Sprays, patches, drips, vials. The art of (health) pill-popping has come a long way. In fact, it’s estimated Brits spend almost £500 million every year on vitamins and supplements — and the latest products are high-tech and insta-ready. But do they actually work?
There are so many “ifs and buts” when it comes to supplementation, says nutritionist Jenna Hope. In the first instance, they should always “supplement a healthy diet rather than replace one”. So no quick fixes here. But while in a perfect world we would get all of our nutrients from food — the exception being vitamin D which we can’t get enough of through diet — Dr Heather Robinson, a naturopathic doctor of the London Clinic of Nutrition, argues there are other factors to consider, such as declining food quality, due to things like soil depletion, which can make it even harder for us to get the micronutrients we need from what we eat.
