Disclaimer: None of the information in this article constitutes medical advice. All statements are merely the opinion of the writer(s). We recommend that individuals follow their doctor’s guidance in regard to multivitamin use.
First Day Vitamins is a vitamin brand for the whole family. The company sells gummy vitamins for kids, teens, adult men and adult women, and claims to use “Real science” and “The best ingredients.”
But does First Day Vitamins contain research-backed ingredients and effective vitamin doses, or are these just marketing claims? Does the brand contain any questionable additive ingredients? Why is it so hard to find the full ingredient list? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of First Day Vitamins?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we analyze the ingredients in First Day Vitamins based on medical studies to give our take on whether the formulations are healthy or if they’re a waste of money.
We’ll share our concerns about some of the brand’s marketing practices, highlight some questionable additive ingredients, and feature real, unsponsored First Day Vitamins user reviews.
Highly Questionable Marketing Practices
When we went to evaluate the ingredient label of First Day Vitamins, we were extremely confused because the subheader of the product page didn’t match up to the Supplement Facts label.
The product page header, shown below, references an “organic fruit and veggie blend, plus 9 key nutrients”:
But the Supplement Facts label directly across from these product claims has no fruits and vegetables listed, and lists 13 nutrients:
You have to scroll all the way down to the “FAQs” section of the page and click a button that says “What’s the full nutrition facts for your vitamin” to see the full ingredient list, which is the same Supplement Facts label as shown above but with two added sections:
There is no dose listed for any of the fruit and vegetable ingredients, and there are several “Other Ingredients” that may be questionable from a health perspective.
Cane sugar is included at a relatively low dose of 2 grams (g), but added sugar intake in excess is clinically shown to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Since many Americans already consume too much added sugar from diet, we generally recommend avoiding supplements containing added refined sugars.
Citric acid is a preservative and flavor enhancer shown to cause whole body inflammation in some individuals in a medical review published in the Toxicology Reports journal.
Natural flavors is a broad categorical term that fails to describe the specific flavoring agents used, and some flavoring ingredients may have toxicity concerns as we documented in our review of Activated You Morning Complete.
Overall we find this to be one of the strangest ingredient lists from any vitamin brand we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health, and we urge First Day Vitamins to clearly publish all ingredients in the Supplement Facts panel, as is required by the FDA.
Using two different ingredient lists (a shortened version and a full version) is a highly questionable marketing practice in our opinion, and we recommend that consumers be wary of brands that engage in this practice.
Are Multivitamins Even Necessary?
We haven’t come across much convincing medical evidence that the average healthy adult benefits from multivitamin supplementation.
A 2012 medical review analyzed data from clinical trials and population studies on multivitamin supplementation and concluded that multivitamin and multi-mineral supplements “may slightly increase the risk of cancer” over long periods of use.
A meta-study published in the Nutrition journal suggested that multivitamin use is safe, but didn’t find that it improved any health outcomes compared to individuals not taking multivitamins.
A 2012 medical review found that multivitamin supplementation may improve some aspects of cognitive function such as free recall memory.
A YouTube video published by the popular TODAY show has over 60,000 views and discusses results from a new study that’s unfavorable to vitamin users:
Questionable Health Claims on Brand Website
Beyond the questionable marketing claims on the First Day Vitamins website, there are a number of questionable health claims that we wish to highlight.
As shown below, a doctor named Kim Langdon claims to recommend First Day Vitamins because it’s challenging to get children to eat three to four servings of produce:
But First Day Vitamins doesn’t even publish the doses of the fruit and veggie ingredients, so how can consumers know whether it meets the criteria for one (or more) servings of fruit or vegetables?
First Day Vitamins also claims to use the “most absorbable ingredients”:
However, no proof is provided for this claim. We haven’t come across any evidence published by the brand that their ingredients are any more or less absorbable than the ingredients in other multivitamins.
Real Users Review First Day Vitamins
A YouTube creator named “Mamie Elizabeth” shared her experience giving these vitamins to her kids:
A YouTube creator named “Mami Must Haves” shared her experience buying First Day Vitamins for her child:
Our Clean Multivitamin Pick
Ritual is our top multivitamin pick because the brand is clinically shown to be effective, and uses absorbable vitamin and mineral formats without any unhealthy additive ingredients.
Ritual Men's Multivitamin costs $33 and can be purchased at the brand's official website.
Ritual Women's Multivitamin costs $33 and can be purchased at the brand's official website.
This brand is highly-reviewed by customers, and also has the best packaging and design we've come across for multivitamins.
Pros and Cons of First Day Vitamins
Here are the pros and cons of First Day Vitamins in our opinion:
Pros:
- Lower in sugar than some gummy supplements
- Nutrients seem appropriately dosed
- Aesthetically pleasing branding
Cons:
- Contains added sugar
- Contains citric acid
- Contains natural flavors
- Brand makes questionable health claims
- Brand has two different ingredient lists
- Multivitamin supplementation may be a waste of money
