When you walk into a drugstore or health store, you immediately encounter a wall full of supplements, vitamin pills, powders and preparations. One more expensive than the other. Many kitchen or bathroom cupboards are now also bulging due to all the jars of vitamin pills. are supplements boomingbut which ones work best? And does it really matter whether you buy vitamin pills from a more expensive premium brand or are those from the cheaper private label also fine?
Do I take quality supplements?
According to Renger Witkamp, biologist and pharmacologist at Wageningen University, the difference if you look purely at the vitamins is very small. A molecule of vitamin A is simply just a molecule of vitamin A. But… it is always wise to check the ingredients list. In an interview with NPO Radio 1 he explains: ‘I always say: stick to a simple preparation that you can just buy at a normal drugstore. There is actually virtually no difference in quality, so a respected chemist simply has good vitamin pills.’
The difference is often in the advertising. Expensive pills, powder, drops or Yummygums are often advertised with promising claims and promises. That does not mean that they are actually better than the cheaper variant. You mainly pay for the brand and their (strong) marketing. Therefore save a lot of money by just going for the house brand.
Check supplement label
Don’t immediately grab the first product you see, but take the time to check the label. Different raw materials or auxiliary materials may be used per manufacturer. So look further than your nose is long and don’t just stick to the promising claims on the front. Supplements contain many more substances than what the manufacturer advertises. Also see which variants there are and what exactly is in them. Reading a label can be tricky, so here are a few tips:
- Pay particular attention to the main substance in the pill – the ingredient that is the most in the supplement is listed first on the ingredient list.
- Look at the daily dose – sometimes one jar contains many more pills than the other, but you have to take those first two pills a day.
- Check the recommended method of intake – the way you take a supplement can have a lot of influence on the absorption of the ingredients in your body. Which is better: capsule or tablet?
- Watch for the presence of toxic substances – supplements sometimes contain substances such as nickel, tin (titanium dioxide) or fluorine. Try to avoid these.
- Check the batch number – such a batch of supplements is made in one go, so you can be sure that all products in the batch have the same properties. The controls are often better then.
Bron: NPO radio 1, Consumers Association
