Instant Genius - Why you probably don’t need to be taking dietary supplements

Episode Date: June 14, 2026

These days the supplement industry is booming – supermarket shelves are stacked high with all manner of pills and powders claiming to do everything from helping us to live longer or improving our digestive health to boosting our energy levels or even improving our ability to concentrate and focus. How have we reached this point, why do many of us feel our diets aren’t giving us everything we need to stay healthy and productive, and do these supplements live up to the bold claims that many manufacturers make for them? In this episode, we’re joined by dietician and author Josie Porter to talk about her latest book, How Not to Take Supplements – A Dietician’s Guide to Thriving on Real Food. She tells us how our busy lifestyles are leading more of us to turn to dietary supplements, talks us through the rise in the consumption of protein powders and meal replacement drinks, and explains how, underlying health conditions aside, we can all get everything our bodies need to stay healthy by eating a balanced diet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to Instant Genius, a bite-size masterclass in podcast form. Every Monday and Friday, you'll hear world-leading scientists and experts talking about the most fascinating ideas in science and technology today. I'm Jason Goodyear, commissioning editor, BBC Science Focus. These days, the supplement industry is booming. Supermarket shelves are stacked high with all manner of pills and powders, claiming to do everything from helping us to live longer or improving our digestive health, to boosting our energy levels or even improving our ability to concentrate and focus.

So how have we reached this point? Why do many of us feel our diets aren't giving us everything we need to stay healthy and productive? And do these supplements live up to the bold claims that many manufacturers make for them? In this episode, we're joined by dietitian and author Josie Porter to talk about her latest book, How Not to Take Supplements, a dietitian's Guide to Thriving on Real Food. She tells us how our busy lifestyles are leading more of us to turn to dietary supplements, talks us through the rise in the consumption of protein powders and meal replacement drinks, and explains how, underlying health conditions aside, we can all get everything our bodies need to stay healthy by eating a balanced diet. So welcome to the podcast. Thanks so much for joining us. Well, thank you for having me.

So today we're talking about your latest book, How Not to Take Supplement. a dietitians guide to thriving on real food. So I think we should get the sort of big thing out the way. First off, you're not saying that supplements are universally bad and nobody should be taking them. You know, they still have a place for many people. It's just that you can't sort of make up for a poor diet by just taking more and more supplements.

Is that right? Yeah, exactly that. I mean, the title of the book can maybe make it sound like it's an anti-supplement book, but it's really more of a sensible supplementing book. in a way because, you know, as you sort of touched on there, it doesn't make up for a diet that isn't balanced and consistent. Actually, what we know when we look at research is that people that tend to do better from supplements are those that have low intakes of that nutrient in the first place or even deficiencies. There's not that many supplements really where taking more is better

or, you know, where maybe it's a nutrient we can't get as well from like our diet, which maybe we'll touch on, but things like creatine, for example, and performance enhances for people who are active, so very specific groups of people when taken properly. So, and they're a lot more niche than maybe what the social media makes out and sort of media headlines and things like that. I probably make it seem at the moment when it comes to supplements. It's almost like there's a supplement for everything. Yeah, so sort of coming off the back of that, like the supplement industry is, it's huge at

the moment. So you've only got to walk down the supermarket aisle where they are. It's absolutely stacked with all sorts of them. So lots of us clearly are buying them and taking them. So what are some of the main reasons? What are the main motivations that people are reaching for these? Yeah, you know, I think actually some of the earlier research still holds true even now. And I think for a lot of people, they might take something as an insurance policy. So they're not really expecting anything in particular. They're kind of just hoping later

down the line taking that multifitamin, for example, is actually going to maybe help prevent them from something. Yeah. So you mentioned their diet and that's like obviously the key theme of the book. And so there's an awful lot written about diet. And there's still, you know, a lot of things that people don't really understand. So you write about something called the Mediterranean diet. So I can almost guarantee most people will have heard of this as being the sort of exemplar or golden standard of a diet, or at least one of them. But I bet a lot of them don't know exactly what it means. So sort of broadly speaking, can you tell us what that looks like? Yeah, absolutely. And like you touched on, I think people would have heard of it. So I'll try and keep it quite high level, I guess. But ultimately, it's a pattern of eating that's fallen by people who live in the Mediterranean. And that really tends to represent a lot more whole foods, basically. So unlike some of the Western diets that you might see, maybe a more ultra-processed food heavy, so foods that you find like plastic packaging with very long ingredients list at a very, again, high-level definition. It's the opposite of that, really, is more ingredient-based, almost kind of like.

like just your fruits and vegetables and they're more sort of whole form, whole grains, they're refined grains that maybe don't resemble their original form in any way. And then, you know, things like fish, lots of fish is really quite common, dairy and legumes and pulses, things like your lentils, for example, present quite frequently in this way of eating, as well as more plant-based protein as well. And then they do have things like meat, but it tends to be more like whole meat that's not processed. So not like our ultra-processed red meat that we know can be linked to things like colon cancer, for example. It's lower in those sorts of foods.

So, yeah, that's really ultimately what the pattern follows. And there's not a restrictive way of eating. It's really more based on principles or how you should eat most of the time. It's not meant to be like another diet that people should follow. It's really, as I say, like a pattern of eating with things that people should do most of the time to really get what we've seen research at least, more benefits when it comes to your health. Yeah, so with that said, let's have a look at some of the reasons that you pick out in the book that people may start turning to supplements for a bit of extra help.

So I think one of the big ones is going to be feelings of sluggishness or fatigue or general low energy. A lot of people think, well, you know, I'll turn to things like caffeine or, you know, coffees. You know, I personally drink coffee myself or, you know, a lot of people now have those sugary energy drinks, etc. So, you know, why are so many people turning to this? You know, what's going on with their diets or lifestyles that these, these things, alternatives or the sort of supplements or different food stuff are so popular now. Yeah, I mean, it's a really good point. I think a lot of people are turning to supplements to feel a bit more energetic, maybe feel a little bit less stressed, just better able to, I guess, deal with their daily lives. And let's face it,

I think for many of us, our daily lives, or weekly lives are pretty chaotic, you know, lot of us work. Some of us work more than one jobs or overtime. Then maybe we have children. Then, you know, there's pressure as a society to work out regularly, make your own food from scratch, you know, see your friends. All of these things take up a lot of time and a lot of mental energy. Like I talk a lot in the book about different types of energy, like your physical energy, your mental energy and your emotional energy. I think these are all sort of buckets where actually we're kind of taking a lot from at the moment as a society, at least for many of us. And that can leave us feeling quite drained. There's a lot of pressure. So I think ultimately it leaves us feeling more tired

and yet drained. So we turn to supplements to try and I guess fix that gap will make us feel a little bit better. And you know, people are turning into supplements like B vitamins or B vitamins or complex, very popular. Even like asheraganda is also quite popular and other adaptogens. And yeah, even things like creatine is more widely being, I guess, kind of spoken about in terms of like brain function and cognitive benefits. And so I'm seeing more people experimenting with higher doses of things like creatine to see if it supports them if they're feeling a bit more tired, for example. So sort of related to this, another thing that you talk about is the sort of eating patterns,

I suppose. So in the West at least, we have, most of us have the traditional idea of eating three meals a day. Not that we, as you say, we're busy. We can't always do that. But that seems to be the advice. But what about the size of these meals, you see? That isn't quite as clear, is it? Should we be having, some people say, oh, have a big breakfast and then go lighter as the day goes on, have a light

breakfast, a big lunch, a smaller dinner, or, you know, have a light breakfast, a light lunch, and then have a big dinner. We don't really know what to do. Yeah, I know. That's another one that's quite popular. And it's an interesting one, and excuse the pun, but it's not a one-size-fits-all. I think so many people, thrive off different ways of eating. Some people really hate breakfast and they don't want two meals a day, maybe their biggest meals dinner when they're sort of at home and they can rest and recover, recuperate. And then other people may prefer a big breakfast so they can really crack on with the rest of their day without maybe having to snack and graze and be distracted by food and food noise

as much, you know. So how about, so what we're actually eating then and its effect on our tiredness? So I don't personally speaking, I've often had, like a big bowl of pasta. And I thought, oh, blind me, I need to have a lie down now. You know, what is that? I think, why is that happening? You know, that won't happen if I say have sushi, for example. And I think that's very relatable, that post-pasta sort of slump feeling or like Christmas

day feeling is another one that often gets thrown around. And I think the main reason for that being is that food like pasta, you know, it tastes great. We want to eat more of it. And if we're eating out or even eating at home, it can be quite easy to serve up a bigger a plate or consume more than like, well, actually is recommended. Of course, recommended portions are really just one portion if we're more active or more hungry. Having more is perfectly okay. It really just depends on the context of how active we are and what we eat in that day, that week, etc. But that

feeling is probably down to the fact that it's quite easy to over consume. And depending on how you have your pasta, how you balance it out with other food groups, like protein, for example, fats, an additional fiber. So you will get some fiber and pasta, for example, and other grains. But we tend to get lots of fiber in things like certain vegetables, beans, pulses as well, even nuts and seeds. So it's really how we pair our pasta too, as well as the portion, which will help us feel more energetic and give us more steady energy. Like I talk a lot in the book about how, not just about the types of carbohydrates we pick, so choosing more of those slower carbs with more fiber, but also how we pair them as well and things like portions. And those strategies,

can be really beneficial for helping you get more energy from your food and helping you reduce those sort of slumps and that stirring blank moment in the fridge at moments as well. Yeah, so you mentioned these, you call them slower carbs. So what are they? What are some examples of those? And what's going on differently when we eat those rather than, you know, some that really do give us a spike? Yeah, so all that really means is that it's a, we have maybe two different types of carbohydrates to keep it really simple. So you have some that I digested more quickly. They're sort of more like your fast carbohydrates or if you're familiar with a glycemic index, which is basically a way of measuring how quickly a carbohydrate hits your bloodstream.

So they would be more that high GI or high glycemic index foods. And then you get your more sort of low, which is the opposite of that, really. And there's even a moderate in the middle, but for simplicity sake, the low ones are really the ones where have a low glycemic index. So when we consume them, they hit our blood sugars nice and slowly. And what the difference is in terms of like physiologically how we feel is those slower low GI ones are going to give us that nice steady release of energy instead of that quick increase, okay, I'm going to really energetic, and then you crash later on because the energy is quickly out of your bloodstream and being used elsewhere, then you haven't got a lot to lean on, so you might get that crash later on.

So where we find these slower or low GI carbohydrates is in our foods, like our whole grains versus our refined grains, like white bread and things like that, white pasta, white rice, Often they're more refined grains that are higher GI. But on the flip side, we go for the more whole grains that have sort of their shell and things intact. So they're more sort of original form intact. Then they are slower on our digestion and give us that more steady release of energy. But it's also not just about the carbohydrate because I think it's probably, at least for most of us, the case that we don't just have, for example, rice by itself. I'm sure there are times. But for the most part, we tend to have, you know, carbohydrates alongside other foods in a dish, you know, like we might have it with vegetables and people. protein as well. So that is really just one thing, but it definitely can give you an extra edge. This spring, denim gets a softer, lighter update. Introducing Old Navy's drapey denim wide leg, a new fit that moves with you. It's everything you want denim to feel like for summer. Easy, breathable, and effortlessly cool. With a fit that creates natural movement and a wide leg

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So, are you ready to talk to fans? Spotify advertising. You're among fans. You also talk about the interaction between our diets and our hormones. So you mentioned there, it's like blood sugar and things like that. So I think the first thing that people will think of when they mentioned this interaction between our diet and our hormones, it's all insulin. So, you know, what's the interaction there? You know, what can we say about that?

So, you know, I think there's a lot online at the moment around hormones and hormone balancing in the supplement space, but even, you know, the food space as well. And dare I say, even borderline scaremongering, because I think it's really important to note that hormones for most people are tightly controlled unless you're living with a condition where actually like an endocrine condition, which simply means related to hormones, like diabetes, for example, and certain thyroid disorders and things like that and diseases. Then actually for most people, our hormones are pretty tightly controlled and that's also what the research. suggest as well. So yeah, that's worth bearing a mind. But there are some things that we can do to help our body better get back into that rhythm and reduce those shifts over time, which again are still tightly controlled, but there are certain things that we can do within our food choices that just really can support more over sort of supplements where the evidence is more limited. And that really comes down to eating foods that supports like insulin, for example, is one of them that you touched on.

So having those slow carbohydrates means that you have less of that hormone insulin that's needed to react and respond to the carbohydrates in your food. So that's how that works. So having more of those slower carbs means that your insulin is not being overly relied on. And in theory, it could therefore mean your insulin levels are a bit more stable, which is a hormone, which can also have a knock on effects, other hormones in your body as well. How about a couple of other hormones that most people will have heard of then? Testosterone and estrogen. So you see all sorts of things like the diet that you should be eating to boost your testosterone or the diet that you should be eating to manage your monthly cycle, etc. Is there any truth behind that?

Unfortunately, not as social media and media outlets really make it out to be. When I was writing the book and doing all the research for it, I was really trying to find something to put in there related to sex hormones, like testosterone, estrogen, progesterone. but ultimately there's not a lot really with a diet that really shifts the need or there in terms of regulating either of those three. For example, if you're living with the condition like PCOS, so polycystic ovarian syndrome, which has recently actually been redefined and changed the name of, but if you're living with that condition, which people might be more familiar with the PCOS terminology,

then actually there are some things that we can do to reduce testosterone or androgens in that condition, but that doesn't apply for every woman, for example, not living with that condition. So it's a very niche case. And things there that might help regulate androgens or those testosterone hormones. There's things like having a balanced diet. So eating those slower carbohydrates can help. So it helps to keep insulin in check. And then in a turn that has that knock on effect by helping to regulate androgens as well in a sort of simplistic way.

So another thing that you talk about, which is a big area in all sorts of things, is sort of our appearance, like the health of our skin, the health of our hair, the health of our nails. So traditionally there's been, I mean this is another huge industry, but there's, you know, the same thing, if you go to the supermarket or if you go to the chemists, there's loads of cleansers, toners, moisturisers, shampoos, conditioners, claiming to do all sorts of things. But it seems over the last several years, there's also like a range of pills and powders now claiming that, oh, this is what you need to boost your skin health, your, you know, your hair will be thicker and shinier. if you take this, things like, you know, collagen supplements. You know, what's the idea behind that? Yeah, and this is a really interesting topic. I've definitely seen a lot of people talk online around like eating your skincare and stuff like that.

And I've definitely like a boost in supplements for what I call in the book, Your Glow, which is for first like your hair, skin and nails. So things like biotin have been around for a long time in relation to nails. I think that's quite commonly consumed and even for hair. Collagen is one that's probably more recent. but it's still been around for a little while. And even things like hyluronic acid, someone very famous recently brought out a supplement

with hyluronic acid in it as well as collagen. So I think that will become more popular, maybe one of the more trending skincare supplements out there. But ultimately, I think really a lot of the drive for these supplements and even these food strategies are probably driven on unrealistic beauty standards. To be honest with you, you know, a lot of what we see in like shampoo and conditioner adverts.

It's really shiny hair. It's not something that's, actually natural. A lot of the time it's products that have been sprayed on people's hair, you know, this flawless skin without any pores, it's normally edited. So a lot of the time, I think we're probably trying to chase something that's almost unattainable. And I think maybe that's where the sales for these different sort of glow supplements and skin strategies and things like that are probably becoming more popular. But still, there are things that we can do to realistically support our glow, not so that we look like these edited models and these adverts,

but actually we look like a real life version of ourselves that just looks a bit healthier and feels great as well, which is also really important and confident in our skin. There are things that we can do and I talk about that in the book in relation to actually like eating enough, for example. I think it's quite common, especially around summertime for people to feel more pressure to look a certain way, maybe they're eating less and being more restrictive. But actually, that's one of the key things that can limit our glow because when we eat less, our body then goes into sort of starvation mode, depending how restrictive we do go. And that actually, can mean that less fuel goes into our glow because ultimately it's not essential to survive

unlike our muscles and our bone and things like that. So any energy that we do eat will be prioritised elsewhere, not our appearance. Yeah. So another thing that you talk about, which is another big area of this industry, is sort of these immune defence products, you know, which, you know, every sort of late autumn winter, you're just bombarded with adverts for all these sorts of things, you know, oh, if you take such and such, you know, you won't get a cold this year. You know, so what's the thinking behind those? Yeah, I mean, there are definitely some really interesting studies out there on specific supplements and even food-based strategies that may support our immune function.

But sometimes they are a little bit simplistic. And I think sometimes when we're thinking about supporting our immune function, what are we hoping to achieve? I think for most people it might be, okay, I want to get colds less. I think that's probably quite a common one. who wants to be struck down with a cold. It's very unpleasant. So with that in mind, like colds and viruses and things like that, there are some things that maybe can help more so with colds. For example, like taking vitamin C, there is some evidence that might help to reduce the duration of a cold. What's really important is when you take it. Similarly, like zinc loggengers

that you can swallow, like, you know, you get those little sort of candy looking things that you can get. Those are sort of evidence-based supplements that can help reduce the duration of a cold, but it's really important that you take it at the right time. And actually with things like vitamin C, you don't necessarily need to get it from a supplement. Just boosting your vitamin seed intake free food if you're starting to feel a bit of a sniffle come on may help without needing to reach for that pill bottle. So you know something like a really nice rich red pepper and tomato soup,

something like that or kiwis and strawberries in a yogurt bowl. Having that in a day when you're feeling a little bit ill can help to make you feel better and potentially reduce how long you have a cold for. So another thing that's been big for a long time now is these protein powders. so that people who believe them will say, well, you know, we're not, if you want to build big muscles or even just be healthy, you're probably not getting enough protein. So what you should

be doing is having these powders mixed with, you know, water or milk or something and supplementing with that, you know, it's that where did that come from? Yeah, that's a good one. You know, protein powders have been around for a long time. But I think last year or two, there's been a very big focus on protein. You know, I think if you go into a supermarket now, you can see all sorts of non-protein products that have now had protein added to them, you know, like bread, even sauces, water. There's like protein water now. We've added protein to so many different things now. We just walk around your supermarket. And I think from that, it's obviously these food manufacturers jumping on a big trend around protein, which is driven, I think, a lot around social media.

And there's definitely a few very influential people in the scientific space. that have recommended really high intakes of protein. They have millions of followers, you know, around 2 grams per kilogram of body weight, which is simply not necessary. I mean, it is true that the current recommendations of 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight are probably too low because they're based on very old studies. But actually, we don't need more than double that, two grams. That's much the higher for someone who's very active.

What we know is actually for most people who are doing some form of movement in the days, the average person, around 1.2 grams per kilogram of people. protein a day is probably more beneficial. So you don't need normally protein supplements to make up that gap. If you're having lots of, you know, fish, meat, or lots of protein in your diet from other non-animal sources as well, you don't necessarily need that gap to be bridged with a supplement. So I say to people, work out what you need first and then where you currently are with your diet based on maybe a few days and do an average. And then if there is a gap, you can consider, okay, where can I reach that free food for a lot of people, breakfast tends to be lower protein.

so it might be a case of adding a bit more Greek yogurt, for example. A strange yogurt tends to be quite high in protein, so more protein per bite. Or, you know, if you really struggle to meet that free food first, maybe because the volume is too much for you, a supplement can be really useful, particularly if you're very active where your knees might be higher, nearest of 1.6 grams, for example, give or take, then actually for some people they do appreciate having that protein powder to hand

to really help bridge that gap. Yeah, so in some ways that, as you say protein, I mean, I can remember protein powders blindly for at least 30 years. But over the last sort of five years, decade or so, this is kind of, I think, based on this idea, we've now got these sort of nutritionally complete sort of meal replacement drinks, which they're saying, oh, you know, we're all so busy, you know, we're working so long, you don't need to eat a proper meal, you can just have this and it's got all of your needs in it. Yeah, there I've definitely seen more of that.

think it's a shame because we're kind of accommodating, overworking ourselves with supplements and, you know, food that isn't real. Instead of just being like, actually, maybe if we're really busy, we just need to take five minutes out to sit down and eat some food, even five minutes. You know, I'm sure we can all make that time somewhere or 10 minutes. And there's also evidence that you're sitting down and eating a proper meal, using your mouth to chew food, is a lot better for things like your digestion, for example. There can be more benefits there. but also for like your gut health, actually just taking more time to sit and eat food, can be really beneficial to simply, yeah, supporting your gut health as well.

So I talk about that in a book, like how we eat being really important to for gut health, not just what we eat too. So being more mindful around food, taking time, arriving at meal time, stressed. So if you can take five or ten minutes out in the day to eat something real, I think that's going to be better than waffing down some sort of nutritionally complete drink. Yeah, so sort of sticking with the gut health there, that sort of goes back. to what you've said quite a few times now, whole foods. You know, does that also help with that with our gut health? Yeah, definitely. I mean, when we look at sort of whole foods compared to

more refined foods, we do tend to see generally that they contain more nutrients. A key one for gut health here being things like your fibre, some fibres are prebiotics, the prebiotics, so with an E, not an O. They're the types of foods that actually have to have to feed specific bacteria in the gut and help them thrive in somewhere or another. So they're really great to have more of. And actually when we eat more whole foods, we tend to get more variety as well. And that can be really beneficial

because we know that variety of different plant-based foods tends to be better for our gut microbiome as well. So feeding the diversity down there. And we know that having a more diverse range of different bacteria in there and other microbes is really beneficial for helping us thrive in other areas of our health as well. So, you know, we're seeing all sorts of different links,

like even with our immune function. Looking after our gut can also have benefits. to our immune function and even like our skin, there's some interesting stuff coming out here. And also, you know, particularly foods like with live cultures, like live yoghut, for example, Kfir. These are all be really beneficial to get more of the bacteria added in. It's not just the fuel to feed our existing bacteria, but to actually add bacteria in as well. Yeah, so let's say we have a hypothetical listener who's perhaps got a huge collection of supplements in their in their bathroom cabinet. And I think, well, don't really think of it.

think I need at least all of these. You know, what advice would you give them? How can they sort of audit their supplement use? Yeah, and I think that will really vary depending on what you've got and where you're at. So I think that's probably a good place to start. I mean, where are you currently out with your food intake? You know, are you consuming enough of the foods contained within like a Mediterranean diet? So having more foods, it's not exclusively whole foods because this needs to be realistic.

And actually when we look at studies, rarely ever do they have such extreme. so there's normally just higher versus low, not none versus all sort of thing. So actually having whole foods, mostly in your diet. So let's say around sort of more than 60% ideally around that sort of 80% mark. So they're really making it most of your diets. That's one thing that you can look at. So having more fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds, whole grains, legumes, dairy. That's not been sort of processed really highly and it had all sorts of different things added in.

So quite natural yogurt, I guess. To keep it simple, things like your really nice oils, like your olive oils and things like that as well. So having more of those in your diet, if that makes up most of your diet, that's a great place to start. But if it doesn't, you could start there. And that should help reduce your need for things like fiber supplements, for example, probiotics, and any sort of vitamin or mineral supplements as well, like your magnesium, which is one that's quite popular. We spoke earlier about B vitamins. So that can definitely help.

It's not exactly going to be the case for everyone. That won't always fit everyone. But I think for most people, that's probably sensible guidelines to start with as a general rule of thumb. but there are certain groups of people that who may struggle to get certain nutrients in and that can be people who have like an exclusively plant-based diet or for whatever reason struggle to eat certain groups of food. So for example, if you're vegan or vegetarian or mainly vegan really, you might find it harder to get vitamin B12, not impossible,

but for some people then may find it harder and getting that through supplement can be actually really helpful. Particularly if you're older, actually getting an injection. So bypass digestion can be beneficial just because as we get older, we lose something in our gut that helps us make the most of B12 in the digestion system. So we need to actually inject it to bypass that. So B12 is a good one. Omega-3 is another one.

If you're not eating any oily fish, which is actually quite common, even for meat eaters or animal eaters, then actually having an omega-3 supplement can definitely help bridge their gap. Or like an algae one, if you don't want to consume any fish-based product as well. Thank you for listening to this episode of Instant Genius. brought you from the team behind BBC Science Focus. That was Josie Porter. To discover more about the topics we've just discussed,

check out her book, How Not to Take Supplements, a dietitian's Guide to Thriving on Real Food. If you liked what you just heard, then please do consider subscribing to Instant Genius on your preferred podcast platform. If you'd like to see our guests and hosts in person, then why not check out our YouTube channel at Science Focus.

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