Do You Need Supplements?

According to the NHS

‘Most people do not need to take vitamin supplements and can get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet.’ Which you can do by using the ‘Eatwell plate’ as a guide.

Vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium and vitamin C, are essential nutrients this means your body needs these in small amounts to work properly.

Many people choose to take supplements but taking too much or taking them for too long could be harmful.

The Department of Health and Social Care recommends certain supplements for some groups of people who are at risk of deficiency.

Harvard Health

"Supplements are never a substitute for a balanced, healthful diet," says Dr. JoAnn Manson, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and professor of epidemiology at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "And they can be a distraction from healthy lifestyle practices that confer much greater benefits."

Science

There is limited evidence that supplements offer any significant health benefits. In fact, a study published online May 28, 2018, by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Taking a supplement cannot undo the negative effects of an unhealthy diet. Research also shows that supplements do not help to stop or improve heart and circulatory diseases. In some cases, supplements can even be harmful.- British Heart Foundation

Some supplements can also affect the medicines you are taking, causing side effects. For example, vitamin K, omega-3 and St John’s wort all interact with the blood-thinning drug warfarin.

Talk to your doctor before spending money on supplements. If you need them they will prescribe or recommend them.

The exception to this is that it is recommended we all take 10 micrograms a day of vitamin D supplement in the autumn and winter, because vitamin D is mainly made in our bodies with the help of sunlight. Just a little comes from food.

Apart from this, a healthy, varied, balanced diet provides all the energy, vitamins and minerals you need.- British Heart Foundation

An analysis of research involving 450,000 people, which found that multivitamins did not reduce risk for heart disease or cancer.

• A study that tracked the mental functioning and multivitamin use of 5,947 men for 12 years found that multivitamins did not reduce risk for mental declines such as memory loss or slowed-down thinking.

• A study of 1,708 heart attack survivors who took a high-dose multivitamin or placebo for up to 55 months. Rates of later heart attacks, heart surgeries and deaths were similar in the two groups.- https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

The researchers concluded that multivitamins don’t reduce the risk for heart disease, cancer, cognitive decline (such as memory loss and slowed-down thinking) or an early death. They also noted that in prior studies, vitamin E and beta-carotene supplements appear to be harmful, especially at high doses.

“Pills are not a shortcut to better health and the prevention of chronic diseases,” says Larry Appel, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology and Clinical Research. “Other nutrition recommendations have much stronger evidence of benefits—eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and sugar you eat.” - https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

Summary

There are many claims about supplements, and there are some correlations (not causations) drawn between taking vitamins and placebo but there is no evidence to suggest vitamin or mineral supplements are going to be very helpful to the average person. The caveat is that certain populations may find benefit in supplementing in addition to a balanced diet, like pregnant women and folic acid, people with darker skin living in cooler climates, the professional advice is to seek medical opinion especially if you regularly take medications as there may be some contraindications that a GP will be able to discuss with you. Embrace Life UK do not endorse or advise on supplements but we have found that clients have has success in reaching their goals when taking advice from a limited list of functional medicine practitioners in more extreme cases- this area however is unregulated and not medical with regards to diet and lifestyle Medical Doctors, Functional Medicine Practioners and Businesses like ourselves will follow the same lifestyle recommendations like stress reduction, movement, sleep, good nutrition. We have a download available that is a great resource for helping you locate the cause of stress and what you can do about it to reduce overwhelm and find steps forward without the need of coaching or expensive supplements. We also have a Download ‘Food Made Easy’ that helps you gain knowledge around nutrition and personalising your habits to meet your needs. These are ways you can dial in and help yourself for little cost and huge long-term benefits.

Spend your time and money wisely so you can Embrace Life without un-necessary supplementation.

I hope you enjoyed this article and took some useable knowledge from it to help you understand your biology and meet your needs in relation to your goals. Please leave a comment, press the heart button and share it to help more people take control of their health, well-being and fitness.

Samantha