A proper multivitamin is currently one of the most basic and popular dietary supplements ever. The fact that if you follow a balanced and varied diet, the vast majority of you don't really need them at all.
And it is the multivitamin that we have decided to take a closer look at in this review. To be more precise, it is a multivitamin from the brand MyProtein with the perfect and for many absolutely irresistible name Alpha Men. So, if you have ever considered buying this particular supplement or you are simply wondering if its composition matches the name, definitely do not stop reading. Everything essential you will find out in this review.
Content of the review
As the name of this multivitamin suggests, it is designed exclusively for men. But that doesn't mean that women are somehow left out of this brand. MyProtein also has a multivitamin designed exclusively for women with the magical name Active Women.
At first glance, the supercharged formula
As the title of this paragraph suggests, the Alpha Men formula is truly impressive at first glance. We find here an incredible amount of 39 active ingredients in total. A layman might think that this must be an absolutely unbeatable multivitamin that everyone must have. A more experienced individual, however, will be a little more careful. Such a large amount of vitamins and minerals in one product is in most cases counterproductive rather than actually effective. Is this also the case with this dietary supplement?
The answer to this question is not simple and, in fact, not even clear-cut. Let us start with the positive. First of all, the content of basically all vitamins important for optimal human health should be highlighted. We can find here vitamins A, C, D, E, K, as well as the entire spectrum of B vitamins, namely B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9 and B12.
In addition, Alpha Men also contains the vast majority of vitamins and minerals important for human health.calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus, copper, manganese, selenium, chromium and molybdenum. But this is where we run into the first major problem. Virtually every one of them is represented here in an inorganic form that is of little use to man, such as an oxide, chloride or sulphate. Unfortunately, you will not find any organic and highly absorbable form (citrate, bisglycinate) of these minerals here.
However, the list of substances contained in Alpha Men is far from over. In addition to the digestive enzymes bromelain, lipase, papain and amylase, we also find coenzyme Q10, inositol and lutein. And last but not least, extracts from Korean ginseng, Ginko biloba, nettle leaves or grape seeds.
The manufacturer obviously followed the rule of the more the better. However, with a multivitamin this rule cannot be followed simply and easily. Although there are a large number of substances important for health, their content is often almost negligible and the form is often poorly absorbed.
Pleasant but slightly problematic dosage
The manufacturer recommends taking one tablet daily in the morning and one in the evening, both ideally after meals. From this point of view, it is thus a completely hassle-free product, the use of which is as easy as it seems. The problem, however, is the very fact that Alpha Men contains both vitamins and minerals at the same time. Why, you ask? The answer is quite simple.
While lipophilic vitamins need fats for proper absorption, which is why they would be soshould really be taken mainly after meals, minerals such as magnesium and zinc do exactly the opposite. They react badly with proteins and should therefore be taken either fasting or just before bedtime, depending on their form.
Unfortunately, since this problem is encountered with virtually every multivitamin that contains both vitamins and minerals, there is nothing that can be done about it. However, as I have already pointed out above, most of the minerals here are also represented in an inorganic and therefore not very absorbable form. It is the combination of these two factors that makes their usefulness to our body virtually nil.
Affordability
A pack of 120 tablets is currently available on the fitness007 website for . Which means that one dose will cost you less than . In the case of a larger pack of 240 tablets, you will pay only .
Which is quite a nice price, but considering the quality of Alpha Men, I'm not sure if it's really worth it. Just for comparison, a 30-dose pack of the very popular and high quality multivitamin Nexgen from Reflex is priced at some .
Final verdict
In the end, I have to give MyProtein Alpha Men a pretty average rating. On the one hand, it is indeed a supercharged dietary supplement that contains a plethora of substances important for optimal health. On the other hand, however, a large part of these substances is contained in insufficient quantities or in a completely inappropriate form.
If I had to choose, I would prefer a slightly more expensive, but significantly higher qualitybetter alternative in the form of the aforementioned Nexgen from Reflex. But if you are still interested in the Alpha Men despite all the negatives I have mentioned in this review, I will not discourage you from buying it. However, if the investment in it is really worth it, I'm going to doubt it a little bit.