this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2024
59 points (100.0% liked)

Asklemmy

43889 readers
781 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

  1. Open-ended question
  2. Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
  3. Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
  4. Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
  5. An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
Cloak@lemmy.ml
14specks@lemmy.ml
mekhos@lemmy.ml
tmpod@lemmy.pt
59
What makes gel capsules so expensive in comparison to other pills? (mander.xyz)
submitted 3 months ago by Mothra@mander.xyz to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
29 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Disclaimer: I'm in Australia and here vitamins must comply with certain regulations. Feel free to read about it: https://www.tga.gov.au/news/blog/how-are-vitamins-regulated-australia

I bought vitamin D the other day, and couldn't help but to notice the price differences, such as:

Brand A: $8 x 300 pills Brand B: $30, x 250 capsules Brand C: $40, x 300 capsules

All had the same amount of vitamin per dose (1000 u). They all had the AUST L label which means they undergo controls to ensure that they have what they claim to have, and that they are made under certain safety standards.

I also buy iron supplements but there is nowhere near this much difference between brands. The only obvious difference was the type of pill, the more expensive ones were gel capsules while the cheap ones were hard pills.

So, are gel capsules really that much better? Is the price difference justified? Are there other issues that could explain the price difference in terms of quality?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] fjordbasa@lemmy.world 0 points 3 months ago (2 children)

There’s no need to take any vitamin supplements unless you are deficient in a certain vitamin, and at that point, I would ask your doctor what they recommend. Multivitamins aren’t effective beyond placebo. I think the capsule vs gel argument is pretty moot. I would only use one over the other if one gives you a stomach ache or other digestion issues.

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Trust me I take no pleasure in taking any of these, my doctor prescribed them. It's been a while now and the difference shows in my blood tests, so if it's placebo I got some next level mind powers. My next appointment is still a few months away though, and I plan on asking her opinion about the brands and the type of pill/capsule, but for now, it's Lemmy.

[–] fjordbasa@lemmy.world 1 points 3 months ago

Not to sound patronizing, but I think it’s great you plan on talking to the doctor! Is there not an electronic messaging system or phone number to call before the appointment?

I apologize for being unclear- it’s multivitamins that haven’t been shown to be beneficial. Some folks report that they “feel healthier” even though their actual measurements and instances of disease aren’t any different.

Single vitamins make complete sense when you have a deficiency. I don’t think capsule vs gel is the most important factor. I’d see if there are any articles where experts (doctors, pharmacists) are consulted that compare brands (i.e not a random blog). I was able to find an article for US brands of ranked by pharmacists pretty easily

[–] sunzu@kbin.run 2 points 3 months ago

I think there few that your body can metabilize but yeah they are mostly getting shitted out