The Life Of Bryony - Are Supplements a Scam? Dietician Josie Porter on What Actually Works

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

This week, I’m joined by dietician and author Josie Porter, who has written a brilliantly myth‑busting book called How Not to Take Supplements. If you’ve ever stared at an Instagram ad for collagen, creatine or a very chic greens powder and thought “Do I really need this?”, this episode is for you. We talk about why the supplements industry is booming, how clever marketing and “natural” branding manipulate our fears, and why more pills do not automatically mean better health. Josie explains what third‑party testing actually is, the red‑flag claims to avoid, and when supplements like vitamin D, Omega-3 or creatine might genuinely help. We also get into cheaper, easier food swaps that can replace a lot of pricey bottles, the power of good old tap water, and why a decent poo is still one of life’s greatest joys.​ If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by wellness noise, I promise this conversation will leave you feeling calmer, clearer and a lot less confused. BOOKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODEJosie’s book, How Not to Take Supplements, is available to pre-order now and will be released on 4th June 2026.WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOUGot something to share? Message us on @lifeofbryonypod on Instagram.If this episode resonated with you, please share it with someone who might need it – it really helps! Bryony xxCREDITS:Host: Bryony GordonGuest: Josie PorterProducer: Laura Elwood-CraigAssistant Producer: Tippi WillardStudio Manager: Mitchell LiasEditor: Luke ShelleyExec Producer: Jamie East  A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now, is anyone else, frankly, overwhelmed by all the information out there when it comes to supplements? Actually, I know the answer to that because I have been receiving messages for weeks from Life of Briny listeners begging for an episode that cuts the social media wellness crap and reveals the truth about whether you need to be taking pricey supplements like collagen, creatine, and any number of other gummies, powders and pills that claim to be the key to good skin, increased energy and endless longevity. The good news is I've got an expert in to do just that. Josie Porter is a dietitian who has written an entire book on this very subject called How Not to Take Supplements. She's going to be letting you know what's worth spending your hard-earned money on.

and the simple cheap food tweaks that can provide all the benefits of those expensive bottles advertised on Instagram without the price tag. Get a pen and paper out, guys, because you might want to take some notes. I think if people are filling any benefits, it could be down to that simply. If you're having another glass of water, hydration can really help with your digestion. So the free water that you used from the tap to put your powders in is the thing that is making you feel better. I often say it's, that's probably, yeah, the thing that you could try first is have more water. Have more water. Okay.

My conversation with Josie Porter coming up after this. Josie, welcome to the life of Brianie. I'm so grateful you're here because people have been begging for this episode, an episode on basically cutting the crap on supplements because it's so overwhelming all the kind of. And I say, I use the word information, but lots of it is misinformation, right? And you have written a great book on this very subject called How Not to Take Supplements. Josie, tell me a little bit about what you do and where the idea for this book came from. Yeah, well, thank you.

I mean, so I'm a dietitian portrayed. And what that means really is how people navigate really nutrition, really, within their own lives. and within that, you know, I'm constantly getting asked questions around, what should I be eating? And I think in the last few years, that's really shifted towards almost what should I be taking when it comes to supplements. You know, they've been around for a little while, but it feels like in the last few years, they've definitely really exploded. So, yeah, what I'm really trying to do here is how people cut through some of that supplement noise that I feel like it's not going to be going anywhere anytime soon. No. So you said, well, so you say that you open the book.

by talking about clients coming in with like lists of supplements that they take that look like the end credits of like a movie. Like, I take this, I take that. So the stats are that 76% of people in the UK take a supplement. 17% take more than four daily. I was thinking about this and I was like, where do I fit into this? So I take Amiga 3, vitamin B and vitamin D. And then I used to take a probiotic as well in the morning, right?

And I thought, I'm not a supplement person. And I was like, oh, no, you absolutely are, briny. Like, I need to walk up. People have started walking around with those, like, pill boxes that basically elderly people who were very ill used to only need, right? And I've noticed that designers have started to create sort of like designer supplement pillboxes. Oh, my God, I haven't seen that.

Yes. It's unbelievable. So you, as you say, You point out in your book that it is forecasted that the global supplements market will be worth over a trillion dollars by the end of this decade, right? But this is interesting because it's a market that is not regulated in any way, shape or form, is it? Well, it's not that it's not regulated in any shape or form, but it's actually that the supplement industry is regulated like our food industry, not like medications, for example.

So with medications, before they even are given to people, they go through lots of rigorous trials to prove that they are effective. And then they're also tested for other things as well, like quality too, whereas supplements don't go through that process. So as I say, they're regulated like food. And actually what can happen sometimes is when they're brought out into the market these supplements and make these bold health claims, which are not allowed to do.

But because there's so much profit in supplements, A lot of these companies are still releasing them with these health claims. And then they're taken off the shelf by regulators because actually there's still profit in releasing these supplements and they're not as tightly regulated. And then alongside that there's regulation, but also quality as well. Not all supplements have to test. So third party testing is really important. And basically that that just tells you that what is in the product is actually in the product. And that's actually not mandatory.

That's up to the manufacturers to do that. and earlier studies say that around only 10% of supplements out there had that third-party testing. So what that means is that you might not even be taking what is on the supplement itself. And that's one part of it, but also the quantity. Actually, there was a survey done or a study done by which recently this year. And it tested a bunch of different supplements off the shelves. And there was a number of them that had way more of the supplement in it than it was actually on the bottle. And that can be toxic for some people.

and that can make you really unwell. More is not necessarily better. More is not necessarily better. You know, sometimes I think we're led to think, okay, a little bit of this is beneficial, so why not take more of it? But that's definitely not the case. You know, for some vitamins and minerals,

like water soluble ones, like vitamin B and vitamin C, actually we can weed those out. So a sign that you're having too much is normally a really bright-colored urine. Oh, my God. Right, okay, well, then I am having too much because I take vitamin B and I take it at night.

and I mean this is like I was going to say this is TMI but this is the life of briny we don't have such a thing as TMI on this podcast my my pee in the morning is always neon yellow that would be a sign that whatever you're having is being excreted for your urine so you're probably topped up from food so vitamin B for example I mean there's lots of different types of vitamin B we get from different types of food

but for a lot of us particularly like vegetarians people who eat meat and fish and things like that we actually get plenty in our diet and then for vitamin C, it's super easy to get enough fruit, fruits and vegetables. Isn't it like you need like two blueberries and you've got enough vitamin C in your diet? Not quite that easy, but it's something like two kiwis, for example, can help you get your vitamin C intake. Red peppers are also a really good source of vitamin C, strawberries, oranges, which I think is a classic one that people are familiar with. Yeah. Okay.

Yeah, yeah. Right. So there's so much I want to one pack here. Okay. So, and I'll get to some of the stuff that we can look out for that will help us if we're going to get supplements that have the quality, shall we say, that perhaps others don't. So these supplements will go on sale with bold claims that aren't necessarily true. But for the companies, they don't care about that and they don't care about being withdrawn. What is the value of putting them on the shelves, even though they know they're going to be pulled off the shelves?

Yeah, and I think there's probably an important caveat is that I think there's a lot of supplement companies out there that mean really good. I mean, they mean well, and they want to produce products that are going to help people, right? I don't think it's that all supplement companies are deceitful. But I think there are definitely a number of them potentially out there who maybe are more motivated by profit. And I think what can happen sometimes we've seen in some cases like in the UK even as well, and especially even in the US as well. but supplements can sometimes hit the shelves. And because often the regulation comes after they're released, they might make a really bold health claim or, you know,

they might say certain ingredients are in their products and actually they're not. So when they come to have like regulation done on them, they can be pulled off the shelves because let's say, for example, yeah, they've made a health claim, which they can't do because they're not medication. Right. So any supplement that claims to improve your health, that is already a red flag. because you're not allowed to make that claim if you are not a medicine.

Yeah. And it also is quite complicated to navigate, I think, as a consumer, because some claims are not technically health claims, and it can really just be very clever wording. And that's where marketing can make things really confusing for consumers. But it is normally when a product claims to cure something or prevent something, that's really like a health claim because that's only really what medication can do. But for example, a supplement may have some,

zinc in it or even a food product may have a little bit of zinc in it. And then what the company can do is claim that it supports your immune system. So the copy there supports is most or soft. It's not claiming to prevent or cure anything. And that's okay. That's not a health claim because that copy is very cleverly manipulated, I guess. Or people will read that and think that it is doing the thing that it claims to support. I mean, that's not be around the bush here. That is, and that is the problem with a lot of this supplementation and this industry, and it is an industry now, you know, is that it's absolutely bewildering. I mean, you don't even have to go into, you know, you can go into a boots and you're like, I don't know what I'm here I'm supposed

to be taking. And then when I go on Instagram, there's a lot of very cleverly marketed things with fancy names. I won't name some of them now, but because I don't want to specifically shit on any particular brands, but I've noticed now that there is a real trend of companies creating lovely, fancy, beautifully branded supplements that claim to eliminate, for example, PMDD or all of these things. But at no point does it tell you what is in these supplements, a lot of them. You have to really dig deep to see what is in the supplement. And then when you do, you find that it is just very basic stuff like vitamin C, you know, stuff that you could find in food. So your, your approach, Josie, is that quite a lot of this stuff, we can just get food first in our diet. Absolutely.

I mean, that's really how supplements came about in the first place. You know, it was really to treat deficiency a long, long time ago. Let's go into this because I love this, is that basically, supplements were created in the early 1900s to stop people getting scumption. curvy. Yeah. Good old vitamin C. It's very Victorian. Do you know what? Yes, exactly. And we're not, we're not, we're not, we're not likely to get scurvy nowadays. No, because, you know, a lot of us have access to fruits and vegetables. And as I say, actually, it's really quite easy to get enough vitamin C through fruits and vegetables. You don't need to be consuming tons of them. And that's not the same for all vitamins and minerals. Some are definitely harder to get from food. But vitamin C, I would

say, is probably one of the easiest ones to get out there. If you're reaching, you know, you're not even your five a day, that that is recommended in the food. in the UK, which is your fruits and veg. Even you don't have to hit that to get your vitamin C really. As I say, you can't even get it with one portion, and particularly two portions of fruits and veg. So it's really quite easy to get. And there are some foods where it's a little bit harder

or some nutrients where it's a little bit harder to get it from food as well. We're going to get into the specifics. So in a bit, I'm going to throw a load of popular supplements at you. Not literally, I'm not going to literally get some pills and some gummies and throw them at you. That would be really rude. I don't do that. I don't do that.

I don't do that. But I have a long list here of things that I have spent the weekend, basically, trying to find the most kind of common things that are recommended to us, particularly as women. I mean, let's face it. This is an industry that targets women, specifically with focusing on stuff that perhaps the medical industry health industry have ignored, so female issues such as menopause, all of that stuff, reproductive health. And so it can look on the face of it like this is helpful in a world where no one talks about,

no one has spoken or looked into this stuff. But actually it's also quite, it can be a little bit exploitative. So I want to go into that. But first, I want to ask you what poly supplementation is. So you talk about this in the book. Yes, yes. I think it kind of comes back to the point which you mentioned earlier as well, where actually a lot of people now are coming to me with this list of supplements that almost reads like these movie credits, right? And the name itself, poly supplementation is a bit of a play on what clinicians might be familiar with like, you know, medical doctors, dietitians and nurses and things like that will be familiar with the term polypharmacy. And you might be even if you're not in a medical as well. But what that means really is that over time, people can be given lots of medication and often not reviewed in terms of like an exit strategy and they might be taking tons of different medications when actually they don't need to be. And I think we're seeing that more and more with supplements. A lot of people think that supplements are more natural and I think they're almost using them

as an alternative to medicine in some sort of softer way. But actually you see natural, natural remedy words like that. You think there's no harm here, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It feels natural. But actually, I think it all falls into this naturalistic fallacy where we think natural is better. But, you know, that's not always the case. And actually, if you think about a supplement, a lot of the time, it's still ultra-processed.

You know, it's not unnatural food. We're not plucking it from a tree, are we? You know, these aren't necessarily natural either. And lots of these supplements, when tested, have been found to have things like anabolic steroids in them, prescription drugs in them. I mean, that's shocking. Yeah, there's actually, so the book is aimed at adults. But actually there's a, even a study not that long ago where they took magnesium gummies from the shelf for children and they found melatonin in it.

So in the UK, that's a prescription as well. What? And so it's even happening in children supplements. It's bonkers. They found melatonin in magnesium gummies. For children. It's like, I'm going to go and buy some magnesium gummies for children. And, you know, yeah, of course you can get it in the US over the counter. But still, you know, it's not buying what you're being told that you're sold.

It's not fair to the consumer. is it? Yeah. Okay. So you also point out in your book that there's a lot of evidence that supplements can actually cause people to delay getting help with quite serious symptoms. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I think there's a number of supplements that are more common in that space, but one that's really popular at the moment is magnesium. Magnesium. Magnesium's being sold for lots of different things at the moment, but one of them is digestion, like magnesium citrate, for example. And it definitely does have have a use, it helps to draw more water into the bowel and that can help with things like constipation. But if you're taking a magnesium supplement for your constipation,

perhaps you have other symptoms going on, like cramps, brain fog, you know, maybe you're feeling more weak, things like that, you know, there can also be signs of other things going on. So it's really important that actually you're working with someone to get to the root cause of your symptoms and then working with what that is. And also sometimes when you slap, you know, like a magnesium supplement onto your day or your routine, You might be missing some of the other lifestyle habits that are really important for your gut health. So, for example, fiber, you know, it's been really buzzing lately. It's like the new protein.

Only 96% of us are meeting our fiber targets in the UK. And fiber has lots more benefits beyond just digestion. And that's definitely really important. It can help reduce our risk of things like bowel cancer, for example, support our heart health, make us feel more full and energize and productive. So, you know, we get much more when we eat food. And actually, fiber-rich foods can often contain things like magnesium anyway, for example. How much fibre should we be getting a day?

So the target in the UK is 30 grams. But most of us in the UK are not reaching that. I think hopefully all the buzz at the moment on social media that will change and more people will be reaching this. But yeah, it's definitely a bit of a deficit in the UK. What are just quickly, before I move on to the next bit, what are fibre-rich foods? Give me some quick, easy, fibre-rich foods that I can get

so that my poo is nice and healthy. And that's why we all were on, I think, in reality, a good poo, right? Yeah. Makes our day feel so much better. Oh, a good poo is just the best. Yeah, absolutely. Nothing sets up your day than a good poo. So, you know, really high fibre foods.

I think people just automatically think fruits and vegetables and while they can be really high in fibre, some of them are actually lower in fibre than others. So some of my favourite ones that you can implement into your diet are like berries. So raspberries are a really good source of fibre. You can get them also frozen, so they're super nice and cheap and accessible, or cheaper at least than, you know, the fresh alternatives. You can also get them in things like avocado. Avocado's great.

You can mash it on your toast. You still have it with butter as well if you want, but, you know, that can be a great alternative or addition to toast, for example. Also, nuts and seas, like chire seeds, are a really good source of fibre as well. And you can get a really good chunk of your daily fibre needs in adding some of those to your diet. But also things I think, or specific food that I think is really, really. really accessible and people should be eating more of beyond just fiber because they have lots

of other vitamins and minerals in there are beans and pulses. I think they're kind of having a moment with like bulb bean company coming out, making them kind of sexier again, which I love. But I think these are a really good addition that more people could be eating more of. baked beans, lentils, you know, good staples. And you can even throw them into like sweet dishes. Like I've been loving experimenting with that lately and it might sound a little gross to some people. But like throwing in chickpeas and blending them into like baked oats, for example. I've actually got a recipe in my book.

Chocolate orange baked oats, which uses black beans. It makes them look fudgy and almost brownie-like. So you can get really experimental. Yeah, you have to try it. Okay. Right. Okay. So I, basically, I put out a call on my Instagram about this subject.

And so many people got back to me going, please, please, please, please create an episode. We don't know, even know where to start or where to finish, as you say, people that are kind of like, I'm taking so many supplements and this is getting pricey and expensive. I mean, they are expensive, right? And actually what was so interesting was that the World Cancer Research Fund got in touch with me, right? And they sent me an email and they are, and they said to me, could, because you read this out because they are actually in June the same month that your book is out. They're going to launch a campaign against misinformation, right, specifically into claims about cancer prevention. And they sent me this, I'm going to read out this kind of op-note that said,

in today's world, misinformation often spreads faster than the evidence. From viral miracle diets to misleading health hacks, the online world has become a breeding ground for confusion. Information about supplements, superfoods, restrictive diets and alcohol often contain a kernel of truth, but misleads by omission, exaggeration or falsehoods. These can divert attention from accurate information that can genuinely reduce cancer risk. Cancer prevention is not built on clicks, algorithms, health fads or bold promises. It's built on decades of carefully evaluated global research. The situation is becoming more worrying and it is already known that 87% of millennials and gen said users consult TikTok for health advice.

Over one third of popular cancer-related articles on social media contained false or inaccurate information. So they sent that over to me just to kind of highlight the kind of problem that they at the World Cancer Research Fund are facing in terms of tackling the huge amounts of misinformation out there. So it really undermines, I think, how crucial these conversations are. because a lot of companies are making a lot of money, I might say, out of very normal human fears and concerns about health. You know, it's understandable to be worried about cancer.

It's understandable to want to feel better, you know. And it should be said as well that you're not anti-supplements, are you? No, not at all. Tell me where supplements are useful. Yeah, absolutely. I think there's a few different ways in which you can think about it. So there's definitely like nutrients, for example, where we're often trying to fill a gap. Rarely do we often need more of a nutrient is kind of just meeting the needs that are sort of set by like guidelines from governments and things like that. But then you can also have supplements that helps you optimize, say like our

performance, like performance enhances. So they're not necessarily filling like a nutrient gap, but they may potentially have an edge, say if you're an athlete and you want to get a little bit more out of something. Like me. An athlete like me. An elite athlete like me. I saw your story the other day. Yeah.

Wow. I'm very impressed by how much you run. But yeah, absolutely. So people like you who maybe just want to get a little bit of an extra edge from maybe like a workout they're doing or like recovery. So supplements work then. But also people are, some people are deficient in certain supplements. Absolutely.

Or there might not even necessarily be that they're deficient on like a blood test. And you can't test for all deficiencies on a blood test, but there are some key ones. but it might be that they're not quite eating enough, so they're at risk of a deficiency if they continue doing that. So in those areas where we're underconsuming, it might be beneficial to look at food first. I mean, that would be my go-to because then you're getting the sort of plethora of other nutrients when you eat, you know, a food that's rich in certain vitamins and minerals, like magnesium, for example, harder to test on a blood test.

But if you have magnesium-rich foods, like pumpkin seeds, you're getting magnesium, but you're also getting fibre, healthy fats. zinc and a range of other vitamins and minerals as well. So you're sort of getting more bang for your buck. Okay. Right. So if you are someone who's like, no, briny, I don't care what you say, I want to buy supplements, right? And that is fine.

Do you know what I mean? Like it's totally cool if that's your decision. Yeah. What are the things to look out for? Okay. First of all, what are the green flags in supplements? The things that tell you that they are regulated, tested. So are there any kind of bodies or organisations that might be printed on the packaging that you can look out for that will tell you that these are legit supplements?

Yeah, absolutely. So I guess there's a few things that you can definitely look out for as a consumer. In the UK, we have that third party testing where basically a third party will come along and test the product. And what it will do is it will look at what ingredients are in the product and make sure that it's the same as what the label says. So that's what you want because then that helps to reduce the potential risk of getting things in there that you haven't paid for, you know. In worst case scenario, it could be like prescription medications or it could just be fillers and things that you don't necessarily need. So what is, should it say that this is third party tested on the label or is there like a stamp or something? Yeah, similar to both of those things, really. It would be almost like a logo on there. You should be able to find it on the website if you're buying it online, but also on the actual product itself.

and the two ones that you're looking for specifically are informed sport or informed choice. Because sometimes I've seen this maybe once or twice. It looks like there's third party testing on there from how they've kind of worded it. Yeah, worded it and it had logos on their product. But actually it hasn't specifically said informed choice or informed sports. So they're the main two in the UK, if you live in the US, there's other ones as well. But they're the main sort of two that I would look out for just to make sure that that product does contain what it does. And that's just about quality as well.

Okay. And do you know what the ones in the US are just in case we have any listeners who are traveling? Because I mean, I cannot be the only one who, when I go to America or Europe, I stock up on the old melatonin. Yeah. I'm not recommending. That is what anyone should do. It is just what I do. Okay. So in America, what are the stamps to look out for?

Yeah. So Consumer Labs, NSP, and D. DSF are some of the ones that we're looking out for in the US if you're looking for supplements with third party testing. Okay. So these are the things that tell you that at least what is in, what it says on the bottle is actually in the supplements. Yeah, that's right.

But it doesn't necessarily test for things like effectiveness. So it doesn't necessarily say that they've done their own clinical trials, for example. Okay. So it doesn't necessarily mean that the supplement will do what it's claimed to do. Yeah, like it has a correct dose for a. example is that's one factor, but then also, yeah, it's going to support you specifically as evidence by clinical trials. So like, yeah, okay, so if it claims this will make your skin glow, this will give you energy, that that stamp doesn't, doesn't confirm that. It just confirms

that what is in the bottle is what is in the bottle. Exactly right. Okay. And okay, so, and then in terms of like, and I think this is really interesting. So the red flags to look out for are, we mentioned earlier, products that make bold claims to health. Definitely, yeah. If you see a supplement bottle and it's claiming to, you know, completely get rid of your acne in four weeks, for example, that would be a red flag. Not always.

It doesn't necessarily mean that the product might not give you some sort of benefit. But that can sometimes be down to the placebo effect as well. Placebo effect is basically when you have expectations about a product. It's more likely to work, even if physiologically nothing's happening under the hood. And actually there's even some really interesting studies here where researchers have had two groups, both taking a placebo. But they've told one group, okay, this medication is 15,000 pounds is expensive. Then the other group, they've said, this medication is 100 pounds, is quite cheap. And just being told that information, even though both were a placebo and they had nothing in there that would change anything physiologically,

those in the 15,000 pounds medication group had much greater outcomes. They felt a lot better. and compared to those in say the ones where they were told this is products a bit cheaper. So fascinating, isn't it? Because I do think a lot of these supplements we are recommending to each other, you know, I definitely the amount of conversations I've had with friends where someone has said, and obviously we'll get into specific supplements in a moment, but where people have go, oh yeah, I take collagen and it's definitely made a difference to my skin, you know.

And actually, what do we, we don't know what else that person might be doing for those. you know, what their diet is, what the kind of skincare they're using is, you know, their movement, there are all sorts of things that can affect this as well. Yeah, absolutely. So many things. I mean, often, you know, if there's something within ourselves that we're thinking, okay, I might want to tweak this. As you say, you know, we often do more than one thing.

You know, we might start getting Botox, using a new cream. Yeah, that's definitely going to help your skin look better. Yeah. So definitely worth bearing a mind, yeah. Okay, so I am now going to go through my very big list of supplements. I cannot say that I've taken all of these, but probably about 80% of them. Oh my God, I am an absolute supplement sucker, Josie. Okay, so the big one, we're going to start with this one,

because this is one that disproportionately a lot of women feel that they have to take. because it might make them, you know, it might slow down aging and, you know, all those other things that we're supposed to do when actually aging's fucking great. Let's just accept, you know. Collagen. Yes, I knew you're going to start with that one. Yeah, we've got to start with collagen. So what is the evidence that collagen is going to make any difference to my skin? Yeah, I think the thing with collagen is that there is some interesting evidence out there. A lot of it is industry funded, which has been a critique lately online from a lot of people in the scientific space. And that is absolutely something that's worth bearing in mind.

Industry funded supplements are often actually, you know, they do have more bias behind them. They tend to report more positive results. But it doesn't mean that we dismiss them. It means we have to look at them more closely, which is why dietitians and nutritionists also. Also, no, well, who else is going to fund the research? Yeah, this is why we always say to people, you know, who else is going to fund it? I don't think, yeah, you know, someone from a hospital is going to come along and be like, yeah, we really need more collagen for our patients. Let's find this research. No, it's not happening.

So the industry of finding this research and, you know, what they tend to see is more positive results, which is not uncommon. But the results are really modest and they're not for all people. So, for example, we see that these studies are mainly done on women who have signs of aging, for example. So it might be women in their 50s, for example. Less so seen on men, but it doesn't mean that they might not see any benefits. Who knows? But that's what the research shows. And it's very modest. It might be benefits and things like hydro. and elasticity. But it's not going to be the same as, say, maybe getting some skin treatments done or

using SBF, drinking lots of water, eating a balanced diet, moving, stress, stopping or reducing alcohol and smoking, for example, which can damage our skin, things like collagen and elastin. So that is something to bear in mind. You know, you can try it. There is some evidence for it, but don't have such high expectations around it, I think, as well. And like you said earlier, you know, we can definitely be doing other things alongside it.

it. We're starting to feel like actually our skin's looking different. And then, yeah, absolutely, we might be trying additional things too. So how do we know, okay, was it the collagen or was it the fact that I'm just taking care of, you know, my skin-free skincare as well? Okay. But collagen, there's lots of bold claims about collagen, aren't there? But it's not just skin. What are the other things that people might be taking it for? Yeah. So joint health and also. Yeah, can I just say, as a middle-aged runner, I definitely like top up on the old collagen when I, I'm marathon training.

Is there any point to me doing that? Yeah, and that's a really interesting use as well. I think it can kind of, I guess, overlap with joint benefits as well, which is more so around arthritis and things like that. But we are seeing it more so used in sport as well for things like recovery too. And I think there is a use for it. But again, it's a supplement. The most important thing for sport is going to be getting enough protein,

getting a range of those amino acids that you get that make up protein from a range of different protein-rich foods, not just eating the same thing. all the time. That's going to be your gold standard. But then actually adding in some collagen may definitely have a benefit for some people. But again, it's quite early evidence. So you could try it and experiment with it. But it's not going to be as important as some of those heavy lifters, like eating enough protein, getting the carbohydrates, which I think people don't talk about that much. Take it either running, you know, you need those carbohydrates to replenish your glycogen and help you recover ultimately. And also support things like your immune system as well, which can be

impacted by doing such sport. So is it it's yay or nay to spending money on collagen, yay or nay? I would say mainly nay. Mainly nay. Yeah. Okay. Mainly nay until there's more evidence. Something that you can experiment with if you're doing everything else first, like getting enough protein in your diet because ultimately collagen is made of protein, particularly amino acid, like proline and lysine. So you're getting enough of those in your diet, great. Also, you know, think about your skin, your joints and your recovery. Maybe they don't necessarily need something additional but then maybe actually you're doing okay with that. So take a bit of an order as to how you feel as well.

Don't just be tempted to jump on the bandwagon, which I think a lot of people can be, you know, yeah, tempted to do really. Okay. Right. The next one, which is similarly banged on about as collagen, creatine. Yes. First of all, what is creatine?

Yeah, so creatine is something that we essentially can take in our body and it helps to give our muscles this a burst of energy, which is why we see it a lot mentioned in, like, the exercise space and things like. building muscle. Okay. So in what way would creatine be beneficial? Yeah. So, I mean, if you're someone that regularly works out, for example, and you have quite high intense bursts of exercise, that could be, you know, lifting weights where you're moving the weight up and down. It's like a short burst of exercise, even sprinting and even like racket sports and things like that,

where you're having those bursts of energy. That can be an area where actually creating when taken regularly. So you definitely need to make sure you take it regularly. That will help you potentially get a little bit more out of that sport that you're doing. And over time, that can help you with obviously your performance, and that maybe you might get better at it as well. And obviously, if it's things like weights, it might mean you're getting those extra few reps in that might help you so with like muscle gain over time. But again, it's just one thing within the toolbox. The main thing is going to be actually doing the exercise regularly and and consistently enough. Protein is going to be really important, obviously. Rest.

I think people underestimate the importance of rest for letting your muscles recover and things like that as well, getting you ready for the sport the next day so you have the energy and things like that. And you know, stress management as well, other habits that really are important there. Okay. Hang on. So it's a supplement for people who are training hard. Training hard, yeah, definitely.

It can be really helpful. There is some evidence that it can also be useful in periods of rest where maybe you might be slightly injured as well and maybe not using your muscles as much. There is some evidence in that area too. So it's a pretty safe one to take for most people, to be honest with you. It's not like a nutrient that we necessarily eat in our diet. It's quite hard to get enough creatine from food, for example. So it's less about like a deficiency, for example.

So it's one of those performance enhances, as I mentioned earlier, but the two different types of supplements that you can get. Okay. And why would women be taking it? Because I see there are lots of companies who kind of promote it towards perimenopals or women. In what benefit could creatine have for a peri menopause or woman? Yeah, I'm definitely seeing that more and more as well. So it's similar really. For women that are like paramedopause or going through menopause, postmenopause. Because of the shifts in hormones that we have, we are more likely to lose muscle, for example, and even impact things like our bone as well. So actually, the recommendation for women at this life stage is to do more resistance training. So putting their muscles under progressive overload and training them in that way and all of their muscle groups. So that's really important to help protect the muscle alongside protein. But creating,

could be that additional edge to help women maintain that muscle health a little bit better. But again, it really comes after those two habits. It's not like a replacement by any means. It's a supplement. Okay. So creatine is maybe a yay? I would say creatine is mainly a yay for most people. As long as you're doing that activity, that really comes first. Okay. Right. If you're not doing any activity, there's really no point taking it. Well, there is some preliminary evidence coming out for like cognition and brain health,

but I still think it's quite early days. It's mainly in those that are quite chronically stressed, for example, and older adults. So I think the research is really interesting. There was a study recently done in perimenopause, or it might be premenopause. But yeah, menopause are women in that sort of life stage. There's a recent study that came out. But again, it's still quite preliminary. Well, interesting, I wouldn't say it's a blanket recommendation for all women.

Okay. And you can't get creatine. There isn't a food-first approach to creatine. So it isn't actually something that you can just get. get from your diet. So if you do want to be supporting your muscle health, then actually it is a good supplement to take. Well, you definitely can get it in your diet, but it's really hard to get the same amount that we would get, say, a supplement through food. So you would need to consume a lot of food. What would you have to consume a lot of? It would really be, for example, like lots of

meat, lots of animal-based products. And a lot more than what you would say get in three meals a day. So it would be, yeah. Fast amounts. Yeah. Terrible for the environment. Okay. Right. Right, I'm going to, this is a kind of a broad category of supplements, and that is adaptogens. What are adaptogens? Yeah. So adaptogens are really most commonly used to help our body in terms of things like stress. So they're sort of herbs that people can take.

And there's different types. I think some of the most common ones that people talk about are like Rodola, for example, and ashwaganda. There's some of the more popular ones. And macca as well, sometimes seen in some like blends and things. things like that for supplements. So they're the ones that are most commonly spoken about. And they've been around for a long time. So it's not like these are really new supplements, although some of the evidence is sort of newer, they've actually been around and been used for a long time. And there is some evidence for some of them, more so than other ones. So the ones that are

most commonly seen in evidence with some moderate evidence behind them are Ashwaganda, for example, and they're Rodola. So they are the ones that I think had the more evidence behind them in terms of reducing things like stress and even hormones like cortisol, for example, which we commonly obviously associate with stress. But it has a lot of different roles in the body as well from like helping us with energy productions. We feel more alert and things like that. But it's not for all people again. It's really just for specific groups of people.

So those who maybe have more chronic stress. And again, it can also be with insomnia and things like that as well. The more common sort of groups where you see this research being conducted. So it's not to say that it's going to help everyone. And it could also be, again, that these people also do other things as well to navigate their stress that they might be experiencing. And we don't always know necessarily if people have like unregulated cortisol in the first place. That's quite a rare thing for people to have. It's not that common.

So it's not necessary. It's definitely worth thinking about other things in your life that you could be focusing on first. If you are taking it for stress, you know, maybe thinking about sleep. That can be definitely an area where it can impact our stress tolerance day to day. diet can also play a role as well. You know, if we're leaving long gaps in between meals, we're not eating really nourishing foods, carbohydrates that give us that nice steady energy, as our blood sugars are really important for helping us keep

more energetic throughout the day, like helping to keep our emotional energy more steady, for example, and our mental energy. So those are some of the sort of heavy lifters that I would think about first before resorting to an adaptogen, like one of those. Okay, so can I ask you? And this is a kind of general thing. as a woman, I see a lot of supplements that claim to be able to like regulate or help hormone health. So people use words like cortisol and talk about hormones and estrogen and progesterone and testosterone and all these other things.

And they use these words and it gives them an air of authority. But there's a bit of my brain going, this sounds like a load of bollocks. What is your view on supplements that claim to be able to improve your hormone health? Yeah, this is a really interesting one. And actually, there's been a number of cases where supplement companies have released supplements that claim to balance hormones. And often they've been taken off the shelves from like advertising agencies from where they've made unrealistic claims. And I really think balancing hormones is such a simplistic way of thinking about our hormones

because really the very nature of supplements is that they work on hormones, stasis. So what that means is that they try not to stay too high or too low. They're kind of say regulated throughout daily rhythms or even monthly rhythms when you think about like our menstrual cycle, for example, right, for those who are menstruating. So yeah, they have their own rhythm anyway. There's nothing really we need to be doing additionally if our, you know, we're not living with any conditions, endocrine conditions like diabetes, for example, which involves like our insulin. There's nothing really we need to be doing to help balance or, you know, control that process that's already tightly controlled in the body.

Right. Yes, there are things that we can do that help all hormones that will get along with that job. So I guess create the environment that allows them to work best. And that can be, you know, simple things, for example, like respecting our circadian rhythm. So that is basically these rhythms that our body has over the day where certain hormones maybe work best. I've got insulin is more sensitive in the morning. That's a hormone that helps us really absorb and make the most of nutrients from our food. And it's less sensitive in the evening.

So trying to eat more of your food earlier in a day, for example, and not about fasting or anything like that, but those little shifts in how you eat may help your hormones just do their job a little bit better, for example. Well, not always feasible for everyone, you know, if you're doing a nice shift. Those little shifts, if feasible, may help in terms of things like your hormone balancing.

But supplements really are less likely to be shifting the needle there. Okay, so no. No. Okay. Right. And so it is aptogens, some yay, others nay. Yeah. Yay to Ashwaganda and Rodella.

For certain people. For certain people. Again, it's like, it's very like, I can tell you're trying to be diplomatic here. Yeah, this is a thing, you know. With supplements, there's no one size fits all. I think there's always like a nuance, like a middle ground between the yay and the nay, where actually there might be some evidence for some people. But there are definitely somewhere as a very strong nay.

Okay. Right. Let's go. Let's move on because this is quite a long list. Amiga 3. Yes, Omega 3. I love Amiga 3. Oh, this is actually...

And this is kind of almost similar to the fibre conversation. We're actually so many people are not consuming fiber. Similarly, what we know when we look at surveys of how people eat in the UK, a lot of them are not eating enough Amiga 3s. And that's because we mainly get them in... fish, like oily fish. So salmon, trout, mackerel, those sorts of fish. And actually, a lot of people in the UK are not consuming those foods. So we need roughly sort of two portions a week to get our omega three in. And yeah, people are just not really consuming that amount of omega three. So actually

having an omega three can be quite a nice way to fill that gap for a lot of people. So you can get it also in like plant-based foods. It's called ALA. And you can get that in nuts and seeds and things like like walnuts, for example. But when we consume those foods, our body doesn't make as much as what we need in terms of like the active forms. So it's yay to omega three. It's yay to omega three unless you're consuming two portions of oily fish a week consistently. Because more isn't better.

Yeah. More is not better. No, you just need to meet your needs. There's no real evidence that taking more omega three is going to give you an additional benefit. Okay, because I want to know anyone listening or watching at home who is like me, who I always go for the absolute, the strongest one. I'm like, I want the strongest, you know, that's the kind of, but that I don't need to be doing that.

Not necessarily, no. You can take the stronger form if you feel like you're not eating enough oily fish, for example, but for the most part it's not really necessary unless you've been prescribed it by your dietitian or, you know, your registered nutritionist for a specific reason. Like, for example, a high supplement amygic three can be used sometimes for certain conditions, but again, it would be on a very individually, an individual case-by-case basis. Okay.

Vitamin B, obviously, I don't need that because I'm peeing that one out in the night. Vitamin B, there's lots of different vitamin Bs. Tons. Okay. So is this one that you should be taking if you have a blood test and you're shown to be deficient? Yeah, so it can be the case. So it depends because some B vitamins are quite hard to test on a blood test.

So, for example, if you're tested for B12, it needs to be like the active form of vitamin B12. But vitamin B12 is quite commonly underconsumed for certain groups of people. So like vegans, for example, not always a case. Some really well-planned vegan diets can have enough vitamin B12, for example. But it can be harder to get just because we find vitamin B12, for example, and lots of different animal-based foods. Whereas for the other B vitamins, they can be found in lots of different foods. So that can be, for example, like whole grains, or it can be.

be like dairy as well. Certain like fish, for example, tuna can be really high in things like niacin, which is a B vitamin as well. So because there's so many different B vitamins, the best way to really get them all is by having a varied diet with all of these different food groups contained. So it's a sort of in the middle, yay, no. The only one I would really worry the most about would B12 for like vegans, for example, who may struggle to get that through their diet.

You can do it for your diet if you're having things like nutritional yeast or fortified products like plant-based alternatives and milk that have it. in there, which essentially are almost like adding that vitamin in any way, like you would get in a supplement. And then folic acid, which is really important for women that are planning to, you know, trying to get pregnant, for example, and are already pregnant. So you should take it before and during. Okay. So yeah, there are some places where supplementation is appropriate. So it's people with deficiencies, but also pregnant women. Certain life stages, definitely. Yeah. And B12 can also be really useful for older adults, just because as we get

older, there's something in our stomach that helps us absorb B12 basically from food so we can use it in our body. And as we get older, that tends to get lost. So actually some people who are slightly older to help with that absorption can benefit from injections that bypass digestion and go straight into the blood. Okay. Woof. Right. Vitamin C, I have a feeling that the answer to this is going to be, nay, don't need this. Yeah, vitamin C is an interesting one. You know, you can definitely get it quite easily through food, particularly fruits and vegetables, not even, you know, having loads in a day. A portion or two can sometimes be more than enough.

There are some cases, like if you can feel a cold coming on, where vitamin C can be useful in supplements that has been shown to potentially reduce the duration of a cold. But equally, you can get vitamin C quite easily through food. So if you're starting to fill under the weather, having a really nice red pepper soup really high in vitamin C, can also be a way of getting that in without turning to supplements. So it's not essential by any means. you can always experiment with it. If you're someone who suffers with colds a lot and things like that.

But again, it's not essential. Okay. Vitamin D. Yes, vitamin D. Another one that I love. But again, it is very contextual. It depends on, like, for example, where you are in a year. So in the UK, it's recommended that everyone takes a vitamin D.

And that's because we don't get lots of sunlight. And our main way of getting vitamin D in our body is through the sun. And we can't really get it so easily through food. Some foods, yes, but they're normally sort of, fortified foods and things like that. So it's not as easy to get free food. So the recommendation in the UK is during the darker months for everyone to be taking a vitamin D supplement.

But you don't have to do it in the summer. You don't have to do it in the summer. But if you are someone who has darker skin, and then actually you might need more than someone who say has lighter skin where actually they can get more vitamin D from the sun. So for some groups of people with certain ethnic backgrounds with darker skin, they might benefit from having a vitamin D throughout the year.

So it's definitely worth considering on a case-by-case basis. equally as well, even with sort of light to skin, if you're someone who doesn't get outside much, sort of strapped to a desk even in the summer, then, you know, you could consider it. Yeah, it is a lot of us. There's no harm in taking it as almost like an insurance policy, but it is a fat soluble vitamin.

So if you take too much, then it can potentially be toxic in the body as well. Really? Yeah, so look at the dose when you're taking that as well as things at third-party testing. Okay, so you don't need to take masses of it. You don't need to take masses of it. I think it's 10 micrograms in the UK is a,

a general recommendation through those darker months. For example, you could carry that sort of similar amount on throughout the rest of the year. But you will see some that use more than that, but that's not necessary. Unless, again, yeah, describe it like your dietitian for a specific reason. Now, here's one that I hear a lot about in menopause circles, as if this is something we chat about.

Black cohosh. Am I pronouncing that right? Yes, yes, you are pronouncing that right. So I definitely see that a lot as well in the same space, in this life stage for women for sure. And I think the thing is what we see in research is that it can help with some symptoms of menopause for some women, for sure. But it's not something that necessarily shifts your hormones.

There's not lots of evidence to say, for example, that it influences things like estrogen and progesterone. So for some women who have certain symptoms, it may help with things like hot flushes, for example. But it's not something that is guaranteed. Again, it's something you can experiment with, but there's not tons of evidence. So it's a nay. It's mainly a nay, yeah, I would say.

Yeah, absolutely. Biotin. I hear about that one lot. People whang on about that for skin, nails, hair. Yeah or no? So biotin's an interesting one. It's one of those B vitamins. When we have biotin, it's really essential for lots of different processes in the body,

including things like maintaining our hair, skin and nails. And the thing is, if we're not getting enough in our diet, it could potentially impact things like our hair, skin and nails, for sure. and make them weaker and grow less and things like that. But a lot of us are actually getting enough biotin in our diet. So similar as a vitamin C, if you're having a well-rounded diet, then the likelihood is that you're consuming enough anyway. If you have a deficiency, it totally makes sense to top that up,

but not that common. Okay, no. Okay, here's one that I'm hearing more and more about, and you're going to have to explain what it is, but N-M-M-Ns. Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes.

So, what's not, that is not the official title. What are they? Yeah, so NMM is definitely coming around a lot more recently. I think there was actually like an episode of the Kardashians where Kendall was getting some injections down. And I think since then they've really become even more popular. What are NMS? So NM, so it is nicotinamide mononuclearide. That's why they call them NM.

That's why they call them NM. So the theory is that. Essentially, when we take NMMs, they work on certain pathways that can support us in terms of things like longevity. So as we get older, for example, it can impact things like levels of NAD in our body. And when we take NM, the theory is that in essence, it can help us with some of those pathways and help us to, I guess, age better and age more slowly. However, the research is very much really solely in animals. Yeah, in animals. Because when we think about longevity studies anyway, they're very high.

hard to conduct in humans, particularly like control trials because they would cost so much money to follow someone over their lifespan, right? So when we think about longevity studies, they're normally looking at observational studies that follow groups of people for a long time, like in the blue zones, for example, like Mediterranean diets. So that's not to say that that research isn't useful, it definitely is. But when we're thinking about supplements, but we really want to see those randomized control trials, and that's really hard to do in terms of some of the benefits that people are seeking from NMM supplements. So, you know, we're not going to be following humans and control trials until the end of their life and seeing, okay, did they live longer? You know,

we don't necessarily have like a twin to compare to, for example, to see one that didn't take NM. Did they live less for less years, for example? So it's very much taking a bit of a bet there with NM's. I would say it's something that right now, interesting area for sure in terms of the mechanisms, but it's not something that I would recommend for people. Okay. It's a nay. Yeah, and it's very expensive as well. Very expensive. Very, very expensive. El-glutamine, what does that do?

I see that one around a lot. Yeah, that one's been really popular, particularly in the gut health space. The gut health space. It's a big space. It's a big community of gut health. Absolutely. It's been super popular there as well, sometimes just called glutamine, but al-gutamine is also what it can be called.

In essence, what this is, is it's an amino acid. But we get different types of amino acids and these make up protein. We get some that we need to get in our diet, so they're essential. Then we get some that are non-essential because our body actually makes enough of these. And glutamine sits in that non-essential group. So we can also get it from food, but we don't necessarily need to. There are instances where our body might be under more stress, or actually we use more of that glutamine up to say repair elements of our body,

like tissues, for example, like maybe we have a burn. But for most of us day-to-day, we're not using up enough of that glutamine to really warrant having a supplement. And actually we can get it quite easy from food anyway, even though we don't necessarily need to. And actually, there was a really good systematic review, which compare lots of different studies, which basically just gives it more power. And what we see from that is those that were taking glutamine didn't actually see necessarily the benefits that are claimed online. To things like improving bloat, for example, and other gut symptoms like gut lining is often referenced for a lot of these things.

It didn't see necessarily massive improvements there either. So I would say it's not one that we need to take. It can be useful in like a hospital setting when done through IV, but that's not, you know, the everyday person who's wanting to do it. You will be in hospital, so you will know if you need to be taking it. Okay, so, but on this, probiotics, I mean, this is a huge thing that lots and lots and lots of people take and lots and lots of people spend lots and lots of money every month on. Absolutely. So what is your view on probiotics? Yeah, probiotics are a really interesting one.

And there's like no two probiotics, I guess, are the same. I think my main issue with some probiotic supplements is actually the very definition of a probiotic is that it needs to be tested to have a benefit in the body when consumed in adequate amounts. And a lot of probiotic supplements haven't done necessarily the research on their own combination of strains that it might have in that capsule, that powder, or whatever it is that they're using. So we don't know of actually it's even technically a probiotic by definition. So that's some of the... issues that I'm seeing with probiotic supplements that are using that name incorrectly.

Really? Yeah, that's one issue. But there are definitely lots of really great probiotic companies out there. Could you name a few of them so that people know what are legit probiotics and what are a load of bollocks? So what you're really looking for is a company that's done their own clinical trials on their own product, ideally. And there's definitely a number out there that have done that. So for example, like BioCult is one that has some research behind it, Simprew, which has done rounds recently, I think, on social media. It's quite popular. And that's another one that's also

had some evidence behind it. And there's a number of other ones as well, to be honest with you. So there is still some out there that you can get on the shelves quite readily available. Just check that they've had clinical trials. Check that they have clinical trials. And also check when you're taking a probiotic that you've got the right one for the right outcome that you're wanting to work on in essence, because there's not a probiotic for everything. There's only really a small few select conditions where actually there's evidence that this probiotic will give the specific outcome. So, you know, not everyone needs a probiotic. We don't necessarily need one for everyday health. There's not a lot of evidence to suggest that. Of course, you can try if we

really want to, but it might not be the biggest investment that you can make for your health, really, or the best investment. Right. Okay. So it's a nay. It's a nay for them for specific scenarios when you have the right supplement and you take it properly. So if you have very specific kind of gut health issues, say that then it might be, you know, a good idea. Absolutely. But if you're just looking for general sort of wellness and

improvement, because we hear so much about like the gut brain axis, then maybe not so much. Absolutely, yeah. It's not worth taking for general everyday use, but yeah, if you have a specific need, like for example, antibiotic resistant diarrhea, or if you take antibiotics

and you take a supplement alongside it, that can reduce your risk of diarrhea, for example. Certain conditions with children, for example. Another one, IBS. There can be some supplements that are useful. Okay. Right, so I'll chuck that out then. Has I'm reading out this list. I'm like, God, there's so many. Because I was thinking there's some I've missed off the list. And I'm like, fucking hell. We're just going for the main ones here, right? CoQ10. What is that? Do I need it? Yeah, CoQ10 has been around again for a while. And it has been studied in a few research

studies. And I think it does have some evidence behind it. I think one of its main mechanisms is helping with things like reducing inflammation. So it can help in more inflammatory conditions, for example. I've seen some evidence with like migraines as well. Again, it's not to say that this is really strong evidence that helps everyone. But if you've tried everything, then you could try it in certain conditions to help in some cases. Yeah. So yay, if you are struggling with the risk. Yeah, I'd say it's definitely not essential. But if you tried everything, there is some evidence for some people that it may have a benefit. Okay. I, having had alopecia, in the past, I'm often recommended this by just people on the street who,

who don't my doctors or anyone like that, but people go, oh, selenium. Selenium. Yeah, I mean, selenium is something that you can really quite easily get through food. And again, it's one of those ones where actually more isn't better. So I would say with selenium, turn to food first, because you can definitely get it through food. Like, for example, Brazil nuts are a really good source of selenium. Also, you don't need many Brazil nuts. You need like two Brazil nuts and you get your daily selenium.

So I really never recommend selenium as a supplement ever. As an absolute big fat, nay, go and get two Brazil nuts. That's it. I love that fact. It's like, okay, I will not be spending that money. Okay, we can move swiftly on from selenium then. Okay, what about greens powders? Because there are a lot of brands out there.

that claim you take this in the morning and you are going to look like Kendall Jenner. Oh yeah. I'm seeing this a lot. People are drinking or maybe less so recently, but I've definitely seen this in the past where people are sipping their greens powders on social media and they're showing their flat stomach. But funny enough, they also have a discount code in their bio. And it just makes me cringe every time. Does it? Yeah. There are so many cringe things. Yes. And the thing is with greens powders, is it's not like one formula that everyone follows and does the same thing, right? Everyone has their own version of a Greens formula, so some might contain more of this, less of that.

So it's really hard to standardise, I guess, when you're thinking of, like, research on greens powders. So there's really not much out there. And they can be really expensive. I think the main reason that people take them is to help fill the gap if they're not eating enough, like, fruits and vegetables. But actually, they rarely ever contain the equivalent of one portion of fruits and vegetables in them. So it's a very expensive way to get very little in terms of that side of taking it. Some of them can also contain other things in there, like there's certain enzymes, for example, that have been shown to potentially be useful for things like constipation,

but often they don't contain enough of them. So greens powders could often be what's called a proprietary blend, where basically they've got lots of different things in there. We don't know how much of them. So the main thing, if you're taking any supplement, is that it's got the right dose, evidence to give you that benefit that you're after and we can't guarantee that with a lot of these greens powders. I think if people are filling any benefits, it could be down to that placebo that we discussed

earlier or simply if you're having another glass of water, hydration can really help with your digestion. So the free water that you used from the tap to put your greens powders in is the thing that is making you feel better. I often say that's probably, yeah, the thing that you could try first is have more water. Okay, well, it's a big fat nature greens powders. Speaking of hydration and at the life of briny, we are obsessed with staying hydrated and we have been having this conversation. We want to know, Josie, do we need to be taking electrolytes?

Oh yeah, that's a really popular one at the moment. So I'm seeing electrolytes pop up everywhere. Everywhere. Everyone's got like a supplement, an extract brand at the moment. And with lots of different types of electrolytes being, I guess, recommend. I've even seen some being recommended for like sitting at your desk, which is just bonkers to me. So I guess electrolytes, what are they? Let's start there. So electrolytes are things like your sodium, chloride, magnesium, potassium. There's salts basically. Yeah, you know, the minerals, yeah.

So you could literally just put some salt and some water and get the effect that you is needed. Well, yeah, this is a thing. I think, you know, a lot of these supplements have all of these different electrolytes in them. But actually when we're thinking about why we take electrolytes, often it's because we're being active, we're sweating. we're using up more because when we sweat, we lose more of these things. But the main one that we lose is sodium by far. Then we lose much smaller amounts and then chloride. And then smaller amounts of things like potassium and very negligible amounts of the other ones, really. So we don't even necessarily need to have more like potassium, for example.

And when we think about chloride and sodium, they're combined together anyway in table salt. And table salt is so cheap. So, you know, yeah. And many of us are consuming too much salt in the UK anyway, way above really. the recommendations. So for a lot of people, you don't necessarily need to be adding more of that. You're probably guessing enough. Unless you're someone that has quite like a clean diet, eating lots of whole foods, consciously trying to reduce your salt intake, then yes, absolutely thinking about your sodium is a good idea because we do need some. And particularly if you're

sweating a lot, you're using more up, you're losing more, then it is worth thinking about. But do we need an everyday electrolyte supplement? Absolutely not. And even if you are active, even if you are active, you can get that sodium just through food. So are a packet of McCoy's Cris. A packet of McCoy's Cris. I have got the dietitian to recommend instead of electrolytes after intense exercise, have a packet of McCoy's Cris. Some carbs in there too.

I mean. Ah, exactly. Not enough. You know, you'll need more. But it's no harm. Definitely that can make you feel a little bit better after I run alongside a good tall glass of water. Yeah. Well, I have to say, I do use electrolytes when I've been, like, while I'm running.

I have them in my water thing because at the weekend I had to run 15 miles so then it was sensible and then I'll have them after just to give me the illusion of hydration Yeah, and they definitely have a place I too would also use electrolytes mainly in the summer because I sweat so much when I run

But I definitely love salt in my food So I know I don't need enough But they can definitely be really convenient And like you say during running We're actually longer runs I can like if I If I lick my skin, I can taste the salt on it. It's disgusting.

I love it. So if you're doing the right types of exercise, 100%. 100%. I am into them. But yeah, they're not essential either. Okay. Right. It's a big fat, no to electrolytes, everybody.

Have some McCoy's crisps and a glass of water. Okay. This is the health advice we want. Okay. Apple cider vinegar. Yeah. I'm seeing a lot of that. at the moment.

ACV. Yeah, ACV. ACV. ACV. Yeah, I think there's a certain goddess that has made it quite popular. Yeah, certain goddess. A certain goddess. Not our goddess.

You're our goddess recommending crisps. So, I mean, ACV, I mean, great in dressings, taste great. And, you know, it's got acetic acid in there. I'm just going to say, I'm just going to respectfully disagree with you on the point that it tastes great, Josie. Well, if you use it as a food, which it can definitely. Like if you use it in like a good dressing, I think it's fine. Just like, you know, red wine vinegar or only vinegar, really, right? But I think using it as a supplement isn't necessary. I think there's really not evidence for the supplementation of ACV. And actually, if you're taking like just the liquid, because you can get it in gummy forms, but you can also take it just as a liquid. If you take it as a liquid, it's not going to be great for your teeth. You're dentee. So I'm going to thank you for that. It can be really acidic on your animal, animal and things like that. So not necessarily. There's really not evidence that ACV is going to.

to give you any of these really grand gut health benefits. So definitely not. And it's also quite acidic. So if you're someone who suffers with reflux, it might also be uncomfortable for you as well. Okay. The last one, turmeric. Turmeric. Yes. So turmeric is an interesting one. I think there is some evidence for turmeric for some people in some scenarios. Who are the people that there is evidence for it? Yeah. So turmeric has this active ingredient called curcumin within it. And it's a Curcumin itself, that is what's beneficial. So it's not the turmeric, it's the curcumin. Yeah, that is the active ingredient that you tend to see in these supplements.

And it might be perver things like peppering, which is basically black pepper, really, and that helps with the absorption. So that's one way of getting it. So you can use turmeric and food, but you might not get quite as high the concentrations that you would say in a supplement. So it can have some uses. That's one of the cases where actually the supplement better than the food. Yeah, depending on what.

what you're trying to get from it. You know, not everyone necessarily needs to have lots of curcumin in their diet. There's no harm to that really either in terms of like real food, getting it from real food. It's hard to get too much. But it can have a benefit in terms of things like recovery from exercise. There are some people that use it for that and see some benefits there. You can also see it, for example, when reducing like inflammation in certain conditions where there might be more inflammation involved as well. So some people might experiment with that. Again, it's not essential, but it's a nice one that some people will experiment with in some cases and they see some benefits there too. So, yeah, you can definitely get it from food, but in some specific scenarios, some people might get some benefits from taking a turkicumin.

Okay. So in summary, to summarize, the ones that are like, yay, woo, do this are Amiga 3. Omega 3, yeah, definitely. Vitamin D in the winter. Mm-hmm. And that's basically it. They're the main ones, yeah, I would say it. Oh, creatine, if you're working out loads. Yeah, I think if you're working out, again, with those cognitive and brain benefits,

we're starting to see more in studies, that's one to watch, but I don't think it's essential. So, yeah, if you're working out, that would be the main use for creatine, I think, right now. Okay, so I hope that everyone listening at home is feeling a lot better about their health right now. Or maybe they're feeling worse because they're thinking, oh, fuck, I've been spending all this money on this stuff that isn't actually, doesn't actually have any evidence. But in summary, what we're looking for, and you make this point, which I think is really crucial, and I think is a really great bit of advice for anyone who wants to go on a supplementation

journey, which is look for proof, not promises. Yeah. Yeah. You said, that's the thing, isn't it? Yeah, look for proof, not promises, and not necessarily just on their label either, because, of course,

that's often really clever marketing to try and get you to buy the product. That's the whole point, right? So don't just take the label as, like, Bible, I guess. Try and look to other sources. Like, you know, there might be dietitians that you trust online and registered nutritionists

that maybe talk about supplements. You can, you know, see if they've got any resources online. Sometimes the NHS website has some resources or the British Dietetic Association or the BDA. And the UK has some resources on supplements as well. If you're also someone who's taking them more for like sport and performance, which is really common,

the Australian Institute of Sport have really good infographics on a number of supplements and when they can be most useful. Okay, interesting. So the performance enhances sort of thing. Fabulous. Josie, thank you so much. How not to take supplements is out in June. And that also features loads of really easy,

cheap, just recipes that will fulfill all of your vitamin and mineral needs, basically, doesn't it? Absolutely. And it's really all about the pattern over time. But the more you consume of those foods more often, of course, there is room for indulgences and more of the foods that are less healthy. There is definitely room for that. If you're, you know, getting those nutrients in through real food, most often that's, yeah, the great way to go. So in short, eat more food, take fewer supplements. You're going to be fine. Absolutely. Thank you, Josie. Thank you. Thank you, Josie, for such a clear, no-nonsense conversation about supplements and why our health isn't something we can fix with a single pill,

and nor should it be, quite frankly. I'd love to know which supplements you're now questioning and what small tweaks you're inspired to make. Come and tell me over on Instagram at at Life of Briney Pod. Josie will be back on Friday for a very special bonus episode. of the life of you, where she is going to be sharing her three things that she thinks are crucial for quote, unquote, wellness. In the meantime, don't forget to subscribe, follow rate and rave about us to your friends, because it really does help, but most of all, keep being you. I just wanted to let you know that next week, we are going to be taking a break to devour some chocolate eggs, so we'll be back on the 13th of April with another brilliant guest.

Thank you.