Gummies are an enjoyable alternative to taking pills and supplements; they make taking vitamins easier and can even help create a vitamin habit.
Gummies often contain added sugars and ingredients that may wreak havoc on your gut microbiome, so choosing an option free from such ingredients is essential to supporting its wellbeing.
Vitamins
Gummy vitamins offer more flavorful supplements and help establish a vitamin routine more easily than pills, softgels or liquids. Additionally, they may be easier to swallow.
However, the added sugars present in gummies — whether from cane or corn syrup, sucrose or dextrose — contribute to excess weight gain as well as health problems such as cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Women should limit their daily sugar consumption to 25 grams while men should not go beyond 36 grams per day.
Gummy vitamins often contain artificial dyes linked to behavioral issues in children. Since they’re not FDA regulated as drugs, however, their safety or effectiveness have yet to be tested, although several studies have revealed that some ingredients degrade over time.
Though gummies may deliver some nutrients, eating a wide range of whole foods provides the most comprehensive source for micronutrients. Supplementing can lead to overconsumption of some elements like iron and zinc which could potentially lead to toxic levels within your body.
Minerals
Minerals are elements found both on Earth and in food that our bodies need in order to function correctly, such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, chlorine, iron magnesium zinc copper. Many minerals also serve as antioxidants which may prevent or delay some forms of cell damage.
Mineral gummies offer an effective and palatable way of getting essential minerals into our diets when food alone doesn’t provide enough. But making effective and palatable gummy supplements presents some challenges.
Gummy manufacturers must carefully choose the appropriate ingredients and technology in order to craft products with optimal flavor, texture and nutritional value. A key component is sugar, which must be ground into its optimal particle size prior to being added into gummy production. Prater air classifying mills are well suited to this task due to their continuous optimization feature which continuously circulates particles back through their grinding zone to optimize particle sizes allowing manufacturers to minimize other ingredients required in their products that give their treats their signature taste and nutritional benefit.
Fiber
Gummies often contain excessive sugar levels, which is not good for your health. Studies show that too much sugar may contribute to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay – not to mention depression and other long-term (chronic) conditions.
Quality gummy vitamins should not contain added sugars and artificial ingredients, and you should aim to find supplements with no more than 25 grams of sugar per serving.
Look for gummies containing fiber to support healthy digestion. Additionally, look for those containing prebiotics such as inulin that feed gut bacteria – when taken alongside a nutritious diet they can help you reach your daily fiber goals more easily than using only supplements like this to meet them. However, be wary of using them instead of whole food sources of fiber as this could cause bloating, gas and dehydration; consult your physician prior to increasing fiber consumption as they can advise how best to do it safely and effectively.
Other Ingredients
Gummy vitamins use high quantities of sugar to satisfy their sweet tooth, creating an issue for consumers trying to lower their intake of added sugars. Children should not exceed 25 grams daily while adults should aim for even lower intake levels.
Vitamin gummies are made with a mixture of pectin, powdered vitamins, natural flavors and sweeteners like corn starch. Once mixed together, this slurry is heated and stirred before being poured into molds coated in either sugar or another coating material.
Citric acid is often used to assist gummy mixture in gelling properly and maintain an appropriate acidity level in its final product. Furthermore, citric acid helps prevent sticking of the final gummies to molds.
Gummy vitamins often contain sugar alcohols that may lead to digestive issues like nausea, bloating and diarrhea in some individuals. Furthermore, some studies suggest a connection between artificial food dyes found in some gummies and behavioral issues in children.
