A multivitamin is often referred to as the supplement that “fills in the gaps” of your diet. Even the most health conscious dieter will have a hard time getting the recommended daily allowance of every individual vitamin and mineral. Even so, bodybuilders don’t really fall into the category of the general population. Their needs are greater due to the increased physical activity and muscle mass.
A $10 one-a-day multivitamin isn’t going to do much for them unless they are so deficient in a particular micronutrient that anything would provide a benefit.
The rise of flexible dieting and “if it fits your macros” has lead some (not all) gym advocates to lose sight of the importance of micronutrients. The focus is solely on hitting daily protein, carbohydrate, and fat goals. Oftentimes people who use this approach will forgo a nutrient dense food like steak or bison in favor of grilled chicken due to the reduced fat content.
Following a specific, restrictive diet also limits nutrients. Even a diet full of whole foods like paleo has its potential micronutrient shortcomings. Paleo dieters may lack calcium due to the lack of dairy and thiamin due to the lack of grains. Vegan dieters may lack iron, zinc, and vitamin B12. Gluten free dieters may lack magnesium, thiamin, and zinc.
These pitfalls can be avoided with meticulous planning or by simply supplementing with a quality multivitamin.
When cutting, your food variety will likely take a hit as well. Some nutrient dense foods are also calorie dense. When dieting, being in a calorie deficit takes precedent over everything else, even at the expense of healthier food options.
A multivitamin can indirectly support muscle growth by ensuring all aspects of nutrient metabolism are operating efficiently.
Please note that any specific recommendations are for men, as women and men have different vitamin and mineral needs.
Multivitamin or Individual Vitamins
The first question most people have is whether they should take a multivitamin or simply look for individual vitamins that they may be lacking. It can be a challenge to figure out exactly what vitamins you may be lacking in, as some blood tests aren’t reliable in spotting deficiencies. Some people may not have the means or finances to get these tests to begin with.
While individual vitamins may be more cost effective on their own, once you start adding to your stack it becomes expensive. It makes more sense to just find a good multi to satisfy all your needs. After all, a good multivitamin would have the recommended daily allowance of those individual vitamins anyway.
Remember that if you do take vitamins in isolation, they must be taken in specific way. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble and should be taken with a meal. The B and C vitamins are water soluble and can be taken at any time.
Choosing the Right Multivitamin
A multivitamin is not something you feel, like the energy from caffeine or even the strength increases from sustained creatine use. It’s more of a supplement like fish oil that you take for overall health and wellness, and basically assume it’s working. Because of this, you’ll have to know what to look for when shopping for one to get the greatest benefit.
Unfortunately, most multivitamins on the market sport woeful vitamin and mineral profiles. Either the quality (bioavailability) of the vitamins and minerals are poor, the amounts are underdosed, or both.
Some companies try to spice up their multi but adding extra antioxidants and other complexes to their formula. Similarly, these are usually underdosed as well. For example Animal Pak, a very popular multivitamin in the bodybuilding community, has an amino acid complex with 416mg of Leucine per serving. 416mg of Leucine will do absolutely nothing, as you need at least 3000mg to increase protein synthesis. 416mg is so low that it probably wouldn’t even decrease protein breakdown.
Also in Animal Pak you’ll find 5mg of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is an antioxidant that also helps with blood pressure and blood flow. This would not only be beneficial to general health, but muscle pumps in the gym as well. However, a standard dose is 90mg, far more than what you get in this formulation.
This is not to pick on Animal Pak, as it is one of many examples of this underdosing practice. Many bodybuilders are at least peripherally aware of the benefits of things like CoQ10, Lutein, digestive enzymes, and turmeric.
However, they’re not aware of what constitutes an effective dose. And honestly, who could blame them? It would be hard to keep track of so many different ingredients. Sadly, they place their trust in companies to give them the right amount, to which they rarely comply.
When it comes to vitamins, at the very least you want the RDA in a daily serving. In reality you want more, as absorption is always a question. Toxicity is rarely a concern if dosing properly, so don’t be alarmed if you see some RDA percentages in the thousands. This is especially the case for B and C vitamins, as any excess is just excreted through urine (hence the neon color).
Minerals are a bit different. Taking too high a dose of certain electrolytes can cause health problems. As a result, there are laws in place that limit how much of certain minerals can be present in a supplement. A quality multi will dose everything properly, rather than you having to fumble around with individual mineral supplements.
You can only fit so much into one pill, so a good multivitamin will come in servings of multiple pills. The better multivitamins on the market are typically dosed at 3-6 pills per day. This is where one a day pills fall short. They’re convenient, but lacking in quality.
Sometimes you’ll find vitamin packs that feature a collection of vitamins and minerals separately, but packaged in individual plastic bags. If you don’t mind taking a bunch of pills at once, this is also an option.
Supplement Recommendation
If you browse this site, you’ll find many articles about supplements which may include supplement recommendations. This particular article will remain consistent with the rest, as I always come back to the same multivitamin.
To this day I have yet to find a multivitamin that offers more than Controlled Labs Orange Triad.
Orange Triad has the best vitamin profile, offering far above the RDA from quality sources. For example, Orange Triad uses Methylcobalamin as its source of Vitamin B12, compared to the cheaper and less bioavailable Cyanocobalamin that you’ll typically find.
It supplies 5,000 IU of Vitamin D, a more than adequate dose for anybody. With the current state of the world with regard to health, you don’t need me to tell you about the importance of Vitamin D. However, there are still estimations that about 40% of Americans don’t get enough Vitamin D.
What sets Orange Triad apart from competitors goes beyond vitamins and minerals. As mentioned, the extras you get in multivitamin supplements are typically so underdosed it’s laughable. This is not the case with Orange Triad.
Orange Triad offers an adequately dosed joint and digestive complex. Most bodybuilders will eventually experience some sort of joint pain throughout their time in the gym. Even if you don’t, it’s always better to be proactive rather than reactive. If an injury is hampering your performance then it is directly impacting your ability to build muscle.
Orange Triad comes in pill and powder form. The standard dose is 6 pills, taken as 3 pills twice per day. It also comes in powder form which has an additional greens complex. The powder is dosed as 1 scoop twice per day. The taste is average, I usually dry scoop it into my mouth and then swish is around with room temperature water.
For the quality, the price is more than reasonable. If you’re used to forking over $60 for a GNC vitapak, you’ll be pleasantly surprised when adding this to your supplement stack.