MaryRuth’s is one of the most popular vitamin brands in the US, and is one of the few organic vitamin brands on the market. The company sells products for infants up to adults, and claims to be “Made With Pure Ingredients.”
But are MaryRuth’s vitamins effectively formulated? Is the brand healthier than traditional vitamin pills? Does MaryRuth's Liquid Multivitamin contain any questionable ingredients? And is MaryRuth's better or worse than popular vitamin brands like Ritual?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in MaryRuth’s popular liquid multivitamin to give our take on whether or not it’s effectively formulated.
We'll also explain why the brand voluntarily recalled one of its supplements (which is uncommon), and compare MaryRuth's to other popular vitamin brands to pick our winners (and losers).
Key takeaways:
- Contains absorbable vitamin formats
- Contains one inactive ingredient we don't recommend
- We don't currently recommend MaryRuth's
Ingredient Analysis
The vitamins and minerals in MaryRuth’s Liquid Morning Multivitamin are shown below:
For the most part, we have no issue with the included vitamins and their formats.
Methylcobalamin is used as the vitamin B12 form and is highly absorbable and described as the “preferred” format in a 2017 medical review.
Notably, the mineral magnesium is absent from this formulation, even though up to 20% of the population is deficient according to a medical review published in the Open Heart journal.
We consider the vitamin and mineral blend pretty typical for the product category and nothing stands out to us (though we have no issues with these ingredients).
The remaining active ingredients in this liquid multivitamin are shown below:
All of these are relatively non-standard for a daily multivitamin.
Inositol is a sugar produced by the body that’s used in clinical studies to improve polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
We haven’t come across any clinical evidence suggesting this nutrient is beneficial to supplement in otherwise healthy children or adults, nor does MaryRuth’s cite any on the product page.
Methylsulfonylmethane may have anti-inflammatory effects according to a medical review published in the Nutrients journal.
We don’t understand why the remaining active ingredients are included in a multivitamin, nor does the brand explain on their product page.
The inactive ingredients in MaryRuth’s Liquid Morning Multivitamin are shown below:
Natural raspberry flavor is the only inactive ingredient we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.
As we discussed in our review of Hiya Vitamins, at least one medical review suggests that some flavoring additives may be toxic.
Overall, we consider MaryRuth’s multivitamin to be slightly-above-average in regard to its formulation.
We don’t currently recommend it due to the inclusion of natural flavors, but it’s definitely a healthier option in our opinion than commercial multivitamins like Flintstones.
Why Was MaryRuth’s Probiotic Recalled?
In 2021, MaryRuth’s voluntarily recalled two lots of their liquid probiotic.
The company claims to have “discovered the potential issue with one of its manufacturing partners during routine laboratory testing,” according to an FDA document.
According to the above-linked FDA release, two lots of MaryRuth’s probiotic were potentially contaminated with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause infections in humans according to a 2023 medical review.
While it’s a good thing that the company proactively took this step, and it doesn’t appear to have affected any customers negatively given the lack of lawsuits, we consider it to be a red flag that this was discovered post-production.
Many supplement brands (ours included) test for contaminants prior to distributing a supplement.
We don’t understand if MaryRuth’s completed such testing and this bacteria somehow contaminated the product(s) after-the-fact due to storage conditions or environmental contamination.
In any case, this proves why third-party testing and publication of such tests on product pages is so important, and so lacking, in the US supplement industry.
MaryRuth's vs. Popular Vitamin Brands
Here's how MaryRuth's Liquid Multivitamin compares to other popular vitamin supplements in terms of formulation quality, in our opinion:
Ritual
Ritual Vitamins have been shown to be effective in a clinical trial published in a peer-reviewed journal (which is the gold standard of product research).
The Ritual multivitamins we reviewed were free of any unhealthy inactive ingredients.
Winner: Ritual
Immuno 150
Contains relatively high mineral doses that are associated with increased mortality, as we documented in our Immuno 150 review article.
The brand name comes from the 150 total ingredients, but many of those are extremely low-dosed herbal ingredients.
Winner: MaryRuth's
Olly
This brand primarily sells gummy supplements, which contain multiple inactive ingredients we consider to be unhealthy, like refined, added sugar.
Winner: MaryRuth's
Interview with MaryRuth’s Founder
MaryRuth Ghiyam, the founder of MaryRuth’s, was interviewed on The Drew Barrymore Show and explains what prompted her to start her supplement company:
Our Clean Vitamin Picks
Performance Lab NutriGenesis Men and Performance Lab NutriGenesis Women is our top multivitamin brand.
This brand contains a complete set of vitamins and minerals in absorbable formats, and we tried it ourselves and noted subjective energy improvements.
This product line is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
MaryRuth’s Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Effective vitamin formats
- Healthier formulation than most vitamin brands
- Uses glass bottles rather than plastic
- Clean Label Project certified
- Mostly positive online customer reviews
Cons:
- Contains natural flavor
- No magnesium
- Brand recalled two probiotic lots due to bacterial contamination
- Expensive
- Doesn’t appear clinically tested
- Contains other active ingredients beyond vitamins that we don’t understand
