Bone & Joint Supplements: Vitamin D3, Calcium, Magnesium & Zinc

Here's the scenario we get asked about most: it's 8am, you've got a coffee in one hand, and you want one thing to take with breakfast instead of four. On this shelf the products split by format more than anything else. Two are vitamin D3 you swallow, one is a vitamin D you spray into your mouth, one is a mineral tablet with calcium, magnesium and zinc, and two are Cibdol capsule jars named Joint Comfort and Joint Health.

Before anything else, the honest bit. Collagen, glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, boswellia, turmeric, hyaluronic acid and vitamin K2 are not stocked on this shelf. Those names get searched a lot and people land here expecting them, so we would rather say it plainly than let you scroll to the bottom. What is here: vitamin D3 as a softgel, vitamin D3 as a tablet, a vitamin D oral spray, a calcium, magnesium and zinc tablet, and the two Cibdol jars. If one of those other names is what you came for, browse the rest of the healthshop instead of this page.

What each of the six is, in plain terms

Vega Vitamin D3 is a softgel. Its label states 25mcg of cholecalciferol per softgel at 500% reference intake, from vegan sources, with sunflower oil as the filler and no known allergens. Cibdol Vegan Vitamin D3 is the same nutrient as a tablet, 120 servings to the jar, described on the label as a 100% plant-based formula. Mindscopic's Vitamin D Spray is an oral spray: one spray is listed at 25µg (1000IE) on a coconut-derived MCT carrier, with natural raspberry aroma and vitamin E as antioxidant, and it's vegan-friendly. The Calcium, Magnesium & Zinc bottle is the mineral one, with 30 tablets and a label listing 684mg calcium (oystercalcium), 304mg magnesium (bisglycinate/oxide) and 10mg zinc (citrate) per two tablets. Joint Comfort and Joint Health are both Cibdol jars of 60 capsules, 30 servings each, and both are product names rather than descriptions.

Swallow it or spray it

Softgels, tablets and capsules taken with a meal

The labels line up closely here. Vega Vitamin D3: one softgel a day, preferably after a meal, stored at room temperature and kept dry. Cibdol Vegan Vitamin D3: one tablet daily with a glass of water, preferably alongside a meal, stored cool, dry and dark. Joint Comfort and Joint Health: two capsules daily with a glass of water, again preferably with a meal. The Calcium, Magnesium & Zinc label prints one to three tablets a day with water, and the bottle is small enough to drop in a bag if you're out all day.

The raspberry spray, if you're done with capsules

The Mindscopic spray tastes of raspberry and needs no water, which is the whole reason people buy it. The label says one spray a day, straight into the mouth, stored somewhere cool and dark. For anyone who gags on capsules we'd take this over the Vega softgel every time, even though the softgel prints the same 25mcg figure. Watch out for the obvious catch: it's the only spray here, so if you want a spray your choice is made for you.

Vegan labels, jar sizes and the small print

Most of the shelf says vegan or plant-based on the label: Vega Vitamin D3, Cibdol Vegan Vitamin D3 and the Mindscopic spray, with the mineral tablet using a vegetable-sourced anti-caking agent and cottonseed oil. Every label repeats the same lines: don't exceed the recommended dose, keep it out of reach of children, and food supplements are no substitute for a varied and balanced diet. Vega Vitamin D3 also states it isn't suitable for children up to and including 10 years. On jar size, Cibdol Vegan Vitamin D3 goes furthest at 120 servings; the Calcium, Magnesium & Zinc bottle holds 30 tablets, so at two a day it runs out in a fortnight, which is worth knowing before you order once and forget.