When we think about our 
health and wellness, some of the obvious things that come to mind are eating a well-balanced diet, getting regular exercise, reducing alcohol and sugar etc. We mainly associate being healthy with eating healthy, but what if that very thing that we thought we were doing right, was actually full of flaws? That’s right, our so-called “healthy diet” itself has numerous issues in terms of fulfilling the body’s nutritional needs. Our body needs a large variety of minerals, 
nutrients, 
vitamins and bacteria to function on an optimal level. The typical North American diet consists of overly processed, nutrient-poor low-density foods that leave our system feeling empty. In fact, about 3/4ths of the North American population has a diet that is extremely low in vegetables, fruits, and 
healthy fats. This means that most of us are missing out on super important nutrients for maintaining healthy skin, good eyesight, 
strong bones and keeping our immune system strong. What’s even more concerning is individuals who think they are indeed eating a well-balanced diet, are found to be deficient in Vitamins A, D, E, K, and minerals such as Magnesium, Calcium, Iron and Zinc. Interestingly enough, Calcium in our bodies will not be absorbed if we lack Vitamin D3! There are numerous vitamins and nutrients in our bodies that rely on one another and if you’re deficient in one, you’re most likely to be deficient in the other(it becomes a vicious circle). But you may be reading this and thinking why does it even matter? 
You may feel healthy and even think these things don’t apply to you, but in the long term, these nutritional gaps in our diets do indeed affect us all! If you think about all the times you have felt fatigued without explanation, lacked mental clarity, low on energy or motivation, you would be surprised to think that these things can be a result of your body lacking nutrients that are essential to these functions. Here’s one way to put things into perspective; in order to get the daily recommended amount of Iron, an individual would have to eat a 12 once a steak, every day! Or how about Vitamin D? One of the most essential vitamins to human life would require an astounding 14 egg yolks, for a full-recommended daily dosage. Calcium of course is another important one, and to get a full daily recommended serving would require you to drink 3 glasses of milk a day (at 240 ml each). Of course, this is strictly looking at the facts from a single food source and is a bit extreme, but to put things into perspective, this is how much variety our diet requires to be able to obtain all of those 
essential nutrients. With today's busy lifestyle and a lot of us always being on the go, these are some of the things we don’t think much about or even really truly have time for. For those reasons alone, this is where 
supplementation with a solid daily Multi-Vitamin comes in handy. 
Multi-Vitamins are formulated to help individuals fill those nutritional gaps caused by poor diet choices, lower quality food products as well as dietary imbalances that individuals may not know they have. These supplements are generally comprised of carefully clinically calculated vitamin requirements for individuals based on activity levels, age and gender. So for every type of lifestyle out there, there’s a matching Multi-Vitamin formula for you! In addition to a general Multi-Vitamin, adding in extra individual 
vitamins and minerals to your supplementation plan is a great idea! For instance, many Multi-Vitamin formulas do not contain your full daily dosage of things like Vitamin D3, Calcium, Vitamin C and Magnesium. For these particular ones, its always a great idea to get an additional source such as standalone Vitamin D3 capsules or drops that are a minimum of 1,000 us a serving, Vitamin C capsules or tabs that are a minimum of 1,000 mg, and Magnesium tablets that are minimum 250-300 mg per serving (you may require more depending on your activity and perspiration levels as an athlete). Always check the label of the product you are purchasing to make sure it's well-dosed to your specific needs and is overall balanced in ingredients. Some of the tops recommended Multi-Vitamins on the market today are listed below based on full-spectrum nutritional coverage, potency and specificity:
 
Always advise your physician on any additional vitamins or minerals you wish to add to your lifestyle to ensure you are correctly fuelling your body!