Big news! Our gold standard clinical study is officially published on Essential for Women Multivitamin 18+—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 our multivitamins.

For example, did you know that we probably get plenty of vitamin C from our 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. (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 our diet. That’s why you’ll only find nine nutrients in our Essential for Women Multivitamin 18+, ten in Essential for Men Multivitamin 18+, and twelve in our Essential Prenatal Multivitamin. Hold the extras, please, including mystery ingredients. Our science-backed philosophy on what vitamins to take is strategically transparent. In fact, we believe in the “less is more” approach so much that we actually wish multivitamins didn’t need to exist.*

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

Nutrients That You Won’t Find in Our Multivitamins (And Why):

Keep in mind that everyday vitamins should not be a replacement for a diet full of nutrients. However, there are some vitamins that we don’t include in our multivitamins because it’s possible to reach the recommended daily intake through food alone. You won’t find the following vitamins in a multivitamin at Ritual:

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 presence, supplementing with more calcium won’t necessarily help support 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 we’re already getting from our 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). Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and any excess of water-soluble vitamins are passed through the urination process. 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)

Best Multivitamins to Take? Skip the Mystery Ingredients

Nutrient overflow is one thing. Mystery ingredients are quite another, especially since they may be difficult to discern on a multivitamin label. We skip unnecessary extras like sugar and major allergens like gluten. Instead, we focus on high-quality, vegan-friendly nutrients our bodies need… 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 Multivitamin 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). The best vitamins to take are the ones that help support nutrient gaps in our diet. 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 clean, Made Traceable® plant-based protein that helps support lean muscle mass and muscle recovery*

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