatus (as found in DR.VEGAN’s Women’s ProMulti) rebalance the vaginal microbiome with healthy, active bacteria, helping combat and protect against infections and discomfort. You may be interested in learning about vaginal atrophy.
Post the age of 50, men have an increased risk of prostate cancer, so it's important for men to invest in and support their prostate health. Key nutrients that support prostate health, including beta-sitosterol and lycopene, are not needed for women but are important in multivitamin for men. These key ingredients are included in DR.VEGAN’s Men’s ProMulti. Discover the best diet for prostate health.
A high-quality multivitamin should be tailored not only to your sex but also formulated with clinically proven and meaningful dosages of highly bioavailable ingredient forms. This is often referred to as 'nutrient density'.
Without meaningful dosages of the right nutrients, a long ingredient list very often falls short — leaving you with a supplement that looks good on paper but does not deliver in reality.
Formulas with the most bioavailable forms of ingredients is also important. For example a basic multivitamin will often have magnesium stearate or magnesium Oxide, which are the worst forms of magnesium and poorly absorbed, while a quality multivitamin will have magnesium bisglycinate or citrate forms, which are much better absorbed.
Additives and excipients are another watch out. For example some basic multivitamins have more additives and excipients than active ingredients, which can lead to unpleasant side effects and poor nutrient absorption.
Probiotics are important for gut health for both men and women, and a comprehensive, high-quality multivitamin should contain them. Women's ProMulti is the only comprehensive multivitamin to also contain probiotics, and importantly it contains the right strains for women. Most multivitamins don't contain probiotics, and even if they do, it's important to remember that not all strains of probiotics are equal in quality or research.
A quality multivitamin should include:
For example:
Probiotics should include well-researched, high-quality strains of bacteria. Discover the 8 most common questions about probiotics.
Beyond simply including the right ingredients, dosage and form determine whether your body can actually utilise them effectively.
Many multivitamins provide nutrients at minimal levels or in less bioavailable forms, which means they tick a box on a label but in reality have minimal impact. In contrast, a high-quality supplement should deliver clinically relevant dosages where it matters most.
For example, vitamin D is one of the most common deficiencies in the UK, yet many multivitamins include it at very low levels. A more meaningful intake is around 25µg of vitamin D3, which supports bone health, immunity and mood.
At DR.VEGAN®, our formulas are expertly formulated by nutritionists with scientifically studied ingredients. Our Women’s ProMulti and Men’s ProMulti provide targeted daily support for women and men. They combine research-backed nutrients, botanicals, amino acids, and probiotics tailored to women and men to support hormones, brain function, gut health, energy, immunity, and hair, skin, and nails.
View our range of award-winning probiotics, vitamins and supplements.
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*https://yougov.com/en-gb/trackers/multivitamins-or-dietary-supplements-consumption-among-brits
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