A Beginner's Guide to Vitamins and Supplements

By the BasketLab team · updated 24 July 2026 · how we rank

Walk down any supplement aisle and it is easy to feel you are failing at health by not buying half of it. Most people need far less than the shelves suggest. This guide covers what a supplement can and cannot do, where own-brand quietly wins, and how to avoid paying premium prices for the same basic tablet. Not medical advice, so check with a pharmacist or GP first.

Start with food, not the tablet

A supplement is a top-up, not a replacement for eating reasonably well. If your diet is broadly varied, most vitamins and minerals are already turning up on your plate. The honest question is not which supplement should I take, but is there a specific gap I am filling. Buying a cupboard full of tablets you take twice and forget is the most common and most expensive mistake in this whole category.

That said, a few genuine gaps are common in the UK, mostly down to our grey winters and modern diets rather than anything exotic.

The ones worth considering in the UK

The clearest case is vitamin D. The NHS suggests most adults consider a daily supplement through the autumn and winter, when sunlight is too weak for our skin to make its own. It is cheap, it is one small tablet, and it is the closest thing to a default in this category.

• Vitamin D: worth considering October to March for most people, and year-round if you are rarely outdoors.
• Vitamin B12 and iron: more relevant if you eat little or no meat, though iron is easy to overdo, so test before you dose.
• Omega-3: sensible if you rarely eat oily fish.
• A basic multivitamin: a reasonable safety net, not a magic pill. Brands like Vitabiotics Ultra, Nutravita and Wellgard cover the everyday range without fuss.

Read the label like a shopper, not a fan

Two products can look identical and cost wildly different amounts. The number that matters is the amount of active ingredient per tablet, usually shown in micrograms (mcg) or milligrams (mg), next to the percentage of your reference intake. A cheaper own-brand hitting the same mcg as a premium jar is doing the same job.

Also check the form and count. A tub of 365 tablets at one a day is a year's supply, while a fancy jar of 30 is a month. Work out the price per day, not the price per jar, and the pecking order often flips.

Where own-brand and value brands win

For single, well-understood nutrients like vitamin D, vitamin C or a plain multivitamin, own-brand and value ranges such as Zipvit, Nutrition Geeks and Wellgard are usually the smart buy. The vitamin D in a budget tablet is the same molecule as in a premium one. You are mostly paying for branding, coating and the size of the marketing budget.

Premium can earn its place for specific formulations, easier-to-swallow softgels, or trusted brands during pregnancy, where you want a product designed for the job. But treat that as the exception, not the rule.

The protein and sports crossover

Protein powder sits in the same basket for a lot of people, and the same logic applies. Optimum Nutrition, BULK POWDERS, Science in Sport, HIGH5 and Free Soul all sell perfectly good whey and plant blends. Compare the protein per 100g and the price per kilo, not the price of the bag, and ignore the flashy tub.

As a rebuy item, protein is where cost-over-time really bites. A tub used daily can vanish in three or four weeks, so a small saving per serving adds up fast across a year. Buying the larger bag of a flavour you actually like beats a cupboard of half-used exotic ones.

Mistakes that quietly waste money

Supplements can help, but they are a small edge, not a shortcut. Spend where there is a real gap, buy the sensible size, and put the rest of your money into decent food. Again, none of this is medical advice, so a quick word with a pharmacist or GP is worth it before you start.

• Buying the 30-count jar when a 180 or 365 exists for a better price per day.
• Doubling up: a multivitamin plus three single vitamins often means you are paying twice for the same thing.
• Chasing megadoses: past a point your body simply passes the excess, and some vitamins are genuinely harmful in large amounts.
• Forgetting to actually take them: the best supplement is the one you remember, so keep it by the kettle.