Supplements: Who needs them? A special report

Tuesday May 31 2011

What does the evidence actually say about supplements?

Millions of us take vitamins and dietary supplements hoping to achieve good health, ease our illnesses and defy ageing. In 2009 the market for dietary supplements and vitamins was worth more than £670 million in the UK alone.

However, the huge range of dietary supplements available and the conflicting messages from the media may leave some people confused about whether they need supplements or not.

Our special report on supplements (PDF, 4Mb: opens in new window) aims to make sense of some of the issues surrounding them, and looks at a selection of the evidence on some of the most popular supplements in use today, including:

• vitamin and multivitamin pills
• weight-loss supplements
• supplements for preventing and treating colds
• glucosamine, ginkgo and ginseng for ageing
• fish oils
• body-building supplements

So if you want to know whether the marketing matches the evidence, download a copy today.

http://www.nhs.uk/news/2011/05May/Pages/supplements-special-report.aspx