Working adults and busy moms always find time to pop vitamins in the morning to ensure their bodies are receiving all the nutrients they need to function properly throughout the day. 

But, what if you could get the same amount of vitamins from eating foods, instead of taking supplements? 

Or, worse, what if those over-the-counter vitamins are actually less effective and doing more harm than good? 

It’s important to understand the differences between cheap and expensive vitamins in order to choose the best option for your health needs.

Cheap vs Expensive – Which Should You Choose?

If you’re looking to save a buck or two, go with inexpensive vitamins. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine showed that inexpensive vitamin supplements tend to be as effective as more expensive ones. 

There are differences between cheap and expensive vitamins, but overall, they have similar health benefits, says lead author Dr. Mark J. Bolland of Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. 

The study did find one exception: Multivitamins containing folic acid are more effective when they’re high-end pills with higher doses of folic acid-but still much cheaper than you’d think!

What Is the Difference Between Cheap and Expensive Vitamins?

Although vitamins can be very beneficial, you should make sure to buy your vitamins from a reputable company. 

What are some of these differences? 

Are cheap vitamins just as good as expensive ones? 

Is there really a difference between cheap and expensive vitamins? 

The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a difference between inexpensive brands of vitamin supplements and more expensive brands. 

Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that: People who take expensive vitamin supplements will have better health outcomes than people who take cheaper vitamin supplements. 

This study determined that there was no difference in health between those who took inexpensive supplements versus those who took more expensive products.

How Do Vitamins Help You?

In our day-to-day lives, we might encounter many vitamins. There are many supplements that can help make you healthier than ever before. There are two types of vitamins. 

These include natural vitamins which are found in food and dietary vitamins which cannot be produced by your body naturally but must be consumed through food or supplements, such as multivitamins or individual vitamin pills. 

What most people don’t know is that there is a big difference between cheap vs expensive vitamins.

What Is the Significance Or Origin (i.e. China and India)

This study shows that cheaper vitamins are not necessarily less effective than more expensive vitamins. 

In fact, some of them were 100% as effective as their more expensive counterparts. The differences in price come from sourcing, manufacturing, product quality control, etc. 

So if you don’t have money to spend on vitamins right now or you want to go for a cheaper alternative, there is no harm in doing so-if it has all of its ingredients listed on its bottle, then it can still be just as effective. 

Their origin is also important because vitamins sourced from China tend to be significantly cheaper than those produced in other countries (like Germany). 

There is also evidence that vitamins sourced from India may be of higher quality than those produced elsewhere. 

However, these findings are still relatively new and studies like these should always be taken with a grain of salt since they could change at any time.

What a Consumer Should Look for When Buying Supplements/Vitamins

Following a healthy diet and getting enough exercise can be difficult in today’s fast-paced world. That is why supplements are often recommended to people who want to improve their diets but lack the time or resources to prepare healthy meals at home. 

However, many consumers do not know what ingredients they should look for when purchasing supplements or vitamins. 

By doing research into their ingredients you can save yourself money, while still attaining optimal health. 

There are some major differences between cheap and expensive vitamins. The following is a list of important vitamins that every consumer should consider buying from reputable companies. 

Vitamin A helps maintain normal vision and helps protect against heart disease by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. It also supports immune function, reproduction, growth, and development during pregnancy. 

Vitamin C promotes wound healing, reduces symptoms of asthma and colds, improves bone density in older adults and protects against stroke by preventing blood clots from forming in arteries. 

Antioxidants: Antioxidants help reduce oxidative stress on cells caused by free radicals which lead to cancerous cells. Someone looking for vitamins or supplements should also consider their quality, price, and availability.

Why Are Some Drugstore Vitamins Much More Cheaper Than Your Vitamin Store Brands?

If you’re interested in vitamins, you’ve likely noticed that some vitamins are much more expensive than others. 

For example, a bottle of 100 tablets of Centrum Silver vitamins costs about $10, while a bottle of 100 tablets of Country Life multivitamins costs about $30. 

So what exactly does your vitamin store brand offer that makes it so much more expensive? It turns out that most vitamin stores sell special blend vitamins at incredibly high markups. 

In order to make it worth their time-and money-these companies invest a lot into research and development to discover complex ways to boost your health using all-natural ingredients. 

This extra research adds to production costs and ultimately increases prices for consumers. But are all those special blends really beneficial? Not necessarily.

Pros vs Cons of Cheap vs Expensive Vitamins

A study shows that a good vitamin helps improve one’s overall health, but it also depends on how much one is willing to pay for it. According to research published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, some studies have shown that less expensive vitamins can help prevent cancer by raising levels of glutathione, an antioxidant naturally produced by cells in your body. 

There are at least two more side effects of taking cheap vitamins: they can cause gastric issues and they are not as easily absorbed into our bodies. 

More expensive brands of vitamins contain higher quality ingredients than their cheaper counterparts, making them more useful (and safer) to take over time.

Note: some supplements can contain “fillers” such as magnesium stearate, titanium oxide, carrageenan, gelatin, potassium, and more. So be sure to take note of the % breakdown of contents in the vitamins you buy.

Where Can I Buy Cheap and Expensive Vitamins Online?

I’m sure you’ve heard about how important vitamins are for your health, but where can you buy cheap and expensive vitamins online? 

When it comes to vitamins, it’s always better to spend a little extra money if that means getting a higher quality product. 

I suggest using a reputable website like iherb.com.

Here are some things to consider when buying vitamins: natural ingredients or artificial ingredients; brand vs generic; local retail store vs online retailer. 

Some of these choices may be dictated by your budget, but overall it is best to invest in yourself when choosing between cheap vs expensive vitamins.

Final Thoughts

It’s a common belief that cheap vitamins are good because they’re cheaper. 

However, there is some truth to that only if you don’t do your research. In some cases, you may get what you pay for, but in other cases, you may be overpaying for something that could be less expensive and more effective. 

Make sure to do your research before buying any kind of vitamin or supplement, especially one that is supposed to help keep your body healthy!