Best multivitamins for adults and the benefits they provide explained (2023)

We all know the best way to get the vitamins we need is by eating a varied, nutritious diet packed with fruit and vegetables. But who – hand on heart – can say they always do?

If life sometimes gets in the way of your best intentions, a daily multivitamin can be useful to ensure you’re getting all the nutrients you need. It’s no wonder the global dietary supplements market was estimated to be worth a whopping $155.2 billion in 2022 as we all tried to embrace a healthier post-pandemic lifestyle.

Packed with a range of vitamins and minerals, these food supplements are an easy daily add-on for any adult, particularly anyone who eats too much processed food or has a restricted diet including vegan, dairy or gluten-free. However, it is important to note that a multivitamin will never undo damage caused by an unhealthy lifestyle, lack of exercise, drinking too much alcohol or smoking.

Vitamins now come in many forms including drinks, pills and sprays and are often targeted at specific groups including those who are pregnant, the over-70s and teenagers. Fruit-flavoured gummies are a particularly useful way to get children to take their daily vitamin without a side order of moaning.

For most adults, a standard multivitamin should cover all bases and contain 100 per cent of the recommended daily amount or Nutrient Reference Value (NRV) of as many vitamins and nutrients as possible. It’s also a good idea to take your vitamin with food to help your body best absorb its nutrients. Remember it’s always worth speaking to your doctor before starting to take any supplements too.

We put a range of multivitamins to the test to find the ones we’ll stick to in the future. We considered taste (and smell!), how easy each one was to take and the range of vitamins and minerals in each one. We also made a note of how we felt taking them and if we observed any difference that would make this a lifestyle swap worth sticking with.

Centrum Advance Multivitamin Tablets

There’s no escaping the fact that taking a multivitamin is never going to be the most exciting part of our day. We just want one reliable, reasonably priced tablet to ensure we’re getting all the nutrients we need, especially if we’ve been skipping the fruit and veg lately. These fuss-free multivitamins do the job perfectly, making them the world’s No. 1 multivitamin backed by 40 years of nutritional science expertise.

Free from gluten, lactose, nuts, sugar and wheat, they have an easy to swallow coating and pack in 24 vitamins and minerals so we felt confident we weren’t missing any important nutrients. These include all 13 essential vitamins, with at least 100 per cent NRV of most - including vitamin D to help support the normal function of the immune system. The tablets also contain vitamins B12 and B6 to help unlock energy from food plus biotin, chromium and zinc to aid the normal metabolism of fats, protein and carbohydrates.

Within just a few days of taking them, we felt the difference in our energy levels, while a lingering cold seemed to clear up almost overnight and we really did feel better overall. They’re now a permanent addition to our morning routine, particularly over winter.

Price for 100 tablets.

Buy now £14.99, lookfantastic

Nourished personalised vitamin stack subscription

All-in-one multivitamins are so last century. These personalised vitamin stacks are the latest, hi-tech way to get all the nutrients you need, without needlessly gulping down the ones you don’t. If you’re looking for one tablet to suit all ills, these 3D-printed stacks won’t fit the bill but they are perfect if you want a supplement designed for your unique needs, according to your diet, deficiencies and individual goals.

Before ordering, you fill in an easy quiz to work out exactly what will be in your stack. This covers how well you’re sleeping, how much exercise you do, how often you travel abroad, whether you wear glasses and if you suffer from a range of complaints including depression, IBS and low libido. You’ll also select your top two priorities, whether that’s to lose weight, manage stress better or delay ageing. A box of personalised vitamin stacks arrives in the post soon after and will be delivered every 28 days if you take out a subscription.

Each one is vegan and sugar free and includes a combination of seven nutrients, selected to best suit your needs. Ours included the unusual Scutell-Up to help relieve stress and regulate sleep, vegan Vitamin D3 to boost natural immunity and support muscle function and Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) to increase energy levels.

The chewy strawberry-flavoured gummy was a delight to eat too so we actually looked forward to taking it every day and really did feel noticeably calmer and less tired almost immediately. We’d take them year-round if we could afford it.

Buy now £35.99, Nourished

MyVitamins Multivitamin Gummies

Who says children should have all the fun? If you just can’t face taking tablets, these grown-up gummies are the answer to up your vitamins without having to grit your teeth first. They taste exactly like strawberry flavour chewy sweets with no unpleasant aftertaste and don’t need to be taken with a drink so are perfect if you’re on the move.

Every gummy contains ten essential vitamins and minerals and are particularly useful for anyone looking to improve their hair, skin and nails as each contains all-important biotin. The blend also includes vitamins A, C and D for healthy skin and bones and iodine to maintain cognitive function. We noticed our nails especially felt stronger and healthier when we were taking these gummies and seemed to grow a little quicker than normal. However, only Vitamin D had 100 per cent of the NRV, so these are better suited to anyone who already has a fairly good diet and is looking for an extra boost, rather than someone with serious deficiencies.

It’s worth noting these are not suitable for vegetarians and could be particularly appealing to young children so – like any other supplement - should be kept well out of reach of any curious small hands.

Price for 60 gummies.

Buy now £7.99, MyVitamins

Holland & Barrett ABC to Z 50+ Multivitamins 60 Tablets

It’s all very well investing in the fanciest bottle of vitamins you can find, but if you’ll never fork out for a second bottle, there’s little point parting with your cash. These high strength, vegetarian tablets from Holland & Barrett are under a fiver for 60 tablets so you can afford to stick with your vitamins long-term to really see a difference.

They’re a particularly good option for anyone over 50, formulated especially to respond to the differing nutritional needs required by that age group. Each tablet contains 21 vitamins and minerals including vitamin D and calcium to maintain healthy bones and muscle function, as well as B vitamins, lutein, lycopene and magnesium to fight fatigue. It’s worth noting the formula doesn’t contain iron either, making it ideal for anyone who can’t tolerate iron supplements.

We certainly noticed a slight spring in our step while taking these vitamins and liked the fact we only needed to neck one a day for minimum fuss and maximum reward. However, they are on the large side and have quite a strong smell, so we preferred taking them with juice rather than plain water.

Price for 60 tablets.

Buy now £4.99, Holland & Barrett

WelleCo The Super Elixir

Vitamins don’t have to come in tablet form. If you’d rather swig down some daily goodness in a smoothie, this much-raved-about formula from supermodel Elle Macpherson’s WelleCo is the power powder you’ve been looking for.

The all-in-one vegan greens powder promises more than vitamins too – albeit for a seriously hefty price tag. It contains over 40 naturally-derived ingredients that deliver a daily dose of wholefoods, herbal extracts, vitamins, minerals and probiotics for enhanced energy, improved digestion, stronger hair and nails and a healthier immune system. These include the bizarre sounding horsetail to benefit skin, hair and nails, Peruvian Maca to enhance libido and energy and dandelion as a source of vitamins A, C, D and B complex. The powder comes in four flavours – pineapple and lime, lemon and ginger, blood orange and unflavoured – and is mixed with water, milk or a smoothie to sip each day.

We tried unflavoured which is ideal for mixing into protein shakes, but we preferred stirring it through our morning porridge for a seriously smug start to the day. Within a week, our skin and hair looked better, our digestion had vastly improved and we felt significantly less tired. Though sadly, we still don’t look like Elle Macpherson.

Buy now £62.50, Cult Beauty

The Fast 800 Multivitamin

Since first convincing us all to give the 5:2 diet a go, TV weight loss guru Dr Michael Mosley has expanded his health empire to develop a range of soups, shakes and protein powder. After being repeatedly asked by wannabe dieters if they should be taking vitamins while following his regime, Dr Mosley has also now developed his own high-quality multivitamin to address deficiencies commonly found in overweight or obese people – though these daily tablets are suitable for all.

The vegan tablets should be taken once daily and include 23 vitamins and minerals, most of which provide 100 per cent of your daily NRV. These include vitamins B and C to help maintain energy levels, selenium and zinc to fight infectious diseases and zinc, copper and magnesium to aid brain health. Every tablet also includes 100 per cent NRV of iodine which is vital for a healthy thyroid gland that helps control metabolism.

If you want to feel like all bases are covered with just one tablet, this is a great choice, especially if you’re hoping to lose weight. The tablets are quite large though, and some might find the smell a little off-putting.

Price for 90 capsules.

Buy now £16.99, The Fast 800

Ultimate Performance UP Complete Multi

Founded by personal trainer Nick Mitchell, fitness experts Ultimate Performance already have 20 gyms in nine countries, 300 personal trainers around the world and a clutch of celebrity fans. The range of supplements was designed for its personal training clients but can now be bought online by anyone, even if you haven’t seen the inside of a gym since you were at school.

These tablets blow the desired NRV out of the water, providing the full spectrum of essential vitamins, enzyme cofactors and minerals in every dose. Ultimate Performance says its minerals are supplied in a chelated form for maximum absorption, unlike cheaper brands, and it’s hard to imagine anyone could be deficient in anything after a few weeks taking these.

Every serving delivers a whopping 750 per cent of your Vitamin C NRV, 1000 per cent of your biotin NRV and – wait for it – 20,000 per cent of your Vitamin B12 NRV, along with selenium, chromium and every vitamin imaginable, though iron is not included as excess can be dangerous. We’re not entirely sure we needed such enormous quantities but we certainly felt great taking these, with so much more energy than normal other people even asked our secret.

The only downside? It’s necessary to take six (large) capsules a day - two with each meal - so if you hate taking tablets or are likely to forget during the day, these aren’t for you.

Price for 120 capsules.

Buy now £19.99, Ultimate Fitness

Link Nutrition Multi Plus

If you like to keep things as natural as possible, Link Nutrition offers food-based vitamins and minerals that the label says are the missing link between food and supplements, delivering vitamins and minerals like those found in food. That means all 20 are readily absorbed the body for maximum benefit, without any unnecessary fillers, binders or caking agents.

A daily dose of two capsules, taken with or without food, include nutrients such as vitamins C and D, zinc and selenium for supporting the body’s natural immune defence, pantothenic acid and magnesium for brain health and essential B vitamins to fight fatigue. Many provide more than 100 per cent of the daily NRV, though only 37.5 per cent of vitamin C NRV so it’s worth upping your intake of citrus fruit, tomatoes and cruciferous vegetables to make sure you’re getting all you need. There’s the odd unusual ingredient as well, including high strength chaga mushroom to provide antioxidant support.

Though be warned, we could detect a whiff of mushroom to these capsules so you’ll need to hold your nose if that will put you off. Otherwise, they’re a great all-round choice that can also be bought on subscription so you’ll never run out again.

Buy now £27.99, Selfridges

Verdict

The Centrum Advance Multivitamin Tablets are ideal to guarantee your body gets all it needs in one daily pill. If money was no object though, we’d happily sign up for a Nourished personalised vitamin stack subscription, knowing we were taking a daily vitamin designed especially for us.