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PROOF

The best high-street vitamins

14 October 2002

They’re cheap and plentiful, but will they do you any good at all? As the quality of our food diminishes, so the humble multivitamin has become one of the most popular health supplements in the world.

Yet, taking supplements can be expensive. One option is to buy low-dose multis from large, reputable manufacturers that are able to price their products competitively and, being more in the public eye, may feel more obliged to offer a quality product.

But low-dose multis are just that - low dose - containing 100 per cent, or less, of the Recommended Daily Allowance of a nutrient. At this level, you get enough to stave off a deficiency disease (like scurvy), but not enough to have a therapeutic effect.

Because of this, some consumers contemplating a low-dose supplement may well ask the very reasonable question: will it do me any good?

Where’s the evidence?
Surprisingly, even though specific nutrients such as vitamins C ...

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