Vitamins and supplements are extremely popular. But so are gummy vitamins for adults. The question is, do they work the same as regular vitamins?
Sara Scheler, a registered dietitian at Rose Medical Center in Denver, says they're not made the same.
Gummy vitamins and gummy candies have the same amount of sugar.
"Most of them have two to six grams of sugar per serving, which isn't a terrible amount of sugar," Scheler said. "But if you are eating them every day for years, that can add up to a lot of sugar."
As for gummy vitamins and pill vitamins, the two don't have the same amount of nutrients. Between the sugar, food coloring, preservatives and fillers, there’s not a lot of room left for nutrients in a tiny gummy.
"Take a look at your pill [multivitamin] and compare that to a gummy [multivitamin]," Scheler said. "It's pretty hard to fit all those micronutrients into that gummy. Sometimes you have to take four to six a day to get the full 100 percent daily value."
Unfortunately, if you have a hard time swallowing a supplement in pill form, doctors never recommend gummy vitamins as a great alternative. If you can’t handle the pill form, Scheler recommends a chewable vitamin instead.
Bottom line? Save your money on gummy vitamins. If you want candy, buy gummies. If you need vitamins, buy the real deal.
