{"id":615922,"date":"2026-09-30T02:18:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-30T02:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/615922\/"},"modified":"2026-09-30T02:18:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-30T02:18:12","slug":"menopause-supplements-costing-hundreds-no-better-than-6p-multivitamins-which-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/615922\/","title":{"rendered":"Menopause supplements costing hundreds no better than 6p multivitamins, Which? finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Independent<\/p>\n

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.<\/p>\n

Join today<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Already a member?
\n Log in<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n

Your support makes all the difference.Read more<\/p>\n

Supplements aimed at menopausal women that cost hundreds of pounds annually are no better than standard 6p daily multivitamins, according to a consumer watchdog.<\/p>\n

Researchers for Which? found that many products targeted at perimenopausal and menopausal women<\/a> were overpriced, lacking meaningful amounts of essential nutrients while costing 20 times more than basic multivitamins.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s nutrition experts evaluated 26 supplements designed for women going through menopause, perimenopause or those aged over 45, cross-referencing more than 78 active ingredients with up-to-date scientific evidence.<\/p>\n

Experts concluded that not one of the reviewed supplements provided the correct balance or dosage of nutrients required to support specific use for menopause.<\/p>\n

During menopause, calcium and vitamin D remain the most vital nutrients<\/a> to protect bone health as oestrogen declines, though magnesium, iron, zinc, iodine, selenium, B vitamins, and vitamins C, E and K are also beneficial.<\/p>\n

\"ExpensiveExpensive supplements for women going through the Menopause have been found to be no more beneficial than cheap alternatives by Which? (PA)<\/p>\n

Which? suggested that buying a high-quality multivitamin and adding targeted supplements where needed could be cheaper than a so-called all-in-one menopause blend while being potentially more effective.<\/p>\n

It found that Asda\u2019s A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals costing just 6p a day or \u00a322 a year contained all essential vitamins, as well as 200mg of calcium and 100mg of magnesium.<\/p>\n

Beyond price, many of the menopause supplements also contained key nutrients in doses too low to be beneficial, known as \u201cfairy-dusting\u201d, while others omitted important vitamins and minerals altogether, the study found.<\/p>\n

Many products combined vitamins and minerals with botanical ingredients, but Which? found that the evidence for botanicals such as black cohosh, soy, and red clover was \u201cmixed\u201d and products often contained them at doses far below those used in clinical trials.<\/p>\n

Which? said it was concerned that the supplements industry had become a \u201cwild west\u201d and regulators were not doing enough to get a grip on \u201cdubious marketing\u201d and \u201cunchecked quasi-medical claims from firms apparently seeking to cash in on people\u2019s health anxiety and insecurities\u201d.<\/p>\n

It advised shoppers not to be \u201cswayed\u201d by the marketing of specialist menopause or menopause friendly supplements, and to check what they were actually getting for their money before paying a premium.<\/p>\n

Which? nutritionist Shefalee Loth said: \u201cNavigating mid-life is tricky enough but with so many products making big claims about how they can help, finding what actually works can be completely overwhelming and costs can spiral.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research shows that despite these big claims the vast majority of these products lack the nutritional basics to cover the deficiencies most likely to happen with menopause despite some costing hundreds and hundreds of pounds a year.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur advice is to look beyond the marketing hype and think carefully about what you actually need. A higher price doesn\u2019t automatically mean a product will be effective and a cheap multivitamin could do the same job without breaking the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":615923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[134,111,139,556,69,303376],"class_list":["post-615922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-health","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nutrition","tag-nz","tag-supplement-costs-pa2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/615923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}