Multivitamin, by definition, means a grouping of vitamins and minerals compacted into a single pill.  Statistically, about 70 percent of Americans take a daily multivitamin, but how do you know the multivitamin you are taking is actually working for you, or healthy for you?

Unfortunately, not all multivitamins are created equal.  In fact, they are constructed in five different ways:  Natural, meaning the nutrients are obtained from vegetable, mineral, or animal sources with limited to no processing.  Natural source, meaning they are like the above but the good is processed.  Natural identical, meaning the nutrients are lab manufactured and identical in molecular structure and absorb similarly to natural nutrients.  Synthetic, meaning the nutrients are lab manufactured but are not identical, and are usually the multivitamins that are inexpensive and found in grocery stores.  Last but not at all least is whole food, meaning that these multivitamins are formed with raw materials and are extremely usable and available to the body.

The multivitamins to avoid are the synthetically made, which try to imitate natural nutrients but do not succeed because the body is not designed to process artificial and unnatural ingredients such as synthetic vitamins.  Now, the next question is how do you figure out if the multivitamin you are taking is made of synthetic nutrients? First of all, you need to be aware of the label on the back of bottle.  Read the fine print and ingredients first.  If any where it says natural and artificial flavors, sucralose (splenda), coloring, or anything starting with dl, it is synthetic.  The prefix dl (dl-alpha tocopheryl) means that the nutrient is a synthetic version of vitamin E instead of the natural vitamin E.  The natural nutrient in its scientific name starts with a d.  Also, if the label lists vitamins in its chemical name, it is synthetic.

The dirty little secret that most individuals do not know is that synthetic vitamins are 50 to 70 percent less likely to absorb in the body as opposed to natural vitamins which absorb at almost 95 percent.  Why throw away money on multivitamins that don’t even absorb…to have fluorescent urine?  You can pay a bit more for whole food vitamins and get the results you strive for; whether that is increased energy, to support an already good diet, or prevent disease, or shell out cash for vitamins that don’t work.

Consuming a high-quality, whole food multivitamin can help contribute to muscle growth, proper fat burning, and overall good health.  Think about it this way.  If you are exercising and taking a synthetic multivitamin or none at all, you are ultimately harming your body more because as you work out your body needs certain nutrients to maintain your metabolism, feed muscles, maintain naturally occurring processes, and the list goes on.  This can contribute to people wondering why their bodies have taken so long to transform into what they are striving for; and more often that not, they do not have the correct nutrition to support their activity.

So now the question is what are some names of whole food multivitamins and where can you find them?  Well, here in San Antonio there are several options of stores to purchase whole food vitamins such as Whole Foods, Sun Harvest, and Cost Plus.  In all honesty, Cost Plus is the place to go.  They sell products at whole sale; so there is no tax included and they have a very, very knowledgeable staff that works there.  That being said you should still be able to find, at all three stores, Garden of Life products which are all whole food goods and are very affordable.  If that does not fit your budget or you want something different, just ask the staff and remember the rules above.  There are also online stores that sell whole food products and supplements such as Clayton Naturals.

Remember vitamins do not replace all natural fruits and vegetables which the body loves and needs; however if you do not get the recommended daily servings, multivitamins are a necessity.  Above all, always remember to do your own research to find what works best for you and fits your life style. 

Resources: Body For Life by Bill Phillips

1. Cardio in the morning.
Do your cardio in the morning on an empty stomach. If you don’t have the time or that’s the last thing on your mind in the morning, do it at night not having eaten for 3 hours prior. If you plan on doing cardio at 6:30 then eat no later than 3:30. Any closer to your workout time and your blood will rush to your stomach to digest your food and actually diminish your workout. Also, don’t eat anything until an hour after your cardio. Give your body time to do its magic.

2. Breathe through your nose.
Inhaling and exhaling through your nose helps stabilize your heart rate and it will help you increase your endurance. The result, you work out longer and burn more fat.

3. Don’t slouch.
If you slouch on the cardio equipment as you are exercising, you are inhibiting the amount of oxygen you body can take in. This slows your fat-burning process within your body! Posture is very important with any exercise.

4. Do Intervals.
If you are just starting out with cardio then start off with interval training. Let’s say you are on the treadmill and do 2 minutes at 6 mph followed by 2 minutes at 4 mph then back up to 6mph and so on for 20-45 minutes. This will help you build endurance and lose fat. Eventually you will be able to connect the higher intervals and go at one pace for the whole workout.

5. Add weights.
If you haven’t already heard it has been proven that the more lean muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn because it takes more energy for your body to maintain lean muscle than fat. So if you are just doing cardio to lose fat and hit a plateau then it is a good idea to add weights to your program. If you don’t exactly want to start pumping iron in the weight room then just add light weights to your arms and legs as you do your cardio.

6. Eat a clean diet.
Change your diet and eat numerous (5-6), nutrient rich, low fat meals during the day. Eating small meals often throughout the day in regular intervals (every two to three hours) will help increase your metabolism and energy levels stable. When your metabolism is up to par and when you consume small meals throughout the day, the rate at which your food is used up is very fast, therefore when all your food is consumed then your body uses the fat storage in your body for energy. You eat clean for the good of your body and to achieve optimum nutrition and health.

7. Get enough Iron in your diet.
Yeah I said pump iron but also making sure you get enough iron in your diet through foods and a good multivitamin will ensure that you get enough oxygen to your cells keeping your metabolism stable. If you don’t have enough iron in your body you become easily fatigued and you become weak, this is called anemia. Your metabolism becomes sluggish and this slows the process of burning fat.

8. Avoid alcohol.
Simply said, alcohol slows your metabolism by depressing the central nervous system. Wash you meals down with a glass of water instead of your favorite alcoholic beverage and you will keep the food that you are eating from going straight to your hips (stomach, thighs, etc).

9. Get just the right amount of protein in your diet.
Not the extreme Atkins diet approach but keep protein levels between 20-35% of your diet. Eating too much can cause your kidneys to strain and will also cause your body to store fat. With just the right amount your metabolism fires up to burn fat because your body uses more energy to break down the protein that you have ingested.

10. Get enough sleep.
Your body has a harder time processing carbs when you don’t get enough sleep. Why is that? On little sleep your body produces higher levels of insulin and the stress hormone cortisol. When you are tired your body doesn’t have the energy to do normal everyday things such as…BURN CALORIES efficiently and properly. So be good to your body and get some sleep!