In partnership with Ritual. Editor’s Note: We only select and work with partners that meet our quality standards, so you can rest assured we only endorse products we believe in.
A few years ago, I fell down what I thought was a wellness rabbit hole. I began incorporating adaptogenic dusts and trendy supplements and viral skincare products into my day-to-day routine – and while my intended result was the ultimate post-graduate glow up, I ended up with adult acne and digestive discomfort. After visiting with some experts, I simplified my routine and slowly unwound these unwanted changes. Since then, I’ve been pretty averse to just about any product claiming to make me a glowier, healthier, better-in-some-way version of myself.
All of this is to say, when my doctor recommended I begin taking a multivitamin to fill some of the nutrient gaps in my vegan diet, I panicked. There is so much noise to sift through when it comes to wellness products, and I never know who to trust. Thankfully, my colleagues pointed me towards Ritual, an evidence-based brand that does all of the BS-sorting for you. Ritual’s team of experts recommend keeping things as straightforward as possible and looking for 9 key nutrients in a multivitamin. Read more about them – and discover the multivitamin I’ve come to trust unequivocally – below.*
Folate
Folate is a B-vitamin that supports DNA methylation that is involved with gene expression. Ritual recommends incorporating a multi with methylated folate. 5-MTHF is an active form of folate and is the primary circulating form in the body. (Some multis include the synthetic version folic acid, instead – and up to one-third of women have a genetic variation that can make it difficult for the body to efficiently utilize this form of folate.)*
Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids help support brain, vision and heart health – and 95% of women aged 19-50 don’t get their recommended daily value. Ritual recommends looking out for a vegan Omega-3 DHA.*
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is commonly found in meat, fish and eggs, and it helps support energy-yielding metabolism and normal DNA synthesis. This is certainly one of the nutrient gaps my doc was talking about – vegans and vegetarians should especially be on the lookout for Vitamin B12.*
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D3 helps support normal immune function and normal muscle function – and up to 75% of Americans don’t get enough vitamin D from sunlight and their diet combined.*
Iron
A component of blood that helps support red blood cell formation and energy-yielding metabolism, iron is an important nutrient. But, again, meeting iron needs through your diet alone can be pretty tough if you’re vegan or vegetarian.*
Vitamin K2
While you’ve likely heard a lot about calcium – and may get plenty through your diet alone – you may not have heard about vitamin K2. It’s a nutrient that helps calcium support bone health, so it’s not to be overlooked!*
Boron
Similarly, boron works with magnesium and vitamin D to help support bone health.*
Vitamin E
An antioxidant, vitamin E supports against free radicals – and many women ages 19-50 don’t get the recommended daily amount through diet alone. Ritual recommends a Vitamin E from mixed tocopherols.*
Magnesium
Magnesium plays a role from bone health to cell division, to normal protein synthesis. We need it, and many of us don’t get it through diet alone.*
Great – I know what to look for. Now what?
It’s also important to consider where these nutrients are coming from – being able to trace the final place of manufacture and supplier is crucial to ensuring traceability. Another key indicator that a formula may be trustworthy? Whether it’s clinically-backed. A clinical trial can quantify the impact of a multivitamin and back up a brand’s claims based on studies conducted with real people.*
Founder Katerina Schneider launched Ritual when she couldn’t find a vitamin brand that lived up to clean, trustworthy standards. She worked with a team of scientists and doctors to create Ritual’s Essential For Women Multivitamin 18+ and ensured that it included the above 9 nutrients, and is both traceable and clinical-backed.
Plus, equally important as what’s in Ritual’s multivitamin is what’s not – the brand doesn’t use artificial colorants in its multivitamins. Ritual takes a “less is more” approach, and the results speak for themselves: its university-led, placebo-controlled, double-blind study found that women ages 21-40 saw a 43% increase in Vitamin D levels and 41% increase in Omega-3 DHA levels over the course of 12 weeks while taking Ritual’s Essential For Women Multivitamin.*
I’m grateful to have found a brand whose ethos is on par with mine – simplicity and science make Ritual’s Essential For Women a multivitamin I can trust.
