Vitamins and Health Supplements.

amatino

I recently purchased some supplements from Holland and Barrett at half price. The discount is currently unavailable, however I would like to buy more of the same product but not necessary the same brand. What do I need to look for on the labelling to ensure that it is safe to take and meets trading standards?Thanks

A.Penny.Saved

Quality can vary. All you can go on is the declared extract quantity/concentration for herbs etc and for vitamin/mineral the amounts. However for vitamins and minerals the form can really make a difference. Cheaper forms are not very bio available and some are a total waste of money IMO. Buying something like Magnesium oxide is a bit of a waste of time and RDA (recommended) levels are also not worth bothering with.

You can get vitamin B6 as pyridoxal or a much better version called pyridoxal-5'-phosphate which is the form that the body can much better use. It's similar with Riboflavin (cheap) and Riboflavin-5'-phosphate which is in the form which is easy to use by the body but does cost more. The same goes for many other vitamins and minerals.

There are many places that sell vitamins and minerals at far cheaper prices than H&B. Better products too.

Do you actually need to take them? Do you have a deficiency which has been diagnosed/tested for by your doctor?

[Deleted User]

I only buy supplements from a US online store because standards are stricter over there.