Today’s Solutions: March 28, 2024

Turns out gummy vitamins aren’t just for kids anymore, with adults dominating around 80 percent of the market. More and more people are turning to these kinds of supplements over pills due to a phenomenon called “pill fatigue,” where taking multiple tablets every day leads to annoyance and stress, especially if you have a hard time swallowing tablets.

Companies that make these edible sweets promise that they will supply all the vitamins missing from our diets in a convenient package. But is this true, and how healthy are they really?

“It’s a lot harder to make a good gummy than it is to make a tablet or capsule,” says Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of ConsumerLab.com, a company that tests the safety and quality of consumer products. The company’s investigation found that four out of five gummy products contained a different concentration of listed ingredients than promised.

“Many companies seem to have trouble controlling the amounts of ingredients in each gummy,” Cooperman explains. This forces them to spray the outside with vitamins and nutrients to bring up the levels of the promised ingredients printed on the package but still fall short.

There is also a stability problem, where the gummies lose their potency over time. “This leads some manufacturers to put in a lot more of certain vitamins than labeled to ensure the product provides at least 100% of the labeled amounts throughout its shelf life,” says Cooperman. This may not seem like a problem, but over time overconsumption of nutrients can lead to some serious health problems.

Also, there’s the sugar. Many gummy products for kids and adults contain one or more grams of sugar per gummy. This may not sound that much but it is actually similar to some popular candies such as Sour Patch Kids, which contain 1.8 grams per piece. Experts suggest instead that we should be getting our daily dose of nutrients and vitamins from natural unprocessed foods.

So, although they come in a convenient and easy-to-swallow package, maybe gummy vitamins aren’t the sweetest idea after all if you’re looking to improve your health.

Solutions News Source Print this article
More of Today's Solutions

Rowing against the current: Botswana’s women safari guides inspire and empower

In the calm of Botswana's Okavango Delta, where the morning sun creates a golden glow on the water's surface, an amazing metamorphosis is occurring. ...

Read More

The future of healing: 3D printing skin directly onto open wounds

Pennsylvania State University researchers achieved a major medical science breakthrough by being the first team ever to 3D print real human skin tissue directly ...

Read More

These solar-powered barges can scoop up 50 tons of plastic from rivers each day

While removing the plastic waste that currently contaminates the ocean today will be crucial for protecting marine ecosystems, it is arguably more important that ...

Read More

A bold step towards climate action and job creation: The American Climate Corps

The White House announced the creation of the American Climate Corps, a breakthrough program that will transform the climate action landscape. This ambitious project ...

Read More