Big news! Our gold standard clinical study is officially published—learn all about the road to our clinical trial and the results.

Unread emails. Cologne. Dinner options. Sometimes, less really is more—and from our POV, that includes your multivitamins.

For example, did you know that you probably get plenty of vitamin C from your diet alone? And copper, and selenium? It’s easy to see these nutrients on a vitamin label and assume that they’re needed. After all, more of a good thing probably can’t hurt, right?

There’s a delicate balance to the way that nutrients work together in our bodies, and too much of one thing can impact another. Plus, it’s just not always necessary—and in some cases, can even be harmful. (More on that in a minute.)

We’re all about a food-first approach to nutrient intake, and believe a multivitamin should only help fill the gaps in your diet. That’s why you’ll only find nine nutrients in our Essential for Women, ten in Essential for Men, and twelve in our Essential Prenatal. Hold the extras, please, including mystery ingredients.

But let’s dive into some specifics, shall we?

Nutrients that you won’t find in our multivitamins (and why):

Calcium. US adults typically get adequate Calcium from their diets. That’s why Ritual focuses on Calcium helper-nutrients like Vitamin D3, Vitamin K2, Magnesium and Boron: Without their support, supplementing with more Calcium won’t necessarily help with bone health.*

These are all reasons why we skip Calcium in our multivitamins and prioritize the helper-nutrients we mentioned instead: to help support the Calcium you’re already getting from your diet.*

Vitamin C. Vitamin C’s great rep is well-deserved, since it helps support normal immune function. But the good news is that US adults typically get adequate amounts from their diets (citrus fruits, broccoli, spinach, and bell peppers, to name a few). It’s also worth mentioning that overdoing it on vitamin C can impact the absorption of certain other nutrients, like B12.

Two important exceptions? Kids (we include vitamin C in our Essential for Kids gummy multivitamins) and people who have recently given birth. (Women who are lactating have higher vitamin C needs, which is why we include vitamin C in our Essential Postnatal). (1)

Copper. Copper is an important supporting player, aiding iron absorption and partnering with it to form new red blood cells. But most adults get enough of it from their diets: nuts, beans, and seeds are great sources of copper.* (2)

Selenium. This mineral aids with our metabolism and thyroid, but we only need a small amount of it—which most women get easily through food sources like nuts and fish.* (3)

Artificial colorants have no place in multivitamins.

Nutrient overflow is one thing. Artificial colorants are quite another, especially since they may be difficult to discern on a multivitamin label. We skip unnecessary extras like colorants, mystery fillers, sugar, and major allergens like gluten. Instead, we focus on high-quality, vegan-friendly nutrients your body needs… without the B.S.*

Basically, we decluttered the multivitamin for you. But the nutrients we do include in our multivitamins are where we focus on the “more” in “less is more.” It wasn’t enough for us to zero in on common nutritional gaps most of us need help with (and skip the rest). We also had to cross the globe to find high-quality forms of those nutrients, and house them in a minty-tab bottle to help make taking multivitamins a much better experience.

That said, as skeptics, we don’t just want you to take us at our word—we’re committed to showing you the receipts along the way. That’s why we invested in a gold standard (now-published!), university-led clinical study to quantify the impact of Essential for Women 18+, the results of which were significant: Essential for Women 18+ was shown to increase vitamin D3 levels by 43% and omega-3 DHA levels by 41% in just 12 weeks (and two capsules a day). In other words, it’s doing more with less—an MO we can definitely stand behind.*

By the way—we take the same "less is more" approach with Essential Protein, our new daily shake featuring plant-based protein and handcrafted vanilla flavor.

References:

1. Office of Dietary Supplements - Vitamin C. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Institutes of Health
2. Office of Dietary Supplements - Copper. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Institutes of Health
3. Office of Dietary Supplements - Selenium. (n.d.). Retrieved from National Institutes of Health