Expensive menopause supplements ‘no better than cheap multivitamin,’ analysis finds

Some menopause supplements costing more than £400 a year offered no better nutrient coverage than a £22 multivitamin, an analysis by Which? found.

Products marketed to women over 45 going through menopause or perimenopause often lacked meaningful quantities of key nutrients despite costing around 20 times more than standard multivitamins.

None of the supplements examined contained the correct nutrients in the right doses to support their use for menopause, according to the analysis.

The global menopause supplement market is valued at nearly US$17bn and is expected to reach US$25bn by 2030 as women seek ways to manage symptoms including hot flushes, poor sleep and mood swings.

Shefalee Loth, a public health nutritionist at Which? who co-led the research, said: “Which? 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’s health anxiety and insecurities.”

Calcium and vitamin D are the most important nutrients during perimenopause and menopause because they support bone health as oestrogen levels decline. Maintaining good levels of iron, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals can also help with symptoms.

Which? nutritionists examined the active ingredients in 26 supplements sold by retailers including Holland & Barrett, Boots and Amazon.

They found that a high-quality multivitamin, alongside targeted supplements where needed, was often cheaper and potentially more effective than an all-in-one menopause product.

Asda’s A-Z Multivitamins & Minerals, costing 6p a day or £22 a year, contained all essential vitamins as well as 200mg of calcium and 100mg of magnesium.

By comparison, Love Mushrooms’ Empower cost £1.33 a day for a two-tablet dose, or £485 a year, but did not contain magnesium or calcium.

Wild Nutrition’s Women’s 45+ Daily Multi Nutrient cost £1.27 a day, or £468 a year, and contained 1.5µg of vitamin D, 60mg of calcium and 30mg of magnesium, amounts Which? said were significantly below NHS recommended daily levels.

The watchdog also found that many menopause supplements contained key nutrients in doses too low to be beneficial or omitted important vitamins and minerals altogether.

Vitabiotics’ Menopace Max was the highest-scoring menopause supplement in the analysis. It cost 93p a day, or £340 a year, more than 15 times the price of Asda’s 6p-a-day multivitamin.

The findings follow UCL research into 201 supplements sold in the UK, which found fewer than half contained vitamin D and calcium and that most ingredients were not specifically recommended by major menopause societies.

Dr Xand van Tulleken, honorary associate professor at the UCL Institute for Global Health, said: “Every year our annual spending on menopause supplements is hundreds of times more than our spending on menopause research.

“There is no persuasive evidence that menopause supplements have a significant effect on women’s symptoms, some of them are dangerous, and the pricing and marketing is exploitative and confusing.

“They are a massive rip-off for consumers who desperately want to be well.”

Martin Last, director general of the Health Food Manufacturers’ Association, said: “We encourage industry manufacturers to formulate and recommend supplements as required by the many food regulations that apply to food supplements.

“Many life stages, including the menopause, may create increased nutritional demands on an individual and these may be met by supplementation as an addition to a healthy diet.”

Holland & Barrett said its own-brand menopause products were “specifically formulated for the nutritional needs associated with this life stage” and that “they contain meaningful, evidence-based levels of key vitamins and minerals and are not simply standard multivitamins with menopause branding”.