Multivitamins come in an array of packages like “Silver,” “Kids Chewables,” and “Schwarzenegger,” but it’s all marketing. Just buy the cheapest. They’re all the same, just in different colored boxes. That’s the advice Consumer Reports is dishing out after it tested 21 different kinds of multivitamins, and finding most were indistinguishable from one another, with two exceptions.

Most all of the multivitamins dissolved properly and contained the amount of ingredients listed on the label, and none were contaminated by heavy metals or excessive doses of any vitamin or mineral.

However, some samples of two of the priciest multivitamins, Rite Aid Whole Source Mature Adult, and Vitamin Shoppe One Daily, didn’t dissolve fully. That’s important so you get all the vitamins. Samples from two of the three lots of One Daily tested also only had 73% of the vitamin A listed on the label.

So if you’re going to buy a multivitamin, get the least expensive one. Or, you can just eat a balanced diet and not buy any multivitamins at all. Most people who eat right don’t need them, unless they are pregnant or on a strict diet.

Multivitamins [Consumer Reports Health]

RELATED
Dangerous Dietary Supplements

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.