Women have specific nutritional needs that diet alone might not be able to provide. Those needs might depend on which phase of life you are in,¹ thus making 79% of our fellow females resort to taking multivitamins to compensate for the missing nutrients that our body needs.² This makes multivitamins a vital part of our diet.

Due to this, many brands claim to be the best female multivitamin, and this is confusing for anyone who just wants to pick the right option. But what exactly makes the best multivitamin for women and which brands have the right components to address her nutritional needs? With that said, let’s learn first the basics about women’s multivitamins.

Why Should You Take A Multivitamin Supplement?

Nutritionists still suggest that food should be the primary source of nutrition for our body, but the western diet is usually composed of unhealthy food groups that cannot provide the necessary nourishment that comes in an all-encompassing multivitamin. This caused 92% of people to suffer at least one mineral or vitamin deficiency.³

To have a closer look, here’s a specific list of some of those deficiencies:³

• 9 out of 10 people lack potassium
• 7 out of 10 people are low in calcium
• 8 out of 10 people have vitamin C deficiency
• Half of the Americans lack vitamins A & C and magnesium
• More than half of the population is low in vitamin D, regardless of age
• 90% of Americans of color lack in Vitamin D deficiency is common for 90% of Americans of color and almost 70% of the elderly

These deficiencies manifest as:⁴

• Muscle cramps due to low calcium, magnesium, or potassium
• Body pains and fatigue due to lack of vitamin D
• Gray hair, mouth ulcers, and fatigue due to low folate
• Dandruff, poor night vision, or bumps at the back of the arms due to lack of vitamin A
• Numbness or tingling sensation in the hands or feet due to vitamin B deficiency
• Memory loss because of vitamin B12 deficiency

Along with doctor’s advice, this can be solved by adding multivitamins to your daily diet to supplement the missing nourishments from the food we eat. The Journal of American Medical Association suggests to take at least one multivitamin pill a day to help maintain micronutrient levels,³ but it should not replace healthy meal intake.⁵

Benefits of Multivitamin For Women

In general, a balanced diet paired with exercise and food supplements yield to a healthy lifestyle for anyone, but as mentioned, we have specific nutritional needs in terms of vitamins and minerals that may change depending on the phase of life we are in.⁶

This can be addressed by the best multivitamin for women available in the market. How exactly can multivitamin affect a woman’s health? Here are some benefits:

• Makes up for eliminated food groups - we tend to cut food groups because of allergies (like nuts, gluten, etc.,) or due to following a diet type (like keto, paleo, etc.,). Multivitamins can provide the missed nutrients without triggering allergies or eating food that contradicts your diet preferences⁷
• Gives extra energy - vitamins and minerals help recharge the cells, but getting these nutrients below required amounts lead to lack of energy. Multivitamins can help fill up the necessary nourishments to make you feel energetic⁷
• Manages stress - The daily wear and tear of your body leads to somatic stress. This can be helped by taking multivitamins, especially the ones that are rich in B vitamins, to lessen stress and manage your mood⁷
• Regulate menstruation - hormonal imbalances can cause period irregularities and other discomfort and illnesses related to menstruation. Taking supplements with vitamin D & B and calcium components help regulate imbalances and menstruation and prevent premenstrual syndrome.⁸ Iron also helps replenish the menstrual blood to avoid anemia but should be taken as a separate supplement¹¹
• Aids pregnancy and breastfeeding - in this phase of a woman’s life, nutrient absorption increases and requires higher needs for vitamins, including Iodine and Folic acid. These help the child’s brain development and prevent birth defects⁹
• Rejuvenates skin - vitamin deficiency can cause skin diseases like psoriasis, skin cancer, and many others. Vitamins C and E help protect the skin from the sun and keep it moist; vitamin D helps regenerate new skin cells; and vitamin K aids the body for blood clotting and healing wounds and bruises¹⁰
• Helps hair health - while age, hormones, and genetics affect hair health, vitamin and nutrient deficiency is also a contributor to hair illnesses like hair loss and alopecia. Vitamin A, D, Iron, Zinc, Protein, and B-vitamins help hair regeneration and repair, while vitamins E and C protect the hair from free radicals and oxidative stress¹¹
• Promotes healthy aging - the body’s ability to absorb nutrients decreases as we age. Taking multivitamins daily can help lessen micronutrient deficiencies related to age. This can aid the immune system, bone integrity, and organ functions.⁷

Multivitamins for women should aid diet and the well-being for a better quality of life. Problems come when they are taken in non-regulated dosages or contradicts with a phase in a woman’s life like aging, menstruation, or pregnancy. To avoid health complications, seek your doctor’s advice before intaking any multivitamin.

What Makes the Best Multivitamin for Women?

In choosing the best multivitamin for women, there are three major considerations: if it’s non-GMO, iron or calcium-free, and dairy free. With all the choices available, why should you choose a multivitamin that has all of these three? Let’s have a closer look:

• Non-GMO - this is simply going for a more natural option. GMO-based multivitamins have isolated nutrients that are artificially made through industrial processes. Though these synthetic nutrients have identical chemical makeup to the natural one, still the body might not be able to process it or react to it differently.¹² GMOs might also cause toxicity, organ damage, or gene transfer to the body.¹³
• Iron-Free - iron is involved in the transportation of oxygen throughout the body, but if it’s included in a multivitamin in unregulated dosages, it can contradict with other components and can be dangerous. It can cause nausea, vomiting, heartburn, stomach problems, leg cramps and dark urine, but subside after your body adjusted to high dose of iron.¹⁴ It can also interact with certain medications like oral contraceptives, levothyroxine, tetracycline, and others and can cause hemochromatosis, the iron overload of the organs.¹⁴
• Dairy-Free - nutrients found in milk are essential to the body, but this contradicts with the vegan diet. This can be solved by dairy-free multivitamins as these use plant-based ingredients to supplement the nourishment that you can only get from milk. But be cautious with multivitamin brands as they may not be that upfront about the ingredients used.¹⁵

Moreover, organic multivitamins usually list down its food sources or labeled if plant-based or not.¹² So always check the label to know more of these details about your multivitamin option, but more importantly, see your doctor first before you start incorporating multivitamins to your diet.

Gummies vs Non-gummies

Pills, capsules, syrup, and soluble powder are your common forms of multivitamins. But today, it also takes the gummy form. Gummy multivitamins are chewable supplements that come into different shapes, colors, and flavors. These gained popularity to kids and adults who are having a hard time swallowing pills or capsules.¹⁶

It usually comes in flavors such as orange, lemon, and raspberry to cover up the mineral taste of a common supplement. Also, they help compensate for the nutrients for people who do not eat certain kinds of food, have difficulty in absorbing nutrients, or require higher nutrient levels. They are commonly vegans, pregnant women, and adults in their old age.¹⁶

Though they seem to be beneficial forms of multivitamins for women, one should take caution in taking them as they can cause following flaws:

• Presence of additives - gummies usually come with added sugar to make it more desirable for the pallet. These sugars can contribute to excessive glucose consumption and can lead to obesity, dental cavities, and heart problems. Other manufacturers use sugar alcohol instead to lessen sugar content, but overconsuming it may lead to nausea, bloating, and digestive discomforts.¹⁷
• Inconsistent nutrient components - gummy multivitamins are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This causes some inconsistencies between the label and the gummies themselves in terms of nutrient components. In fact, 80% of these supplements do not match the level of vitamins and minerals to what was stated in the label. Moreover, manufacturers cannot compress as many nutrients when they have to add sugars and other additives. This makes them possess lesser vitamin and mineral components compared to your typical multivitamin.¹⁷
• Can cause overeating - since they tend to taste pretty yummy, gummy multivitamins can be easily overeaten. This can lead to vitamin or mineral toxicity that can do great harm to your body. Consuming fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K more than the required amounts can harm the body as these are stored deep down the fats and tissues.¹⁷

WHAT TO AVOID

• Formulas that both have calcium and iron - calcium may interfere with how your body absorbs iron. This could be a problem if iron is taken for menstrual flow or anemia. The solution for this is to go for a multivitamin that contains just one of them and have the other one as an additional supplement that should be taken within a time interval.²⁴
• Additives and colorants - manufacturers often add these to extend shelf life, improve the look of the product, or simply to cut cost in place of the advertised components.²⁴
• Not vegan friendly - vegans primarily rely their nutrient intake on a plant-based diet but might face challenges in getting Omega-3 and vitamin B12.¹⁵ A multivitamin that can supplement any type of diet, be it vegan, keto, or paleo, should be able to address this.
• Inefficient capsule design - some manufacturers use extended-release tablets or capsules which do not work well with multivitamins. Go for delayed-release capsules instead as it bypasses stomach acids and let the multivitamin dissolve in the small intestine, the best area for optimum nutrient absorption.²⁵

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN WOMEN’S MULTIVITAMIN

• Folate - for the nervous system and fetal development¹⁹
• Omega-3 - for blood pressure and heart health²⁰
• Vitamin B12 - or cobalamin for producing healthy red blood cells and nerve cells¹⁹
• Vitamin D3 - for calcium absorption, bones, and immune function¹⁹
• Vitamin E - for boosting the immune system and protecting the body from free radicals¹⁹
• Vitamin K2 - for bleeding prevention, heart health, and bone integrity¹⁹
• Iron - for hemoglobin production and oxygen circulation in the blood²¹
• Boron - for increasing estrogen levels during old age, preventing yeast infections, and reducing oxidative stress²²
• Magnesium - for regulating blood pressure, aiding muscle and nerve function, and supporting the immune system²³

Our Ranking Methodology

This comprehensive list was created through extensive research and analysis, measuring the full value of each supplement by analyzing key ingredients, safety, efficacy, return policies, and overall expressed customer satisfaction. The research process is designed to present information in a clear, concise, and fact based manner. We also collect research from the latest studies and clinical trials to ensure that our assessment criteria take into account the latest findings.

2023 Best Multivitamin for Women Reviewed

After extensive research, our team is proud to present the following top list of the best women’s multivitamin on the market today. The research process includes precise scoring for important key ingredients, customer satisfaction, value, return policy, and product history along with the average scores of the overall 20 women’s multivitamin supplements accessed in our research. To paint a holistic picture, we've included pros and cons for each of the supplements on our list.