Gummies or capsules: which food supplements to choose?

The dietary supplement boom is seeing the emergence of numerous alternatives for taking care of one's health and well-being. And gummies are all the rage! But what are the main differences between capsules and gummies, which are flooding the market? We take a look.

Gummies: A fashion with certain limits

Despite their sour candy appearance, gummies promise a fun supplement, especially for children or consumers who can't swallow capsules. However, despite their innocent appearance, gummies have a few drawbacks.

Sugar:

It often tops the ingredient list. And for good reason: to provide a pleasant consumer experience, gummies are loaded with sugars or sweeteners. So be wary of products labeled "sugar-free," as they necessarily contain sweeteners, added via an additive or concentrated fruit juice.

One of the sweeteners often used to replace sugar is maltitol, a bulking agent that can replace sugar, authorized by health authorities, but which can cause adverse effects if consumed in too high a dose (intestinal disorders, laxative effects).

So be careful of the pleasure side of gummies and the much easier risk of overdosing!

Additives:

To achieve the jelly-like quality of a candy, manufacturers use animal gelatin or pectin, a natural gelling agent derived from plants (preferably). Acidifiers, sweeteners, and colorings are all additives that you need to be aware of to make the best consumer choices.

Low-dose “candies”:

Because of the amount of space additives take up in gummy formats, there's very little left over for active ingredients. If you want a well-dosed, comprehensive dietary supplement, it's better to opt for capsules, which allow for much more active ingredients.

The risk of overdose

Candy + health = confusion: supplementation is not harmless, even with plants or products of natural origin. Beware of the risk of overdosing with food supplements that look like candy; their intake must be supervised and should not be associated with a gesture of indulgence!

The capsule: a safe bet that must be chosen carefully

A common pharmaceutical form, the capsule often allows for a higher concentration of active ingredients. Here too, many capsules exist; we recommend that you read the composition labels and choose capsules that are:

- Vegan, and therefore, without animal gelatin (beef, fish or pork, still very present on the market),

- Without too many dangerous additives ,

- Solvent-free

Remember: In a well-formulated and manufactured dietary supplement, the capsule shell is of utmost importance. At Boome, we use pullulan capsules: they are natural, guaranteed solvent-free, and more effectively protect the active ingredients against oxidation.