July 29, 2004
Curious George: Does anyone know anything about how long typical multivitamins would last after their sell-by date / best-potency-by date has expired?
I just discovered that I've been taking once-a-days that expired in May 2001. Are they still of any actual use? They're obviously not hurting me (and they look fine) but I'm not sure whether or not I should finish off the bottle to save six bucks.
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Probably useless.
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Spend the six bucks. The vitamins will have lost their potency by now.
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On the other hand, a study of prescription medicines that had "expired" found that those tested had an average 90% potency after 10 YEARS. EXCEPT FOR ANTIBIOTICS! If they reach the magic date, pitch em'.
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If they have lost their potency, and you haven't been noticing the difference... maybe you don't actually need supplementary vitamins anyway??
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Well it's always good to take them, and if they've got a significant fraction of their potency I'm still OK with that - there's nothing harmful about this, though......... right?
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Put 'em in the fridge for two weeks and don't take them. You'll find out if they're working. I can't go a week without my multis and my B-supps. Wind up with a draggy butt. Saggy's bad. Draggy's worse.