It doesn’t matter. Whether you shop at a health food store, supermarket, drug store, through the mail, or online, you get essentially the same ingredients. That’s because most companies buy their vitamins and minerals from the same small group of multinational manufacturers.

   What varies is how much of each nutrient you get, whether the tablet is properly made, and which extra non-vitamin ingredients like coenzyme Q10, bioflavonoids, and herbs it has. Since the amounts are usually tiny and the evidence that they make you healthier is inconclusive, consider them optional “frills.”
 

There are no federal standards that tell companies precisely how to manufacture supplements. So you’re probably safer with a major brand.

   Some of the best bargains are “store” brands that carry the names of large drug chains or retailers like Wal-Mart or Kmart. They’re big enough to demand top quality from vitamin makers. The letters “USP” on a supplement label mean that the tablets meet the voluntary standards of the U.S. Pharmacopoeia, and that they dissolve in a lab test designed to mimic what happens in your gut.

   Another way to make sure that your vitamins disintegrate is to get a chewable brand. If you can’t find one for adults, try a children’s multivitamin. The extra sugar or aspartame they contain is negligible.
 

There isn’t much evidence one way or the other, but most experts recommend taking vitamins with meals. That’s because some nutrients are better absorbed when your digestive tract is geared up to handle food.

   Another timing tip: High doses of calcium can impair your ability to absorb iron. So if you’re taking calcium and a multi with iron, take them at two different meals.

   And unless your doctor says otherwise, it’s a good rule of thumb to wait a few hours between taking any prescription medication and taking a multivitamin, since some nutrients in the multi could interfere with the drug, and vice versa.
 

In general, no. The one exception is natural vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol), which appears to be slightly better retained and used by the body than synthetic E (dl-alpha tocopherol). As long as the E is labeled in International Units (IU), you needn’t worry—100 IU (or any amount) of synthetic E will be as potent as the same amount of natural E.
 

Chelate [KEY-late] means claw-like. In theory, if a mineral is chelated (it sits inside an amino acid “claw”), it may be better absorbed because it’s protected from things in food (like the phytic acid in grains or the oxalates in spinach) that can bind it.

   In practice, it may not be worth the extra cost. Chelated calcium, for example, is absorbed five to ten percent better than ordinary calcium, but it costs five times as much.
 

Children aged four and older can take the same multivitamin-mineral supplements that adults take (though it might be worth looking for ones without food dyes, which may worsen the behavior of some children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder—ADHD—or other behavioral problems). In fact, if you check a CentrumKids Complete, you’ll notice that its vitamins and minerals are similar to Centrum for adults. Children’s multis are often scored for easy breaking because children aged one to three need only half a pill each day.
 

A 30-day supply of one of our Best Bites can cost as little as $1.00 to $4.00. Designer brands can run $15 or more. Unless you want the extra calcium and selenium that they sometimes have, there’s no reason to pay that much.