Vitamins and minerals are absolutely essential to your body's health and optimal function. They act as co-factors in many enzymatic reactions in the body, they scavenge free radicals to render them harmless, and they support cellular health and metabolism. We recommend an all natural supplement that delivers high potency nutrients in their safest, most effective forms.

You should begin with the nutritional foundation provided by a high potency, comprehensive multi-vitamin-mineral supplement such as DR-HO'S^® Essential^TM Multivitamin. You can then add additional products targeted to your special needs -- for example antioxidants or supplements that benefit a specific area of the body like your joints or bone. Our Antioxidant^TM, Mobility^TM and Complete Lean Meal^TM formulas are often the first products added to the foundation of our Multivitamin.

We promote the multivitamin as a foundation because this is where a person will get the essential vitamins and minerals that are lacking in their diet. Those nutrients that the body cannot produce on its own or cannot make in sufficient quantities, are not provided in the day-to-day foods we consume (fast foods, processed foods, etc.). We don't get enough nutrients from our Westernized diet to achieve optimal health, hence the importance of a multivitamin.

We suggest that you consult your health care practitioner prior to taking any supplement if you are being monitored for any health condition or if you are taking any prescription medications. Your pharmacist is also a good source of information. Generally we suggest that you take your medication one hour before or after taking our supplements.

Yes we do. The expiration date for the product is on the back portion of the label. We guarantee 100 percent potency until that date. After that date, the product is still safe to take but will gradually lose its potency.

Yes, the capsules can be opened and the ingredients mixed into smoothies, applesauce, yogurt, and other cold food and drinks. Open the capsules by grasping at the ends and twisting in opposite directions. Since heat can destroy nutrients, please do not mix into hot substances.

Nutrient levels are a very personal choice. Although our products are all natural and safe to take daily, only you can decide if the levels meet your needs. There is no chance of "overdose" or toxicity of the ingredients if you combine them, as long as you stay within the suggested use for each product. Keep in mind that your diet also plays a role. For example, most doctors recommend 1200-1500 mg of calcium per day. If you eat no dairy products, you may choose to supplement 1200-1500 mg of calcium; if you eat a lot of dairy, you may only need to supplement half that amount. You may also check Health Canada’S website for Recommended Daily Values.

DR-HO'S^® Essential^TM Multivitamin offers a comprehensive formula with nutrient levels too high to be contained in one capsule. If the extra capsules are too much at one meal, you can split them up between meals or open the capsules and add the ingredients to cold food or beverages

One of the most important differences between DR-HO'S^® supplements and other supplement manufacturers is that we NEVER use tablets. To make a tablet, it is necessary for other ingredients such as glues, binders, fillers and other additives to be added into the formula. These types of binders and fillers are not healthy for your digestive system and they do not allow for optimal absorption of the nutrients from the vitamin. For this reason we only put our all natural ingredients in a vegetable or gelatin capsule to sustain our nutrients.

IWe use foil packets because there are many capsules in the multivitamin. The foil we use to package our comprehensive DR-HO'S^® Essential^TM Multivitamin is to protect the nutrients from heat and sunlight, assuring you the potency and purity that you expect from a supplement. Clear plastic cannot protect fragile nutrients from heat and light which can degrade their effectiveness and reduce their benefits. We package DR-HO'S^® Essential^TM Multivitamin in single-dose foil packets in order to provide you with convenient daily servings that can be put into your purse or lunch bag.

If you are taking one packet daily, we recommend you take all capsules in the packet at the same time, after a large meal. First, this allows you to obtain higher tissue levels of all the nutrients. Second, you are much more likely to take DR-HO'S^® supplements regularly if you only need to take them once a day, rather than two or three times. However, since each capsule is identical, you may split the contents of each packet between two or more meals if you prefer.

There is no need to refrigerate DR-HO'S^® vitamins. In order to maintain maximum potency, vitamins should be stored tightly closed in a cool, dry, dark place.

Many of our ingredients are listed with notations. We understand that our customers need to be able to understand what they're getting, so here's what those notations mean.
mg = milligram, 1000 mg = 1 gram
mcg = microgram, 1000 mcg = 1 milligram
IU = international unit - This measurement is used for the fat-soluble vitamins - Vitamin A, Vitamin D and Vitamin E. The measurement of IU is not easily compared to milligrams, since it depends on the particular substance.