The difference between cheap and "premium" mulitivitamins??

BigBouncyBall

Hi

What if any is the difference between say Centrum multivits (~£6-7) and Wilkinsons basics (85p)

I know i shouldn't skimp on health matters but i don't want to be wasting money on them!

I know something like ibuprofen/asprin is the same regardless of what brand/price you buy but does this apply to multivits?

BlondeHeadOn

BigBouncyBall wrote: »

Hi

What if any is the difference between say Centrum multivits (~£6-7) and Wilkinsons basics (85p)

I know i shouldn't skimp on health matters but i don't want to be wasting money on them!

I know something like ibuprofen/asprin is the same regardless of what brand/price you buy but does this apply to multivits?

Very good question, I would like to know the answer to this one too!

I used to work for a sweet factory, and 2 days a week it made sweets for M&S (the rest of the time it was generic and own-brand type product). For the M&S days The speed of the production lines were halved, and musch more stringent quality control was used. I think the receipe for the sweets was slightly different too. So the M&S sweets were different, even if produced in the same factory.

Is it the same for multi vits?

Or if both containers say '100 RDA' of whichever vitamin, does it make any difference which ones you buy?

glowgirl_2

I agree thats a good question just gonna bump it to see if you get any more info, I believe its something to do with fillers when the tablets are actually being made for example less filler = more expensive product but I'm not sure on this, if this is the case you would still get the amount of vitamin stated but in cheaper products added filler

the_devil_made_me_do_it

I watched a programme on the TV a while ago & basically the findings were there was no difference between say Tescos own brand and the more costlier brands like Holland & Barrett.

I buy Tescos own brand of vits & minerals, the B-vit suppliments & their Evening Primrose capsules & I find they do the job.

BitterAndTwisted

I think if the RDAs are exactly the same then if there is a difference it's a negligible one. I get my multivits from Lidl as they're less than a pound for two month's supply HOWEVER they don't contain as many of the trace elements that the Centrum ones do and if your diet is restricted in some way, that could be important. I'm not sure what the consequences of, say a deficiency in Selenium might be or how easy it is to have a deficiency. I'm off to check Google

BigBouncyBall

cheers for feedback. I'll take a look at the breakdowns a bit more and see if they compare. I was thinking along the lines of where and what quality the vitamins are sourced from.

Do Centrum source their vitamins from the best of the best chemicals/ingredients and thus form "better" vitamins? Or is Vitamin-C, 100% the same no matter where it is sourced/how it is processed etc

LittleMissAspie

Vitamin D has several forms. The ones in supplements are either D1 or D2, they are from different sources and D2 is better absorbed by the body.

I don't know if other vitamins have different forms like that. There is also a thing called chelated vitamins, I forget what it means but it's better. Sorry, that's probably not very helpful but Google will tell you more!

Toothsmith

Branded products are more heavily marketed.

Who pays for this marketing? The customer.

They have flashier packaging.

Who pays for that? The customer.

They hold a 'prestige' that they are actually better.

How do they do that? By charging the customer more.

These products often appear 'more effective' in trials, but that is almost certainly down to patients believing that all that extra money must mean they are buying a superior product.

In reality, you're buying just the same ingredients. It depends how much the hype affects you as to whether it's worth it or not.