By Sonia Savage, Functional Nutritionist
Walk down the supplement aisle or spend five minutes online and you'll find thousands of products promising better sleep, glowing skin, more energy or balanced hormones.
The problem?
Many supplements look impressive on the front of the bottle, but what's inside can be a completely different story.
As a Functional Nutritionist, I spend a lot of time assessing supplements, not just for myself, but for my clients navigating perimenopause, menopause and midlife health. My job isn't to find the cheapest option or the one with the loudest marketing. It's to find products that actually work.
So before you add another bottle to your shopping cart, here are the six things I always look for.
Many products contain enough to make the label look impressive, but not enough to produce meaningful results.
I'm interested in therapeutic doses – amounts that reflect what has actually been used in clinical research, rather than simply meeting the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI).
Ask yourself:
Turn the bottle over.
The ingredient list doesn't stop with the vitamins and herbs. Many supplements contain fillers, binders, artificial colours, sweeteners or unnecessary additives known as excipients.
While not all excipients are harmful, I generally prefer products with cleaner formulations and minimal unnecessary ingredients.
Packaging matters too.
Glass containers help protect sensitive nutrients from heat, light and moisture, while also reducing plastic exposure over time.
Sometimes the quality of the packaging tells you a lot about the care that has gone into the product itself.
Words like clinically formulated, scientifically designed or expert approved are reassuring but I also ask a much simpler question:
Where's the evidence?
Has the formulation been developed using ingredients that have been studied?
Are the doses supported by published clinical research?
Has the company invested in quality testing?
Evidence matters because good nutrition shouldn't rely on guesswork.
Research is important but so is real life. The supplements I continue to recommend are the ones that consistently produce results.
That might look like:
Science gives us confidence.
Real-world outcomes build trust.
Even the best supplement won't help if it stays in the cupboard.
This is something that's often overlooked.
When I recommend a supplement, I also think about:
Consistency almost always beats perfection.
The easier a supplement is to take, the more likely you'll continue taking it and that's when results happen.
We all like finding a bargain. But when it comes to supplements, the cheapest bottle isn't always the best value.
Instead of comparing the cost per bottle, compare the cost per effective daily dose.
Sometimes a more expensive product actually works out better value because it contains therapeutic doses of quality ingredients that deliver results.
A cheaper supplement may seem appealing until you realise you'd need to take two or three times the recommended amount to match the research.
Value isn't about paying less.
It's about paying for something that works.
There are plenty of excellent supplements available but there are just as many that rely more on clever marketing than clinical evidence.
When you're choosing a supplement, take a few extra minutes to look beyond the label.
Ask:
Making informed choices gives your body the best chance of getting the support it deserves.
Because when it comes to your health, informed decisions are always worth making.
About Sonia Savage
Sonia Savage is a Functional Nutritionist who specialises in women's health, hormones and perimenopause. She works with women to uncover the root causes of symptoms using evidence-based nutrition and personalised lifestyle strategies, helping them feel more energised, balanced and confident through midlife.
