08 Oct Are You Really Getting the Best Value with Your Supplements?
Frequently clients stop buying their practitioner only supplements and change over to something from the supermarket or health food shop thinking they’re saving money.
So today when I received some samples of a liquid iron supplement I thought I’d do a price comparison for my own curiosity.
The product was Fab Iron liquid and per bottle gives 25 doses of 10mg or 10 doses of 25mg to make it easier for the comparison. The iron capsules I prescribe and stock are Dr Veras and when it comes to quality are pretty hard to beat here in Australia. They contain 25mg of iron per capsule and for a bottle of 30 capsules cost $16.83.
Now for the truth!
Fab Iron per 25mg dose $1.89 at RRP (Recommended Retail Price)
$1.70 from Chemist Warehouse
Dr Veras per 25mg dose $0.56
So at the RRP for Fab Iron you’re paying well over 3 times the price for the same dose of iron!
Now Fab Iron does also contain some B vitamins and herbs but the doses are so miniscule you may as well not bother. And judging by the sweetness from the fruit juice they’ve used to disguise the iron taste there’s a good hit of sugar in there too!
Also, if you do have a problem with low iron, the recommended dose for Fab Iron (10mg per day) is just way too low to do anything to get your iron level up soon. Even at 25mg a day it can sometimes take months to see a reasonable shift.
Are you starting to get the picture? Just like most things in life, shopping on price can cost you more in the long run and if you’re spending precious money on something that’s ineffective you’re just wasting money.
This is just one example because when it comes to supplements, there’s a lot of rubbish out there and unless you understand the different forms of vitamins and minerals, how well they’re absorbed, effects of combining nutrients and more, you have no idea what you’re getting.
So don’t believe the marketing hype and do yourself a favour AND save yourself money – get the right advice and the best supplements for you! Stick with the practitioner only supplements that have been prescribed for you. They’re generally better quality and more potent than the supermarket and many health food shop varieties.