Best men's multivitamin?

November 3, 2007 6:45 PM

What is the best multivitamin for men 35-40 years old?
posted by SixteenTons to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

My doctor recommends Centrum Silver for all adults.
posted by SpecialK at 7:17 PM on November 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

You mean one that replaces the nutrients in the healthy food a 35-40 year old should otherwise normally be eating?

Ok, that's pretty snarky, but it's a bit of a controversial issue. If your set on vitamins, Dr. Weil can probably set you up nicely.
posted by artdrectr at 7:17 PM on November 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

seconding Centrum Silver. My doc says there is actually never a time in man's life when regular Centrum is enough for an adult who exercises on a regular basis. Now that I have started training for a marathon, I have realized how important this advice is.
posted by parmanparman at 7:21 PM on November 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

So far so good with New Chapter Every Man's One Daily, and we add vitamin D to the mix this time of year.
posted by cocoagirl at 7:27 PM on November 3, 2007

Lately I've been using the Vitamin Shoppe's "Ultimate Man" multivitamin. A bit cheaper than GNC's "Mega Men" but essentially the same things I think.
posted by dnash at 7:35 PM on November 3, 2007

The store-brand equivalent of Centrum Silver. Same stuff, a lot cheaper.
posted by kindall at 7:40 PM on November 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

My doctor recommended any major store brand with the USP label.
posted by aerotive at 8:10 PM on November 3, 2007

Honestly, it really, really doesn't matter.
posted by Justinian at 8:35 PM on November 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

Vitamins are remarkably standardized. I take a Theragran-M daily, which is only available from Walgreens.com, largely because I find it easier to swallow than the Centrums.
posted by ikkyu2 at 8:35 PM on November 3, 2007

Most general multi's have plenty of whatever your body needs, but as a nerd with a poor diet and I take either a "Multi II" or "VM-75" (both general multis), and a "Megasorb B-Complex '50'," all from Solgar.
posted by rhizome at 8:46 PM on November 3, 2007

Since there's no scientific basis for believing that vitamins pills have any real effect on your health I would say go for the cheapest ones.
posted by frieze at 9:13 PM on November 3, 2007

Fresh fruits and vegetables - not a pill. Take one if you want, but try to make sure your diet has all the vitamins you need without the pill, and the pill is just a placebo on top of that.
posted by caddis at 11:07 PM on November 3, 2007 [1 favorite]

Since there's no scientific basis for believing that vitamins pills have any real effect on your health

I believe there is some decent evidence that 400mg pills of vitamin D help prevent multiple sclerosis in northern climes. Multivitamin pills, on the other hand...
posted by Justinian at 12:11 AM on November 4, 2007

My experience has been that, when presented with a tough-to-diagnose problem, physicians want to blame supplements, particularly those sold in supplement stores and by mail order. This stance may be unfair, but, in that light, I take One-A-Day Men's Health from our difficult-to-impugn friends at the Bayer Corporation.
posted by backupjesus at 5:12 AM on November 4, 2007

I take super nutrition's Perfect Blend. It uses flush niacin instead of of the no-flush niacinamide. Thats important to me after reading that niacinamide is a resveratrol antagonist. Resveratrol is one of the most important supplements right now, associated with longevity, cardiovascular health, cancer prevention, diabetes reversal, etc
posted by blueyellow at 6:14 AM on November 4, 2007

Sign me up with the placebo crowd. A good diet is the best "vitamin supplement." You piss away 90 percent of what is in a Centrum tablet anyway, so figure out the value for money there.
posted by spitbull at 7:43 AM on November 4, 2007

I take super nutrition's Perfect Blend. It uses flush niacin instead of of the no-flush niacinamide. Thats important to me after reading that niacinamide is a resveratrol antagonist. Resveratrol is one of the most important supplements right now, associated with longevity, cardiovascular health, cancer prevention, diabetes reversal, etc

Niacin is converted to niacinamide in the body, and they bind the same GPCR with the same end results. If you take a large dose of niacin, some won't be converted into niacinamide, but the excess niacin will be excreted in your urine, unchanged and unused.

Resveratrol has some great results in lower organisms, but hasn't been shown to have any effect in humans. It might, if taken at heroic doses, but there is no proof that it does so far. I believe some company has a supplement in Phase I trials, so we'll see....
posted by Thoughtcrime at 10:05 AM on November 4, 2007

Sigh. I wish one could delete their own posts. I'm wrong about niacinamide having the same physiological effects. It's been a while since I studied this. Niacin is converted to niacinamide, though, so if niacinamide is a resveratrol antagonist, niacin should be as well.
posted by Thoughtcrime at 10:12 AM on November 4, 2007