A health expert has sounded the alarm for those who depend on daily supplements for their wellbeing, warning that “no one has to check what’s in them”. Scores of individuals pop supplements as part of their daily routine to ensure they are topped up with essential vitamins and minerals.
However, Dr Federica Amati, chief nutrition scientist at Zoe Health, suggests they may not be as beneficial as we believe. Addressing an audience at Stylist Live, she advised consumers to opt for third-party tested brands.
As detailed by Stylist.co.uk, Dr Amati highlighted a study which discovered that ‘only 11 per cent contained any amount of what they’d put on the label’. She added: “A 2019 Which? investigation also found that many big brands contained 40 per cent less than advertised key vitamins.”
The initial study mentioned by Dr Amati, featured in the JAMA Network Open journal, scrutinised 57 sports supplements and revealed that 23 (40 per cent) lacked a ‘detectable amount’ of the advertised ingredient.
“Of the products that contained detectable amounts of the listed ingredient, the actual quantity ranged from 0.02 per cent to 334 per cent of the labelled quantity,” the authors of the study noted. “Six of 57 products (11 percent) contained a quantity of the ingredient within 10 percent of the labelled quantity,” reports the Mirror.
Dr Amati highlighted the lack of regulation in the vitamin industry, warning: “If I wanted to make a load of supplements tomorrow and market it to you all, I can – no one has to check what’s in them. There’s nothing to stop you from being sold a capsule of filler.”
She recommended purchasing supplements that have undergone third-party testing, but noted that ‘very few companies do that and a minimal number of companies ever do any science to prove that their supplement actually works’.
Dr Amati also expressed scepticism about menopause supplements, stating: “There’s no evidence to show that ‘meno-vitamins’ improve any of the symptoms that women care about.”
However, she did offer advice on four lifestyle changes to potentially prevent premature death, saying: “Chronic respiratory disorders, cancer, heart disease and metabolic diseases such as type two diabetes contribute to 80 per cent of premature deaths. Now what’s really amazing about this statistic is that 80 per cent of those cases are preventable with four simple lifestyle modifications: not smoking, drinking less alcohol (alcohol directly contributes to increased death), moving our bodies more, and – perhaps the most powerful of them all – adopting a healthy diet.”