Pure One Multivitamin: Dose, Ingredients & Who It Suits

Quick answer: The Pure One multivitamin (styled O.N.E. on the bottle) is Pure Encapsulations' once-a-day multivitamin: one vegetarian capsule supplies 2,000 IU of vitamin D3, Metafolin L-5-MTHF folate, methylcobalamin B12, 25 mg of zinc, 50 mg of CoQ10 and 3 mg of lutein. It is made for adults 18 and up who want broad daily coverage without a handful of pills. Take 1 capsule a day with a meal. It contains no iron, no vitamin K and no calcium or magnesium, so it fits best as a foundation rather than an everything-in-one.

Clinical review pending — Holistic Health Partners

Delphine Arceneaux, 47, a court reporter who types for a living and trusts nothing she can't read, had four bottles on her counter and one rule: nothing new until the label made sense. Her sister left a bottle of Pure O.N.E. behind after a visit. Delphine set it next to her drugstore multi under the kitchen light and compared them line by line: L-5-MTHF instead of folic acid, methylcobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin, and the same 50 mg of CoQ10 she had been buying in a separate bottle. She still isn't sure she needed four bottles. She is sure she needed fewer.

Here is what that label actually says, line by line.

What is the Pure One multivitamin (O.N.E.)?

Pure Encapsulations® O.N.E. Multivitamin is a one-capsule daily multivitamin and mineral formula with added antioxidants: CoQ10, alpha lipoic acid, lutein, zeaxanthin and lycopene. People searching for "Pure One multivitamin" mean this product; the name is styled O.N.E. on the bottle. Pure Encapsulations lists it for adults 18 and up and describes its purpose as overall wellness plus eye, cognitive and cellular health. The capsule is vegetarian and the other ingredients are short: cellulose, ascorbyl palmitate and potato starch.

The design choice to notice is what one capsule can hold. A size 00 capsule has room for meaningful amounts of the vitamins, which are needed in milligrams or micrograms, but not for the bulkier minerals. That is why O.N.E. leaves out calcium and magnesium entirely, and why it is a different tool from multi-capsule formulas.

What's in the Pure One multivitamin, and what does each ingredient do?

Each capsule delivers 26 ingredients, and the amounts below come from Pure Encapsulations' current product information sheet. The forms are the point: most of the B vitamins come partly or fully in their active coenzyme forms, and the minerals are citrates, chelates or selenomethionine.

The vitamins

• Vitamin D3, 50 mcg (2,000 IU) as cholecalciferol, sourced from lanolin. It supports calcium absorption and normal immune function. 2,000 IU is half the 4,000 IU adult upper limit listed by the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.
• Folate, 667 mcg DFE (400 mcg L-5-MTHF) as Metafolin®, the form your body uses directly. More on why that matters below.
• Vitamin B12, 500 mcg as methylcobalamin.
• Vitamin B6, 4 mg as pyridoxine HCl, with 38% as pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (the active form). Riboflavin, 3 mg, with 43% as riboflavin 5'-phosphate.
• Thiamin 3 mg, niacinamide 20 mg, pantothenic acid 10 mg, biotin 300 mcg: the rest of the B complex, which your cells use as cofactors to turn food into usable energy.
• Vitamin A, 1,125 mcg, 73% of it as beta carotene and the rest as vitamin A acetate. Vitamin C, 180 mg as ascorbic acid. Vitamin E, 20 mg as d-alpha tocopherol succinate.
• Choline 25 mg and inositol 25 mg, which the manufacturer includes for their roles in normal nerve-cell function.

The minerals

• Zinc, 25 mg as zinc citrate, the highest-dose mineral in the capsule.
• Selenium, 70 mcg as selenomethionine; iodine, 150 mcg as potassium iodide.
• Chromium 200 mcg (polynicotinate), manganese 2 mg (citrate), molybdenum 75 mcg (TRAACS® glycinate chelate) and boron 1 mg (glycinate).

The antioxidant extras

• Coenzyme Q10, 50 mg, a blend of standard ubiquinone and MicroActive® CoQ10, which Pure Encapsulations describes as a sustained-release, water-soluble form. CoQ10 is part of the energy-producing machinery inside your mitochondria.
• Alpha lipoic acid, 50 mg, an antioxidant that works in both water and fat.
• FloraGLO® lutein 3 mg, zeaxanthin 500 mcg and lycopene 500 mcg: carotenoids that support the macular pigment at the back of the eye.

On the eye nutrients, the research is real but the doses differ. In a one-year double-blind trial in 115 healthy young adults, 10 mg of lutein plus 2 mg of zeaxanthin a day raised macular pigment density and improved recovery from bright-light glare and color contrast compared with placebo. O.N.E. provides about a third of that lutein, so think of it as daily support for macular pigment, not a substitute for a dedicated eye formula your practitioner might choose.

O.N.E. Multivitamin 30c

$25.00

O.N.E. Multivitamin 30c by Pure Encapsulations O.N.E. Multivitamin is a once-daily dietary supplement formulated to provide comprehensive nutritional support to adults aged 18 and over.… Click here to read more

Is the folate in the Pure One multivitamin better than folic acid?

For raising blood folate, the evidence favors it. In a randomized crossover study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, 24 healthy women took a single dose of either 416 mcg of 5-MTHF or 400 mcg of folic acid. The 5-MTHF raised plasma folate more, and faster, whether the women carried two copies of the common MTHFR 677C>T variant or none. Unmetabolized folic acid showed up regularly in the blood after folic acid, and rarely after 5-MTHF.

That study used the same 400 mcg range that Pure O.N.E. Multivitamin provides. It was a short absorption study, not a long-term outcome trial, but it is the clearest reason practitioners like methylated folate in a daily multi, especially for clients who already know their MTHFR status.

How do you take the Pure One multivitamin?

Take 1 capsule a day with a meal, as the label directs. That is the whole protocol; the details below are about getting the most from it.

The eight-week figure comes from a Tufts University trial of 80 adults aged 50 to 87 who were already eating a fortified diet. A multivitamin at about 100% of the Daily Value raised blood levels of vitamins D, E, C, B6, B12 and folate versus placebo and cut the number of people with suboptimal vitamin E and B12. It did not change antioxidant capacity or the immune markers the researchers measured. That is an honest picture of what a good multi does: it closes gaps. It is a different product from that one, but the principle carries over.

Who is Pure O.N.E. for, and who should skip it?

The Pure One multivitamin suits adults who want solid daily coverage in one capsule and get their calcium and magnesium from food or separate products. It tends to fit:

• Adults who struggle to swallow, or remember, three to six capsules a day
• Men and postmenopausal women whose practitioner hasn't recommended extra iron
• People who prefer methylated folate and methylcobalamin B12
• Anyone already paying for CoQ10 or lutein separately who wants to consolidate
• People who avoid gluten, dairy and soy and want a short other-ingredients list

Skip it, or check first, if you:

• Are pregnant, trying to conceive or nursing. The label asks you to consult your health professional first, and a prenatal formula is usually the better fit.
• Need iron, calcium or magnesium. O.N.E. contains none of them. Women who still menstruate and frequent blood donors often need a formula with iron.
• Already take a separate zinc product. O.N.E.'s 25 mg plus another 25 mg puts you past the 40 mg adult upper limit, and the NIH zinc fact sheet notes that 50 mg or more for weeks can interfere with copper absorption. O.N.E. contains no copper of its own.
• Take any prescription medication. The label says to talk with your health professional first.
• Are under 18. Pure Encapsulations lists it for adults.

Two smaller notes. The vitamin D3 comes from lanolin (sheep's wool), so the capsule is vegetarian but not vegan. And if you have blood work scheduled, tell the lab about every supplement you take; the NIH biotin fact sheet notes that very high biotin intakes can skew some hormone tests. The 300 mcg here is modest, but the lab should still know.

How does Pure O.N.E. compare with Thorne Basic Nutrients 2/Day and Nutrient 950?

All three are adult multivitamins with methylated folate and methylcobalamin. The real differences are how many capsules you take and which minerals make the cut.

Thorne® Basic Nutrients 2/Day is the closest match on vitamin D and active B vitamins, and it adds vitamin K, copper and a little calcium and magnesium. It also carries NSF Certified for Sport status, which matters to competitive athletes. If you take warfarin, its 400 mcg of vitamin K is a reason to involve your prescriber before switching in either direction, since O.N.E. has none.

Nutrient 950® is Pure Encapsulations' own broad-spectrum formula. Its three-capsule serving makes room for calcium, magnesium, copper, potassium and 5 mg of iron, but it has only 400 IU of vitamin D and no CoQ10. Pure also makes iron-free versions of it.

On cost per day, O.N.E. is the least expensive of the three: about 77 cents a day in the 120-count bottle, compared with roughly $1.13 for the 120-count Thorne and $1.20 for a 90-count Nutrient 950 at one serving a day.

What isn't in the Pure One multivitamin?

No iron, no copper, no calcium, no magnesium, no vitamin K and no omega-3s. That list is a design choice, and it shapes how you build around Pure O.N.E.:

• Magnesium: most adults who want it take it separately, often in the evening.
• Calcium: food first; a separate supplement only if your diet falls short and your practitioner agrees.
• Omega-3s: a separate fish oil, taken with the same meal as O.N.E.
• Iron: only when a lab result or your practitioner says you need it.

An earlier version of this article said O.N.E. contained vitamin K, magnesium and potassium. The current label lists none of them, and this version has been corrected.

Is the Pure One multivitamin worth it?

Yes, if one capsule a day is what you will actually take and you don't need iron. The Pure One multivitamin gives you 2,000 IU of D3, methylated folate and B12, 25 mg of zinc and 50 mg of CoQ10 at the lowest daily cost of the three formulas above. It is the wrong pick if you want your multi to cover calcium, magnesium, iron or vitamin K, or if you are pregnant. In those cases Basic Nutrients 2/Day, Nutrient 950 or a prenatal formula fits better. Delphine, for the record, is down to two bottles.

Keep reading

• UltraNutrient by Pure Encapsulations: a multivitamin for total body support
• Pure Encapsulations Men's Nutrients: multivitamin guide for daily wellness

Not sure if this is the right product for you?
The licensed wellness professionals at Holistic Health Partners, led by Carolyn Mulally BS, RN, HN-BC, offer free product consultations — no appointment required. They can help you find the right supplement for your specific health goals.

Get a Free Consultation

Talk to an Expert

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.