Vitamins

[Felix]

I’m never sure if I should invest in vitamins and minerals or not, and if so, which ones should I buy.

I hear so many conflicting stories about fillers, colourings, toxins.

Any recommendations for a good one would be very welcome. :ne_nau:

[Morris1954]

Solgar have a good range of vitamins, although they are not the cheapest, more middle of the road in terms of their pricing. Then again, cheap isn’t good.

[Kellee]

I would recommend buying the best brand you can afford to by on a regular basis. It is no good buying a top of the range brand, if you can only afford it for two months. Consistency is the key.

[Rene82]

Pukka are doing some excellent herbal supplements https://www.pukkaherbs.com/teas-supplements/pukka-organic-supplements/. They may not be a specific general vitamin, but they are worth a look. Their range is expanding all the time, so it is worth keeping an eye out for further lines.

[cherry]

Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with Solgar. But if money is tight Holland and Barret do many special offers on vitamins, thats when I stock up. although Solgar is very rarely on their special offer promotions.

[Louise]

There is a lot of conflicting information out there, which makes it a minefeild to decide what is the healthiest path to take.

The argument against them is that they are often packed with stabilisers, fillers etc and the absorption by the body is very limited. Some would go as far to suggest that they cause more damage in the body than they help.

There is is no doubt that eating a wide variety of colours in the forms of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds will give you all the nutrients you require and therefore you should not feel the need to supplement.

However, we do not all live in the perfect world, we often don’t have the time to prepare fresh foods, we eat on the run and often end up eating processed, packaged foods.

I think there here is a place for certain vitamins to help support our diet or lifestyle. But they should not be used as an excuse to not try to eat as healthy as possible. Our body was designed to extract the goodness from real food.

[Heather]

I saw this in Wikipedia and just had to share. What fascinates me is how new our understanding is of how our body functions and the nutrients it requires to function.


The term vitamin is derived from the word vitamine, coined in 1912 by biochemist Casimir Funk, who isolated a complex of micronutrients essential to life, all of which he presumed to be amines. When this presumption was later determined not to be true, the "e" was dropped from the name.[7] All vitamins were discovered (identified) between 1913 and 1948.

[Antonio94]

There is a lot of coverage about the dangers of taking vitamins, along with the suggestion that they don’t actually work. But in my opinion, when ever I have felt the need to supplement with vitamins, I have found them to benefit my ailment, suggesting my body lacked the nutrient and benefited from the supplement.

I don’t take them all of the time, but they do have some effect. I also firmly believe that whole food is the ideal to gain our vitamins and minerals.

[Harry]

I think the common sense approach would be buy the best quality vitamins you can afford, and read the label, if they are full of additives, sugars and fillers, stay clear of them.

[Alf]

I think the common sense approach would be buy the best quality vitamins you can afford, and read the label, if they are full of additives, sugars and fillers, stay clear of them.

Is there evidence that the better more expensive the product the better quality it is?

[Kat]

Is there evidence that the better more expensive the product the better quality it is?

I would imagine there would be less fillers in the more expensive brands. I doubt there is much difference between one that is selling a vit for £2 and one selling it for £4, I think you would have to be going to the higher priced brackets to really see any real benefit.

[Louise]

I think the answer is always, read the label. Price is not an indicator of quality and let’s be honest, you can have some expensive toxins added to your product!

To be safe, read the label.

[Nancy]

There is so much bad press around the use of vitamins, I’m always torn between taking them, and not. Which are good sources. I do try and eat a varied diet to incorporate as many naturally occurring vitamins as possible, but I do sometimes feel I am lacking.

[Joolz]

I am 50 now and I take a multivitamin every day, I notice a big difference in my health when I don’t take it. I catch every cough cold or stomach upset. So I definitely recommend taking vitamins especially if like me your diet isn’t the healthiest!

[Goatie]

I take a multi vitamin every day and I notice a difference in my health when I don’t. I catch every virus doing the rounds but when I take a regular multi vitamin I might get a mild dose but it’s gone in 24 hours so I highly recommend taking them

[Honor265]

I would like to know why big brand vitamins are really expensive but the supermarket equivalent is half the price! Are the cheaper ones less effective and if so how can they claim to have the same ingredients?

[Goatie]

I think the more expensive they are they more refined the ingredients but I’m not sure there is any evidence of this

[Charlotte]

I never think to look for such things as fillers and sugars, I just read the vitamins it contains! I will definitely look closer at what’s in them

[Westielover]

They did an article about vitamins on the TV the other day and there is no difference between own brand and famous brands. Every vitamin has to go through rigorous testing and conform to a particular standard so save your money and buy the cheapest as long as it is from a reputable company like a supermarket. I think it’s better to take a cheaper alternative than to go without because you can’t afford the big brands