NHS staff battling wave of food supplement disinformation

Patients’ belief in unproven dietary regimes, vitamins and minerals may be increasing their risk of getting cancer. Photograph: Oleg Breslavtsev/Getty Images

Social media misinformation about the use of dietary supplements such as turmeric, St John’s wort and magnesium is now so common that dispelling online claims has become a routine part of NHS clinicians work.

Two out of five frontline health workers say they encounter patients who raise inaccurate or misleading information about supplements at least once a week.