6 pieces of advice for picking a multivitamin

Here's how to find, store and take the perfect multivitamin.

Some vitamin labels provide nutrient info for a serving that's actually two pills, not one. Don't make the mistake of thinking that one is all you need.

• If you have trouble swallowing, find out which brands are easy to cut in half.
• Invest in an inexpensive pill splitter to get the job done easily and correctly.
• Liquid and chewable multivitamins are another option, but they may be more expensive. And they may not contain the levels of nutrients that you need.

Try to find a multivitamin that includes 100 percent of your recommended daily value for all of these:

• Thiamin (B1)
• Riboflavin (B2)
• Niacin (B3)
• Vitamins B6, B12, C, D, and E
• Folic acid.

• Overdosing on certain vitamins isn't healthy.
• The goal is to supplement or make up for whatever is missing in your diet.
• Excess vitamins are usually just disposed of through urination or stored in fatty tissue.

• A multi that provides sufficient levels of important vitamins and minerals shouldn't cost you more than $30 a year.
• You can keep costs lower by buying on sale. Just check the expiration dates to make sure you'll take them all before they expire.
• Multivitamins will keep for about a year in a cool, dry place.

• Not getting enough vitamin D could raise the risk of a wide variety of cancers, including breast, ovarian, colon and prostate.
• Vitamin D can also help stop cancer from proliferating, promote the death of tumour cells, and help stop tumours from developing blood vessels that let them grow larger.
• Food sources alone can't raise the amount of vitamin D in your bloodstream to protective levels.
• While ultraviolet B (UVB) light in sunshine synthesizes vitamin D in your body, rays are too weak from November to May in northerly climes.
• After age 50, your body simply makes less vitamin D.
• Your best bet is to look for vitamin D supplements. The safe upper limit for adults is 1,000 IU per day, experts say.
• There are multivitamins available for seniors, women, men and particular ethnic groups.

Finding the right multivitamin can make staying healthy a lot easier. Read labels carefully to make sure your multi has everything you need, and nothing more.