Holland & Barrett ABC to Z Multivitamin Effervescent Tablets, 20s
The ABC to Z multivitamin helps cover the thirteen vitamins a body needs from food each day, in an orange tablet dropped into a glass of water once a day, for people whose diet is irregular enough that some of those thirteen are probably falling short.
Two things about this particular tube are worth establishing before anything else, because both are commonly got wrong and neither is obvious from the front of the label. It contains the thirteen vitamins and none of the minerals, which makes it a different product from the tablets sold under a very similar name in the same range. And it contains preformed vitamin A, which carries one instruction from the manufacturer that matters more than any benefit printed beside it.
Vitamins Only, No Minerals
This effervescent tube contains the thirteen vitamins and none of the minerals. Holland & Barrett sell two things under the ABC to Z name: a swallowed tablet called Multivitamins & Minerals, and this, which is the effervescent vitamins-only version.
The thirteen are vitamins A, C, D, E and K, and the eight B vitamins: B1 or thiamin, B2 or riboflavin, B3 or niacin, B5 or pantothenic acid, B6, B12, biotin and folic acid.
If you are looking for iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, selenium or iodine, they are not in this tube and you want the other product. Ask us and we will tell you which one is on the shelf, because the names are close enough that this is the single commonest mistake people make with this range.
What the Thirteen Actually Do
The B vitamins are the ones you take a multivitamin for. They are the machinery that turns food into usable energy, and they are water-soluble, which means the body does not store them and a shortfall builds quietly over weeks of poor eating. Tiredness from a genuine B vitamin shortfall does respond; tiredness from anything else does not, which is worth being clear about.
Vitamins A, C and D support normal immune function. That is the accurate phrasing, and it is the one the label uses. It means these vitamins are required for the immune system to work properly, not that adding more than you need makes it work better.
Vitamin C and vitamin K do specific jobs. Vitamin C builds collagen, which is why a shortfall shows in gums, skin and healing, and it helps you absorb iron from plant foods. Vitamin K is needed for blood to clot normally, which matters below.
The Vitamin A Instruction
This contains preformed vitamin A, and the manufacturer says to avoid it if you are pregnant or if you regularly eat liver. That is not our caution added on top. It is on the label and it is the most important line on it.
High intakes of preformed vitamin A in pregnancy are associated with birth defects, which is why prenatal preparations are formulated carefully around it. Liver is extremely rich in it, so a person eating liver weekly is already receiving a substantial amount before any tablet.
If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy, or you eat liver regularly, speak to us before starting this. There are multivitamins made for those situations.
If You Take Warfarin, Tell Us
This contains vitamin K, and vitamin K is the thing warfarin works against. Starting or stopping a daily source of it can move your INR, which is the measurement your clinic uses to keep your dose right.
That does not mean you cannot take it. It means the amount needs to be steady and your clinic needs to know, so that a changed reading is not treated as a mystery. Bring the tube to us or to your anticoagulation clinic before you start.
Effervescent Tablets Contain Salt
The fizz comes from sodium. Sodium hydrogen carbonate reacting with citric acid is what produces it, and that is true of every effervescent tablet from every manufacturer.
A study of more than 1.2 million patients found people taking sodium-containing soluble and effervescent formulations had a higher rate of cardiovascular events, and were more likely to develop high blood pressure, than people taking the same medicines as ordinary tablets. That study covered medicines taken several times a day at far higher sodium loads than one vitamin tablet, so one a day should not alarm anybody.
It is still the right question if you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, or you have been told to cut down on salt. Speak to our pharmacist, because a swallowed multivitamin tablet contains no sodium at all.
How to Take It
Drop one tablet into a glass of cold water, wait until the fizzing stops completely, and drink it. Once a day, preferably with a meal. Do not exceed one a day.
Taking it with food is worth doing deliberately, because vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and are absorbed better alongside something containing fat. A tube of twenty is twenty days.
Recap the tube straight away. The stopper holds a desiccant, and effervescent tablets pull moisture out of the air quickly.
Before You Start, Check These
Speak to our pharmacist first if any of these apply:
- Pregnancy, or planning a pregnancy — because of the preformed vitamin A. The manufacturer says to avoid it.
- You eat liver regularly — same reason, and also on the label.
- Warfarin — because of the vitamin K. See above.
- High blood pressure, heart failure, kidney disease or a low-salt diet — because of the sodium.
- Another multivitamin, or a single vitamin A or D product — these stack, and the fat-soluble ones are the ones that accumulate.
- Irritable bowel syndrome — the sweetener is sorbitol, which causes bloating and wind in people sensitive to it.
- Children — this is an adult dose. Ask us about a children’s preparation.
Side Effects
Uncommon at one tablet a day. Mild bloating or wind, usually from the sorbitol, and occasionally nausea if taken on an empty stomach.
Tell us about headache, blurred vision or dry cracking lips if you have been taking it for months alongside another vitamin A source.
What Is in the Tablet
Thirteen vitamins in an orange-flavoured effervescent tablet, twenty to a tube, from Holland & Barrett. The base is citric acid with sodium hydrogen carbonate, sweetened with sorbitol and sucralose, with natural orange flavouring. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The exact amount of each vitamin is printed on the tube.
Storing It
Keep the tube closed with its stopper, dry, and out of direct sunlight, away from the bathroom and the area beside the cooker. Moisture is what spoils these, not heat alone. Use within the date on the tube and keep out of reach of children.
Where to Buy ABC to Z Multivitamin in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. Packed to travel, cool-boxed where the weather calls for it, and tracked from our counter to your door.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. What we need to know first is your country’s import rules for food supplements and how long the parcel will be in transit; we will tell you plainly if a destination is not worth the shipping cost.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. You pay online from where you live, we deliver to their door anywhere on the list above, and we confirm with you once it has arrived. Give us their name, their phone number and the estate or town they live in, and we will do the rest.
Why Buy Your ABC to Z Multivitamin from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored.
We will tell you this one has no minerals in it before you buy it rather than after, we will pass on the manufacturer’s own instruction about vitamin A and pregnancy, and we will ask whether you take warfarin. If you want the version with minerals, we will point you at the right tube.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the ABC to Z multivitamin effervescent contain minerals?
No. This tube is the thirteen vitamins only. Holland & Barrett also make a swallowed tablet called ABC to Z Multivitamins & Minerals, which is a different product. If you want iron, zinc, magnesium or calcium, ask us for that one.
Which thirteen vitamins are in it?
A, C, D, E and K, plus the eight B vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, B6, B12, biotin and folic acid. The amount of each is printed on the tube.
Can I take it in pregnancy?
The manufacturer says to avoid it, because it contains preformed vitamin A, and high intakes of that form in pregnancy are associated with birth defects. Speak to us and we will point you to a preparation made for pregnancy.
I eat liver often. Does that matter?
Yes, and the label says so. Liver is extremely rich in preformed vitamin A, so a weekly portion already supplies a substantial amount before any tablet. Ask us.
I take warfarin. Can I take this?
Tell us and tell your clinic first. It contains vitamin K, which is what warfarin works against, so starting or stopping it can move your INR. It is usually manageable if the amount is steady and your clinic knows about it.
Does it give me energy?
Only if you were short of B vitamins to begin with. The B vitamins are the machinery that turns food into usable energy, so correcting a genuine shortfall helps. Tiredness from any other cause will not respond, and that cause is worth finding.
How much sodium does it contain?
Enough to be worth asking about if you are watching your salt. The fizz comes from sodium hydrogen carbonate. If you have high blood pressure, heart failure or kidney disease, ask our pharmacist about a swallowed multivitamin instead, which contains none.
Why take it with a meal?
Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble and are absorbed better alongside food containing some fat. Once a day with a meal is the instruction on the tube.
How long does a tube last?
Twenty days, at one tablet a day.
Is it suitable for vegans?
Yes. It is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
Can I take it with another multivitamin?
Check with us first. Vitamins A, D, E and K are stored by the body rather than passed out in urine, so those are the ones that accumulate when two products overlap.
Where can I buy the ABC to Z multivitamin in Kenya?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request.
