The wellness gummy tax — and why ‘detox’ drinks are usually dye and carbon

Retail pack

£28.0060 gummies (30 × 3 g servings)

Raw active

Micronised creatine monohydrate (200 mesh)6020-87-7

A 30-day tub is often 3 g creatine per day in a sugar gummy, not the 5 g used in most sports-nutrition trials, at roughly 90p a serving. 1 kg of micronised powder is 200 × 5 g servings. Food supplement comparison, not medical advice.

Retail pack

£24.9960 gummies (30 × ~2.5 g servings)

Raw active

Hydrolysed collagen peptides (bovine or marine)92113-31-0

A month of gummies is often ~75 g of collagen in a lot of sugar. 400 g of unflavoured peptides is the same hydrolysed protein at a few pence a serving. Food supplement comparison, not a cosmetic medicine.

Retail pack

£18.0060 gummies (30 × 2 gummies)

Raw active

Biotin (vitamin B7) 1,000 µg tablets58-85-5

A month of gummies is a few milligrams of biotin in sugar. NHS-style NRV is 50 µg; many gummies dump 5,000–10,000 µg because it is cheap and water-soluble. A year of 1,000 µg tablets is the same vitamin without the sweet. Food supplement comparison, not minoxidil and not a medicine.

Retail pack

£24.9960 gummies (30 servings)

Raw active

Calcium / magnesium BHB powder (exogenous ketone salts)5187-35-7

A month of sugar gummies with a few hundred milligrams of BHB salts — nowhere near the multi-gram doses used in exogenous-ketone studies. Bulk BHB powder is the same salt without the sweet; neither is a weight-loss medicine.

Retail pack

£22.0060 gummies (30 × 2 gummies)

Raw active

Ashwagandha root extract 600 mg capsules (standardised / KSM-66 style)90147-43-6

The gummy is a under-dosed withanolide extract in sugar. Standardised root extract (often 5% withanolides, or a named KSM-66 capsule) is the same plant without the sweet. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine, not a substitute for prescribed anxiety treatment.

Retail pack

£16.0060 gummies (30 × 2 gummies)

Raw active

Fish oil 1,000 mg capsules (EPA/DHA)8016-13-5

Gummy omega-3 is a few hundred milligrams of oil in a lot of sugar, often well below a 1,000 mg fish-oil capsule. The bulk equivalent is a bottle of 1,000 mg EPA/DHA capsules, not another sweet. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£29.0012 × 60 ml bottles

Raw active

Food-grade activated charcoal powder7440-44-0

Black water with a gram or two of powdered carbon and a lemon story. Food-grade activated charcoal is the same adsorbent in a tub — it is not a liver flush, not a hangover cure, and not something to take beside your medicines.

Retail pack

£18.0060 ml dropper (≈60 servings)

Raw active

Sodium copper chlorophyllin powder11006-34-1

Mint-flavoured sodium copper chlorophyllin in a pretty dropper. The same water-soluble green dye/pigment sells as bulk powder — mix a pinch into a glass. Food colour / food-supplement comparison, not a blood oxygenator or liver cleanse.

Retail pack

£22.0060 capsules (15–25 mg elemental zinc)

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Zinc citrate tablets (15 mg elemental zinc)546-46-3

Zinc is an essential mineral sold with bedroom marketing. A year of plain 15 mg zinc citrate tablets is the same element without the ‘testosterone’ tax. Food supplement only — not a hormone drug.

Retail pack

£9.5030 sachets (~3.5 g ispaghula each)

Raw active

Psyllium husk powder (Plantago ovata)8063-16-7

The pharmacy sachet is flavoured ispaghula husk. A 500 g bag of plain psyllium husk is the same plant fibre at a few pence a drink. Food supplement / fibre food — not a medicine for disease.

Retail pack

£38.9960 gummies (30 servings)

Raw active

Targeted women’s flora probiotic (50 billion CFU) + bromelain50-81-7 / 9001-00-7

High-sugar gummies with low CFU counts, sold at a prestige markup. Delayed-release capsules give bacteria a better chance of surviving the stomach. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine or a treatment.