Menopause supplements costing more than \u00a3400 a year are no better than a \u00a322-a-year multivitamin, according to analysis by the consumer watchdog Which?.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The global menopause supplement market is valued at nearly $17bn<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Shefalee Loth, a public health nutritionist at Which? who co-led the research, said: \u201cWhich? 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\u2019s health anxiety and insecurities.\u201d<\/p>\n Calcium and vitamin D are the most important nutrients during perimenopause and menopause as they support bone health as oestrogen levels decline. Maintaining good levels of iron, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals can also help with symptoms.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It found that Asda\u2019s A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals, costing 6p a day (\u00a322 a year), contained all essential vitamins plus 200mg of calcium and 100mg of magnesium. In contrast, the most expensive supplement, Love Mushrooms\u2019 Empower, cost \u00a31.33 a day for a two-tablet dose (\u00a3485 a year) yet did not contain menopause-specific nutrients such as magnesium and calcium.<\/p>\n Similarly, Wild Nutrition\u2019s Women\u2019s 45+ Daily Multi Nutrient, costing \u00a31.27 a day (\u00a3468 a year), contained just 1.5\u00b5g of vitamin D, 60mg of calcium and 30mg of magnesium, significantly under NHS recommended daily amounts, Which? found.<\/p>\n The watchdog also found that many menopause supplements\u2019 key nutrients were in doses too low to be beneficial, or they omitted important vitamins and minerals altogether.<\/p>\n The highest-scoring menopause supplement analysed, Vitabiotics\u2019 Menopace Max, cost 93p a day (\u00a3340 a year) \u2013 more than 15 times the price of Asda\u2019s 6p multivitamin.<\/p>\n