Supplements. It seems these tiny pills and gummies have managed to find a cure and solution for every physical ailment or psychological problem you can think of. Health Food stores and pharmacies are overflowing with little boxes of these magic pills with their flashy packaging; claiming to reduce stress and anxiety, boost productivity and improve your mood. The industry sits at an astronomical size of over 61.20 Billion USD in 2020 and is projected to grow to 126.68 Billion by 2028. Sadly, as consumers, we’ve been entirely blinded by this marketing scheme through (sponsored) influencers showing their everyday vitamin routine. And to the helpless consumer, what is there to lose? At the end of the day, surely taking vitamins cannot cause any negative health problems?
In terms of its effects on your physical health, this is true. Unless you take an absurd amount of any vitamin or mineral, you are unlikely to notice any adverse health effects. Along the same lines, if you are deficient in a specific mineral such as iron or vitamin D due to other individual health or environmental problems, then your doctor is most definitely correct in telling you to take your supplements. But the real issue in the health and wellness industry is companies promoting products that give you an excess of vitamins and minerals that are already present in sufficient amounts in your diet. For vitamins to be absorbed into the body, many not only require fat to become soluble, but your body has a cap on the amount of any specific vitamin it can consume in a given time frame. Your body approaches it much in the same way as drinking water. While water is an essential part of human existence, if you suddenly tripled your water intake, you would likely find yourself on the loo most of the day, exhaling much of this water that your body cannot use. Vitamins are the same; suddenly increasing your vitamin A, magnesium, or any other vitamin to double or even triple the recommended daily intake will not result in your body actually absorbing all of this extra goodness, and the body will simply discard the rest.
Once again, there is, of course, a balance point here. Vitamins and minerals are essential to a healthy, functioning body. Just because excess amounts of it from pseudoscience-supported flashy supplement brands doesn’t make a difference, it certainly does not mean you can completely ignore fruits and veggies for the rest of your life. The best way to ensure that you are getting enough vitamins and minerals is the age-old get your five a day. While I’ll admit this is more boring and entering unprofitable for anyone besides farmers and grocery stores, simply making sure you are not only getting enough fruit and veg in your diet but a variety of it is the best way to obtain all of these lovely benefits (no stress, better sleep, boosted mood etc.) that these supplement companies claim to provide. Adding a healthy fat source alongside your consumption of Vitamins A, D, E, and K specifically (think nut butters, avocado, olive oil, full-fat dairy etc.) can also increase your body’s ability to absorb these fat-soluble vitamins.
So, while I do make sure to take vitamin D every day in the winter considering we live in the lovely sun-deprived country of Scotland, other than this I just focus on getting a range of veggies and fruits in my diet. The rule of thumb I always go for is the more colourful your plate, the better (think red apples, orange carrots, green kale, purple cabbage, pink berries etc.) So, instead of wasting your money on pseudoscience vitamins, simply eat the rainbow.
Image Credit: “Cod liver oil capsules – Supplements for the body” by MyDigitalSLR is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.