Supplements that claim to tackle symptoms of the menopause are overpriced and no better than a bog-standard multivitamin, researchers have concluded.
Many of the products on offer, costing up to £95 a month, contain key nutrients in doses too low to be effective, while others omit crucial vitamins and minerals.
Researchers from consumer champion Which? say their findings are evidence that manufacturers are ‘fairy-dusting’ ingredients and using ‘quasi-medical claims’ to ‘cash in on health anxiety and insecurities’.
Nutrition experts from the website reviewed 26 supplements aimed at women going through the perimenopause, menopause or those over 45 – and checked the scientific validity of the 78 active ingredients they contained.
They found that not a single product analysed contained the right combination of nutrients at appropriate doses to support their use specifically for menopause.
‘Despite these big claims the vast majority of these products lack the nutritional basics to cover the deficiencies most likely to happen with menopause,’ said Which? nutritionist Shefalee Loth.
Supplements aimed at menopausal women have become increasingly popular in recent years and have been promoted by high-profile figures including actress Naomi Watts.
The global market for menopause supplements is expected to surpass £18.4million by 2030.
Menopause supplements are no better than 6p multivitamin, investigation reveals
Many products – sold at high street retailers such as Boots, Superdrug and Holland and Barrett – claim to help bone problems that can result from a decline in the sex hormone oestrogen.
However, the analysis showed that only one product contained beneficial amounts of calcium and vitamin D – nutrients proven to help strengthen bones.
What’s more, the amount in the Menopace Max pill, created by pharma firm Vitabiotics, was identical to the quantity in a supermarket multivitamin that is 15-times cheaper.
However, it was found to contain higher doses of calcium – which women lose at a higher rate after the menopause, thanks to falling oestrogen levels.
Other eye-wateringly priced products include Wild Nutrition Women’s 45+ Daily Multi Nutrient, which costs £1.27 a day (£468 per year) and is promoted as ‘menopause-friendly’ on the company website.
Despite this, it contains just 60mg of calcium and 30mg of magnesium, both way below the daily dose recommended by the NHS.
The British Menopause Society recommends a daily 10mcg or 400IU vitamin D supplement only for women of menopausal age.
Vitabiotics Menopace Max costs £340 over the course of a year – over 15 times more than Asda’s 6p multivitamin
Meanwhile, The International Menopause Society states that adequate calcium is vital for the prevention of brittle bone condition osteoporosis, which is common post-menopause.
The findings come weeks after UK experts warned that some menopause supplements on sale contain potentially toxic ingredients.
Some products were found to put women at risk of vomiting, confusion and organ damage, if taken at high doses.
The researchers, from University College London, concluded that women are falling victim to a ‘menopause gold rush’, spending hundreds of pounds on products ‘not supported by scientific evidence’.
The Which? experts described the supplement industry as resembling the ‘wild west’ and accused regulators of not doing enough to protect consumers from ‘dubious marketing’ and unchecked medical claims.
The menopause is when a woman’s periods stop due to lower hormone levels, usually between the ages of 45 and 55.
It is estimated that there are currently around 13million perimenopausal or menopausal women in the UK.
Common physical symptoms experienced by some 80 per cent of women include hot flushes, palpitations and difficulty sleeping, and mental symptoms including brain fog and mood changes.