Are You Taking Dummy Gummies?

“Even if the label says it has a certain amount of vitamins, in reality you’re probably not getting what’s on the label,” (ClevelandClinic.org).

As previously established in our other articles, vitamins play a critical role in our body’s functioning. If you want to read more about a certain vitamin, definitely check out our blog posts here!

Watch our blog highlights here: https://youtu.be/54mluaZDl70

Now that we know we need vitamins; how do we get them? Of course, food IDEALLY provides many of the vitamins we need, but it is so difficult to get EVERYTHING we need in just two or three meals a day.

That's why supplements are just as important to assure your body is getting the proper nourishment it needs. This brings us to a second question- pills or gummies?

Most people’s initial answer would be gummies. No matter how you look at it, swallowing pills just isn’t fun or easy compared to a fruity, sweet, chewy candy. However, gummy vitamins may not be as healthy as their pill counterparts. 

One issue with gummy vitamins is that many contain added sugars, sugar alcohols, food colorings, and filler compounds that aren’t particularly healthy for you. Typically, each gummy contains 2-8 grams of sugar and 15 calories per gummy (ClevelandClinic.org). To decrease this sugar issue, many manufacturers started adding sugar alcohols instead, which can cause digestion issues in some populations. With all of these added ingredients, many gummy vitamins end up not being as healthy as consumers are led to believe.

A second issue with gummy vitamins is they may not list nutrient content accurately on their labels. In fact, a study documented that 80% of gummy vitamins did not meet the nutritional requirements listed on their label. This is a staggering statistic! Some gummies even exceed the recommended vitamin intake. 

The following quote describes an interesting study conducted by ConsumerLab.com:

“ConsumerLab.com recently purchased several dozen popular multivitamin products, including 5 brands of gummies, in the United States and Canada and tested them for several key nutrients. Four of the five gummies contained too much folate or vitamin A, in fact, way more than what was listed on the label. For some brands, the folate levels exceeded the safe daily limit established by the Institute of Medicine.”

A third issue with gummies is that many types of vitamins are likely to degrade within a gummy. As a result, these nutrients are sometimes sprayed on, which can lead to over/under spraying errors. These manufacturing methods do not result in a 1:1 ratio for gummies to even be compared to traditional vitamins. 

When combining the issues of unnecessary filler ingredients and lackluster nutrients, the reality of the lack of health benefits to gummy vitamins becomes more apparent. The following list documents some popular gummy vitamin brands that are missing the mark:

• Centrum MultiGummies for Adults is missing 10 essential vitamins and minerals
• NatureMade Multi Adult Gummies is missing 9 essential vitamins and minerals
• Vitafusion Multivites is missing 9 vitamins and minerals
• Smarty Pants Adult Complete doesn’t have vitamins B-1, B-3, and K, as well as the minerals iron, magnesium, copper, selenium, and chromium

So what do you do if you can’t (or simply don’t like) to swallow a pill but need a vitamin boost? Fortunately, the issue is no longer black and white. Bizi has created vitamin-infused honey sticks that taste great and promise the key nutrients you need!

SOURCES

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gummy-vitamins#bottom-line

https://cspinet.org/news/dont-rely-gummy-multivitamin-if-you-can-swallow-tablet-20171121

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/do-gummy-vitamins-work-as-well-as-traditional-vitamins/

https://blog.ochsner.org/articles/are-gummy-vitamins-healthy