Best ingredients for general health

The form of vitamin D the body makes from sunlight and the most effective supplemental form for raising blood levels.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 IU

Fish oil concentrate is a refined marine oil enriched in the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

Ascorbic acid is the reference form of vitamin C and the most common form in supplements; NIH ODS notes its bioavailability equals that of vitamin C naturally present in food.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

Whey filtered to 90% or more protein by weight, with most lactose and fat removed.

Typical: 20–30 g

A generic placeholder for a multi-strain probiotic blend, typically combining several Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species and sometimes Streptococcus thermophilus or a Bacillus spore.

Typical: 10–50 B CFU

Whey concentrated by ultrafiltration to 70–80% protein, retaining more lactose, fat, and native bioactive fractions than isolate.

Typical: 25–35 g

The most concentrated and least expensive common calcium salt, supplying about 40% elemental calcium by weight.

Typical: 250–600 mg

Cyanocobalamin is the synthetic, highly stable form of vitamin B12 used in most supplements and fortified foods.

Typical: 100–1,000 mcg

Folic acid is the fully oxidized, synthetic form of folate used in food fortification and most supplements.

Typical: 400–800 mcg

The most concentrated magnesium source at about 60% elemental magnesium, which is why it dominates in multivitamins and small tablets.

Typical: 200–350 mg

A calcium salt of citric acid that does not rely on stomach acid to dissolve, so it can be taken with or without food and is often chosen for older adults and people on acid-reducing medication.

Typical: 200–500 mg

Inulin is a soluble, fermentable fructan fiber extracted mainly from chicory root, though it also occurs in Jerusalem artichoke, agave, and onions.

Typical: 5–10 g

The pungent alkaloid isolated from black pepper fruit, used in tiny amounts to raise the absorption of other ingredients rather than for its own effects.

Typical: 5–20 mg

The most common zinc salt in multivitamins, lozenges, and immune products, containing about 14.3% elemental zinc.

Typical: 10–25 mg

The succinate ester of natural (RRR or d-) alpha-tocopherol, the one vitamin E form the body maintains in plasma and the form on which the RDA is based.

Typical: 67–268 mg

Methylcobalamin is one of the two coenzyme forms of vitamin B12 that the body uses directly, in this case for the methionine synthase reaction that recycles homocysteine and supports methylation.

Typical: 100–1,000 mcg

Trivalent chromium chelated with three picolinate ligands, the form used in most human trials and the best seller in blood-sugar and weight-management formulas.

Typical: 200–500 mcg

A generic greens blend is a placeholder for the dried plant powders typical of greens products: cereal grasses such as wheatgrass and barley grass, spirulina and chlorella, leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, and often fruit or vegetable extracts.

Typical: 3–10 g

Ferrous iron chelated with two glycine molecules, the form most prenatal and gentle-iron products now use.

Typical: 18–30 mg

The organic selenium form found in Brazil nuts, grains, and selenium yeast, in which selenium replaces sulfur in the amino acid methionine.

Typical: 50–200 mcg

Menaquinone-7 is the long-chain vitamin K2 originally isolated from natto and now made by Bacillus fermentation or synthesis.

Typical: 90–200 mcg

Biotin is a water-soluble B vitamin that serves as the cofactor for five carboxylase enzymes in fatty acid, glucose, and amino acid metabolism.

Typical: 300–5,000 mcg

A lipid-sterol extract of saw palmetto berries, standardized to fatty acids, that is the most widely used botanical in men's prostate and urinary-comfort products.

Typical: 320 mg

Apple cider vinegar powder is liquid vinegar spray-dried onto a carrier such as maltodextrin or cyclodextrin so it can be used in capsules and gummies.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

A plant protein isolated from yellow split peas, containing about 80–85% protein with a favorable essential-amino-acid profile for a legume.

Typical: 20–30 g

Pyridoxine hydrochloride is the standard, inexpensive, and highly stable form of vitamin B6 used in nearly all multivitamins and B-complex products.

Typical: 1.7–50 mg

The reference iron salt used in most clinical research and public-health programs, inexpensive and reliably absorbed.

Typical: 18–45 mg

Krill oil is extracted from Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba), a small crustacean.

Typical: 500–2,000 mg

The standard iodine source in multivitamins, prenatals, and thyroid-support formulas, about 76.5% iodine by weight and absorbed almost completely.

Typical: 150–300 mcg

Niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3 and the niacin source used in most multivitamins because it delivers full NAD-precursor activity without the skin flush of nicotinic acid.

Typical: 16–35 mg

Cranberry extract is prepared from the whole fruit or juice of Vaccinium macrocarpon and is characterized by A-type proanthocyanidins (PACs) that are studied for anti-adhesion activity against bacteria in the urinary tract.

Typical: 250–500 mg

L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate is the main circulating form of folate and the form cells use directly for homocysteine remethylation, so it bypasses the MTHFR enzyme step that is less active in people carrying the common 677C>T variant.

Typical: 400–1,000 mcg

Lactase splits milk sugar (lactose) into glucose and galactose.

Retinyl palmitate is an ester of retinol and the most common preformed vitamin A used in supplements and multivitamins.

Typical: 750–1,050 mcg

Spirulina is a dried cyanobacterium (Arthrospira platensis or A.

Typical: 1–5 g

Chemically identical cholecalciferol extracted from lichen rather than sheep's wool lanolin, which lets a product carry vegan and vegetarian claims while keeping the D3 form that raises and holds serum 25(OH)D better than D2.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 IU

Thiamin hydrochloride is one of the two standard water-soluble salts of vitamin B1 used in supplements (the other is the mononitrate).

Typical: 1.5–100 mg

Cod liver oil is pressed from the livers of Atlantic cod.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 mg

Fructooligosaccharides are short-chain fructans produced either by partial hydrolysis of chicory inulin (oligofructose) or by enzymatic synthesis from sucrose (scFOS).

Typical: 2.5–10 g

Rock salt mined mainly from the Khewra region of Pakistan, tinted pink by trace iron oxide.

Typical: 200–1,000 mg

Nicotinic acid is the acid form of vitamin B3 and, with nicotinamide, one of the two standard niacin sources in supplements.

Typical: 16–35 mg

A zinc salt of citric acid with a relatively high zinc content of about 31%, giving it a compactness advantage over gluconate and picolinate.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Sodium ascorbate is the sodium salt of ascorbic acid.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

Riboflavin is the yellow, water-soluble B vitamin that the body builds into the flavin coenzymes FMN and FAD, which drive energy production and the recycling of other vitamins including B6, folate, and niacin.

Typical: 1.3–400 mg

Acacia fiber is the dried sap of Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal trees, a highly branched arabinogalactan polysaccharide that dissolves completely in water with almost no viscosity.

Typical: 5–10 g

Chlorella is a single-celled freshwater green alga, most commonly Chlorella vulgaris, grown in tanks and dried into a fine green powder.

Typical: 2–5 g

Amylase is the enzyme that breaks starch into maltose and shorter glucose chains.

Typical: 50–150 mg

Flaxseed oil is cold-pressed from flax (Linum usitatissimum) seeds and is the richest common plant source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a short-chain omega-3 that typically makes up 50-60% of the oil.

Typical: 1,000–3,000 mg

A ferrous salt of fumaric acid that carries about 33% elemental iron, the highest of the common iron forms, which keeps tablets small.

Typical: 18–45 mg

Brown seaweed, usually Laminaria or Ascophyllum species, used as a whole-food iodine source in thyroid and multimineral formulas.

Typical: 150–300 mcg

The densest zinc source at about 80% elemental zinc, which is why it is the default in multivitamins and low-cost tablets where space is tight.

Typical: 10–25 mg

Choline bitartrate is the tartaric acid salt of choline and the most economical way to add this essential nutrient to a formula.

Typical: 250–550 mg

Partially hydrolyzed guar gum is guar bean galactomannan that has been enzymatically shortened so it dissolves clear and non-viscous instead of forming a thick gel.

Typical: 5–6 g

Lipase hydrolyzes dietary triglycerides into free fatty acids and monoglycerides so they can be absorbed.

Typical: 30–100 mg

Phylloquinone is the plant form of vitamin K found in leafy greens and the main dietary form.

Typical: 90–200 mcg

Dried, pasteurized egg white delivering a complete, high-quality protein with a digestibility score comparable to whey, and naturally free of lactose, fat, and carbohydrate.

Typical: 20–30 g

Betaine hydrochloride is the acidic salt of trimethylglycine, a dry crystalline powder that releases hydrochloric acid when it dissolves in the stomach.

Typical: 500–1,500 mg

Calcium pantothenate is the stable calcium salt used to deliver pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), the building block of coenzyme A and therefore of fat, carbohydrate, and protein metabolism.

Typical: 10–500 mg

A water-soluble calcium complex formed with both citric and malic acids, originally developed for fortifying juices and later sold as a supplement ingredient.

Typical: 250–500 mg

A copper salt of gluconic acid, about 14% elemental copper, and one of the most widely used copper sources in multivitamins because it is water soluble, inexpensive, and has a long safety record.

Typical: 0.5–2 mg

D-mannose is a naturally occurring simple sugar related to glucose, found in cranberries and other fruits and made commercially from corn or wood sugars.

Typical: 1–2 g

A generic fruit and vegetable blend is a placeholder for the dried powders and juice concentrates of fruits, berries, and vegetables that appear in multivitamins, greens products, and whole-food-positioned formulas.

Typical: 1–5 g

Potassium bound to gluconic acid, a mild-tasting salt with only about 16.7% elemental potassium, so it is bulky per milligram of potassium.

Typical: 99–300 mg

An inorganic selenium salt that is about 46% selenium by weight, inexpensive, and readily converted to selenide for selenoprotein synthesis.

Typical: 50–200 mcg

A generic descriptor for low-sodium mineral concentrates made by solar-evaporating inland sea or seawater brine, leaving a liquid or dried powder rich in magnesium chloride with smaller amounts of potassium, sulfate, lithium, boron, and dozens of other elements.

Typical: 100–500 mg

Alpha-galactosidase breaks down the raffinose-family oligosaccharides in beans, lentils, cruciferous vegetables, and whole grains that humans cannot digest and that otherwise ferment into gas in the colon.

A natural oil concentrate containing all four tocopherols (alpha, beta, gamma, delta) in roughly the proportions found in vegetable oils, usually with gamma-tocopherol dominant.

Typical: 100–400 mg

Nettle root is the underground part of Urtica dioica, distinct from the leaf in both chemistry and use.

Typical: 300–600 mg

Ergocalciferol is the plant and fungal form of vitamin D, produced by UV irradiation of ergosterol from yeast or mushrooms.

Typical: 400–2,000 IU

A whole-bone extract made from bovine bone that keeps the natural hydroxyapatite mineral matrix together with collagen and other bone proteins.

Typical: 250–700 mg

Manganese chelated with glycine, about 15% elemental manganese in commercial grades, used in bone, joint, and antioxidant formulas where manganese serves as a cofactor for enzymes involved in cartilage and bone matrix formation.

Typical: 1–5 mg

Nicotinamide riboside is a naturally occurring form of vitamin B3 that the body converts to NAD+ through a shorter route than niacin or niacinamide.

Typical: 250–500 mg

Streptococcus thermophilus is one of the two mandatory yogurt starter cultures and a source of the enzyme lactase (beta-galactosidase).

Typical: 1–5 B CFU

Calcium ascorbate is the calcium salt of vitamin C, commonly supplied as the dihydrate.

Typical: 250–1,000 mg

Moringa is the dried, milled leaf of Moringa oleifera, a fast-growing tree cultivated across South Asia and Africa.

Typical: 1–3 g

Cellulase breaks the beta-1,4 bonds of cellulose, the structural fiber in plant cell walls that human digestive enzymes cannot touch.

Nettle leaf is the dried aerial part of Urtica dioica, a nutrient-dense green used in traditional European herbalism and in modern seasonal and immune formulas.

Typical: 300–600 mg

Menaquinone-4 is the short-chain vitamin K2 that the body itself makes from phylloquinone and the form present in meat, eggs, and dairy.

Typical: 100–1,500 mcg

Trivalent chromium bound to niacin (nicotinic acid), marketed as a food-like glucose-tolerance-factor form and sold under trade names such as ChromeMate.

Typical: 200–400 mcg

A water-soluble manganese salt of gluconic acid with about 11–12% elemental manganese, common in multivitamins and bone formulas as an inexpensive, mild-tasting source.

Typical: 1–5 mg

Ox bile extract is dried, defatted bovine bile that supplies conjugated bile salts such as taurocholate and glycocholate.

Typical: 100–500 mg

Pumpkin seed extract is derived from the seeds of Cucurbita pepo and is rich in phytosterols, tocopherols, and zinc-bearing proteins.

Typical: 500–1,000 mg

Sunflower lecithin is a mixture of phospholipids, chiefly phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylinositol, and phosphatidylethanolamine, separated from sunflower oil during degumming.

Typical: 1,200–2,400 mg

Pyridoxal 5'-phosphate is the active coenzyme form of vitamin B6 and the form measured in blood to assess B6 status.

Typical: 1.7–50 mg

Wheatgrass is the young leaf of the wheat plant, harvested before the grain forms and dried into a bright green powder or freeze-dried juice powder.

Typical: 3–5 g

Molybdenum chelated with glycine, one of the forms NIH ODS lists for supplements along with sodium molybdate and molybdenum chloride, with no comparative bioavailability data among them.

Typical: 45–150 mcg

Shiitake is the world's second most cultivated edible mushroom and a source of the beta-glucan lentinan, eritadenine, and ergothioneine.

Typical: 1,000–2,000 mg

Barley grass is the young leaf of Hordeum vulgare, harvested before the plant heads and dried or juiced into a green powder.

Typical: 3–5 g

Benfotiamine is a synthetic, lipid-soluble derivative of thiamin that is converted to thiamin in the body.

Typical: 150–600 mg

Riboflavin 5'-phosphate is the phosphorylated coenzyme form of vitamin B2 (flavin mononucleotide), supplied as its sodium salt.

Typical: 1.3–25 mg

Folinic acid (5-formyltetrahydrofolate) is a reduced, metabolically active folate supplied as its calcium salt.

Typical: 400–800 mcg

Adenosylcobalamin is the mitochondrial coenzyme form of vitamin B12, required by methylmalonyl-CoA mutase to feed odd-chain fatty acids and certain amino acids into the citric acid cycle.

Typical: 100–1,000 mcg