Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day Review

This is a daily multivitamin, and no study tested this product itself. Several of its ingredients come at doses studied for mood. Vitamin D may modestly ease low mood, mainly in people already depressed or low in vitamin D ^[1], but large five-year trials in older adults found it did not prevent depression ^[2]. Folate added to a med medicine eased depression more than medicine alone ^[3]. Zinc added to meds also helped ^[4], and selenium lowered depression scores in pooled trials ^[5]. Vitamin C at 250 milligrams improved well-being in young adults with low vitamin C ^[6], though pooled trials found no overall mood benefit ^[7]. Vitamin A improved depression scores in one trial of people with multiple sclerosis ^[8] but had no effect in a larger trial ^[9]. Vitamin K2 helped in one small trial ^[10]. Vitamin B6 helped some people with mild depression ^[11], while vitamin B12 showed no clear benefit ^[12]. Magnesium, riboflavin, vitamin E and lutein are here well below the doses studied for mood, so their trial results do not apply ^[13][14][15]. Animal and cell studies are never counted.

Vitamin D draws the most attention, with most of the panel recommending or using it: several take it daily, one takes 5000 IU of D3 in the morning, and another urges at least 10,000 IU in winter, while others stress testing blood levels and aiming for roughly 40 to 70. One panelist advises taking it with dietary fat for better absorption, and reasons given include brain health, muscle, healing, and general health. Zinc is used or recommended by about five of them for testosterone, wound healing, gut lining, and immunity alongside vitamin C, with one cautioning that too much zinc can cause a copper shortfall. Vitamin C is recommended by four, mostly paired with collagen for joints and connective tissue or used for immune support, and only one panelist spoke about vitamin K, taking 90 mcg of K2 in the morning. Magnesium is a smaller ingredient in this product, and panelists mostly take it in other forms for sleep, with one warning that labels can make the dose look larger than it is.