The inexpensive options can be just as goodβif you pick the right ones. To do that, figure out what nutrients you really need , seek out vitamins that are independently tested , and then buy the cheapest ones you can find. You might not need a multivitamin at all. Most stores include ingredients lists, with online listings for products, and the ODS also maintains a database of supplement labels. CVS is a great place to shop because nearly all of the supplements are third-partyβverified.
The same is true for most Walgreens-brand and Costco Kirkland Signature products. An inexpensive, independently verified multivitamin is just as good as a product that costs 10 to 20 times more, according to our experts. You typically need to spend only pennies a day to get a contaminant-free product that efficiently delivers the promised nutrients.
There is a huge variation in supplement quality, according to research conducted by Pieter Cohen, MD, an internist at Cambridge Health Alliance and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Cohen and his team found that 22 of 25 melatonin gummy supplements contained different amounts of the sleep-inducing hormone than what was listed on the label, according to a recent study published in the medical journal JAMA subscription required.
Similarly, in ConsumerLab. The Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements as it does food, rather than drugs. That means the agency does not scrutinize the quality of products before they reach the market, Cohen explained. In fact, no one, including the federal government, even keeps track of how many products are out there, said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition CRN , a trade organization representing the supplements industry.
The CRN is lobbying Congress to pass legislation requiring supplements makers and marketers to register products with the FDA before they go to market. The FDA does take action in cases of outright fraud βwhen a company claims that a supplement prevents or treats a health condition, for example, or sells products tainted with potentially harmful drug ingredients not listed on the label. Cooperman said ConsumerLab.
