Menopause supplements costing more than £400 a year are no better than a £22-a-year multivitamin, according to analysis by the consumer watchdog Which?.
uncertain
supplements → cost → watchdog
Which? found that many popular supplements that are aimed at women over 45 going through menopause or perimenopause lack meaningful quantities of key nutrients, yet cost 20 times more than standard multivitamins.
asserted
that → find → multivitamins
The global menopause supplement market is valued at nearly $17bn and is expected to reach $25bn by 2030, as women look for ways to manage a variety of symptoms associated with menopause such as hot flushes, poor sleep and mood swings.
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women → value → flushes
But research by Which? found that none of the supplements it studied contained the correct nutrients in the right doses to support their use for menopause.
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it → find → menopause
Shefalee Loth, a public health nutritionist at Which? who co-led the research,
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who → co → research
said: “Which? is concerned that the supplements industry has become a wild west and regulators are not doing enough to get a grip on dubious marketing and unchecked quasi-medical claims from firms apparently seeking to cash in on people’s health anxiety and insecurities.
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regulators → say → anxiety
Calcium and vitamin D are the most important nutrients during perimenopause and menopause as they support bone health as oestrogen levels decline.
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levels → support → health
Maintaining good levels of iron, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals can also help with symptoms.
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Maintaining → maintain → symptoms
Nutritionists from Which? examined the active ingredients in 26 popular supplements sold by retailers such as Holland & Barrett, Boots and Amazon and found that a high-quality multivitamin alongside targeted supplements where needed was often cheaper and potentially more effective than a so-called all-in-one menopause blend.
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multivitamin → examine → blend
It found that Asda’s A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals, costing 6p a day (£22 a year), contained all essential vitamins plus 200mg of calcium and 100mg of magnesium.
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Multivitamins → find → magnesium
In contrast, the most expensive supplement, Love Mushrooms’ Empower, cost £1.33 a day for a two-tablet dose (£485 a year) yet did not contain menopause-specific nutrients such as magnesium and calcium.
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supplement → cost → magnesium
Similarly, Wild Nutrition’s Women’s 45+ Daily Multi Nutrient, costing £1.27 a day (£468 a year), contained just 1.5µg of vitamin D, 60mg of calcium and 30mg of magnesium, significantly under NHS recommended daily amounts, Which? found.
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? → cost → amounts
The watchdog also found that many menopause supplements’ key nutrients were in doses too low to be beneficial, or they omitted important vitamins and minerals altogether.
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they → find → vitamins
The highest-scoring menopause supplement analysed, Vitabiotics’ Menopace Max, cost 93p a day (£340 a year) – more than 15 times the price of Asda’s 6p multivitamin.
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supplement → score → multivitamin
The findings follow research by UCL into 201 supplements sold in the UK that found less than half of products contained vitamin D and calcium and the majority of ingredients were not specifically recommended by major menopause societies.
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majority → follow → societies
Responding to Which?’s research, Dr Xand van Tulleken, an honorary associate professor at the UCL Institute for Global Health, said: “Every year our annual spending on menopause supplements is hundreds of times more than our spending on menopause research.
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spending → respond → research
There is no persuasive evidence that menopause supplements have a significant effect on women’s symptoms, some of them are dangerous, and the pricing and marketing is exploitative and confusing.
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pricing → be → them
They are a massive rip-off for consumers who desperately want to be well.”
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who → want → consumers
Martin Last, the director general of the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association, said: “We encourage industry manufacturers to formulate and recommend supplements as required by the many food regulations that apply to food supplements.
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that → say → supplements
Many life stages, including the menopause, may create increased nutritional demands on an individual and these may be met by supplementation as an addition to a healthy diet.”
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these → include → diet
The Aporia
