According to the Global Wellness Institute, health and wellness is presently a "trillion-dollar" industry and the worldwide dietary supplements market presently costs more than $163 billion with an expected rise of 6.5 percent over the following six years.
A HealthDigest report indicates that choices such as capsules, chewable, and gummies are one of the different ways people can take their supplements which contribute to the market by covering all demographics.
Unfortunately, some of the said options for vitamins may not be the most ideal for getting an individual's daily dose of nutrients.
Efficacy of Gummies
In an article published in March 2019, Time specified that gummy vitamins' efficacy is not how they are claimed.
Dr. Tod Cooperman, ConsumerLab.com President said, even though gummy vitamins are very popular, they are more difficult to make compared to other supplements.
More so, many companies, he added, "seem to have trouble controlling" the quantities of ingredients for every piece of gummy.
Cooperman continued explaining that some gummies, because of unstable shelf life, are developed with additional nutrients to guarantee efficacy over time. In this case, more vitamins become unnecessarily a good thing.
Iron Content of Gummy Vitamins
In its analysis, ConsumerLab.com showed that few gummies have iron content, which has a metallic taste, making it difficult to mask said taste.
This is particularly worth emphasizing for pregnant women who are frequently advised to take vitamins, specifically, iron supplements, to reduce the danger of experiencing premature birth as well as other complications.
The analysis, though, the Time report said, was not purely bad news.
Specifically, some gummies, including those that Flintstones Vitamins as well as the gummies supplements for women, developed by Nature's Way, "passed the ConsumerLab.com testing."
However, excessive intake of vitamins and minerals has been associated with several health conditions, according to the European Food Safety Authority.
Intriguing Ingredient
In January 2019, Healthline reported that, interchangeably, a study had found that almost "80 percent of gummy vitamins do not have" vitamins and minerals as indicated on their labels.
More so, they contain lesser nutrients than most people may think. The said report also said, what gummy supplements may be missing out in nutrients, "they make up for in added ingredients," specifically like sugar, for one.
Surprisingly, a popular brand of gummy multivitamins for children is found to have three grams of sugar, a gummy with three different types of added sugar included in the ingredients.
This, according to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines, is quite alarming as less than 10 percent of the calories every day should come from added sugars.
Preventive and Alternative Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical Center Director Dr. Mark Moyad said it is like "eating Halloween candy 365 days every year."
In addition, the director advised taking essential vitamins and minerals from whole foods instead of supplements that contain sugars as a way of avoiding obesity. More so, diets that are rich in sugar can result in high blood pressure, fatty liver, and cardiovascular disease.
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