This is a multivitamin in a liquid gel capsule formulated specifically for men with 12 key nutrient groups. Most of the vitamins and minerals are derived from whole food concentrates.
I’m always on the lookout for a good multivitamin because the low quality of food today and my busy lifestyle means that I don’t always have time to eat whole organic food all the time. Having a complete multivitamin to support my body when it recovers from intense workout or stress is pretty important.
I’ve tried dozens of different multivitamins over the years, and this Irwin Naturals Living Green Liquid Gel Multivitamin is one of the more impressive ones I’ve tried to date.
What I Look for in a Multivitamin
In terms of what I’m looking for in a multivitamin, there are a few things that I use to narrow down my selection process when shopping or trying new brands.
The first thing I look for is something that has a good value, so at least 100 and some capsules or soft gels per bottle. Those capsules or soft gels should be of the highest ingredient quality possible, which usually means that their ingredients are actually sourced from whole foods and aren’t cheap synthetic replacements. A lot of cheap multivitamins on the market today contain synthetic versions of different vitamins and minerals which aren’t as healthy as the real thing derived from real plants, fruits, and vegetables, and the like.
Another thing I look for when buying a multivitamin is one that is formulated specifically for men, because men have unique biology compared to women and therefore should have unique multivitamin supplements, and the same can be said for women. They require slightly different vitamin-mineral ratios, and they should be looking for multivitamins that have been formulated specifically for their physiology as well.
Lastly, because I’m not rich, I also look for a multivitamin that doesn’t cost a million dollars to take over the course of a few months, which is actually a thing. There are a lot of multivitamins that are way overpriced for what you get, so looking closely at ingredient labels to make sure that the price matches up with what the contents of the jar and the capsules within is another thing that I spend considerable amounts of time doing when picking out my next multivitamin.
Why I Chose Irwin Naturals Living Green
Why I chose specifically Erwin Natural Living Green Liquid Gel Multivitamins, well, it checks most of the boxes that I just described in terms of what I look for in a multivitamin. They are liquid gels, which means they are free of any fillers and binders, which are generally not healthy components added to dry capsules to make them appear more full so that companies can save money by not filling the capsules up entirely with quality ingredients. You see the same thing happen with potato chips and other store items where they only fill the package or the container to 30 or 40 percent of its capacity to make it look like it’s larger than what you’re actually paying for.
These Erwin Naturals, though, are pretty direct with their portioning, stating 120 liquid soft gels per jar, which is pretty good. Anything under 100 I’m not interested in because they’ll only last a month or two, and I’m looking for a supplement that will last me a bit longer. So when you break down the 120 soft gels to the 3 soft gel per day recommended dose, that gets you approximately 40 servings, which puts me well over a month’s supply.
Since I’m usually rotating other vitamins and minerals with my multivitamins, I don’t usually take three a day; I usually only take one in the morning and maybe one in the morning and one in the evening, so two max, so I should easily be able to get a month out of this bottle.
Secondly, Erwin Naturals has a really strong reputation online. If you check Amazon reviews or Reddit reviews, you’ll see that the brand is well-regarded in these communities where people, including doctors, spend a lot of time researching and analyzing different supplements and nootropics, and the Erwin Naturals brand fares well in these comparisons.
Additionally, I chose this because they were formulated for men specifically, which I think is an important thing when you’re shopping for multivitamins, trying to match it up to your gender and your intended health goals. Lastly, I like that they come in a brown glass jar, so I can recycle it, and the brown prevents UV light from degrading the components within, which means that Erwin Naturals actually cares about delivering a quality product to their consumers, which is what I’m all about.
Additionally, Erwin Naturals Living Green Liquid Multigels are made in the USA, so that’s another important thing that you should take into consideration when looking for your next multivitamin or supplement. Try to avoid buying things that have been produced outside of the United States because you can’t be sure of the quality of what you’re putting in your body.
Another benefit with going the liquid gel route versus the capsule or tablet route is besides having no fillers or binders associated with the dry capsules and pills, the liquids used in these Living Green Liquid Gel multivitamins are essentially just omega-3 essential fatty acids.
This is something that people usually have to supplement in addition to their multivitamin, but because these multivitamins use it as the suspension fluid to hold the vitamins and minerals, you’re actually kind of getting a two-for-one in terms of the effect there, so I thought that was pretty neat.
And then last, but probably most importantly, the real reason that I end up spending my money on Amazon for these was the ingredient label is massive. There is literally every type of vitamin and mineral that you can imagine plus a whole bunch of other health blends that are added for good measure, which I’ll get into a little bit later.
What is in Living Green Liquid Gels?
Well, as I alluded earlier, the ingredient list on this multivitamin is huge. They essentially break it down into 12 intended effects. There are full spectrum vitamins, there are minerals, there are crucial oil complexes, there’s an antioxidant blend, there’s a fruit and veggie blend, there’s an immune blend, there’s an amino acid blend which is really important if you’re doing strength training and trying to build muscle, there’s a traditional botanical blend, there’s a green superfood blend, an adrenal blend, a brain blend, and a targeted blend.
This one being for men. So a targeted component for men. So this is a super comprehensive multivitamin which is what multivitamins really should be.
Getting into a little more detail with some of these complexes and blends. The crucial oil blend, for example, contains pumpkin seed oil, fish oil, and flaxseed oil, so you’re getting a nice mix of omega-3 fatty acids with EPA and DHA and then the flaxseed oil brings ALA as well to the mix. Targeted blend for men specifically, I’m assuming this one’s not in the women’s multivitamin, contains milk, thistle powder, saw palmetto oil, and stinging nettle powder.
And then in terms of the antioxidant blends, the fruit and veggie blends, amino acid blend, immune system blend, adrenal blend, botanical blend, superfood blend, brain blend, and bioperine blend to assist with the absorption of it all.
These are each increasingly small blends, so they do not comprise the majority of the supplement, but it’s really interesting to see how many different healthy compounds are able to squeeze in here. I wouldn’t rely on these, and I wouldn’t rely on the amino acid blend, for example, to support anabolism because it’s only 54mg total, which isn’t going to be enough to meet your daily requirement for building muscle.
However, it’s good to know that stuff like this is in there, in the immune system one and the adrenal one, because anyone who works out, does weight training, or resistance training and pushes it to the max is taxing their body in multiple ways, not just their muscles but their nervous system, immune system, and brain.
So, having these little bonus vitamin complexes within the larger general vitamin and mineral profiles of this vitamin is something that seems pretty unique to this Living Green Liquid Gel Multi and is something that really stood out to me on the whole.
Summary: These Are Great Multis!
In summary, compared to the dozens of multivitamins I’ve tried, I’m very happy with ErminNaturals. The price point is competitive; the 90 count is $25, and the 120 count is $30. They are sold everywhere, from iHerb, Amazon, Vitamin Shoppe, Walmart, and ErwinNaturals’ website.
Very few multivitamins have such complex ingredient profiles, competitive pricing, and high-quality packaging, like being suspended in essential oils and in a UV-resistant glass bottle. I’m not sure if these will become my permanent go-tos, but for the foreseeable future, I will likely continue to take the Erwin Living Green Liquid Gel Multi. They make me feel great, provide enough energy for my workouts, and contribute to an overall holistic feeling of well-being.
Of course, if you eat unhealthy food every day, no amount of multivitamin will help because your body will still be filled with junk. My well-balanced whole food diet, consisting of protein, complex carbohydrates, and fresh fruits and vegetables, allows the Living Green Liquid Gel Multi to be the perfect addition to my healthy supplement regimen, supporting my current bodybuilding goals.
