Do You Need To Take Supplements?
Article by Rhiannon Lambert, BSc MSc RNutr
At Rhitrition+ we support a ‘food first’ approach, but we are here when you need a helping hand. Rhiannon has always advocated in the Rhitrition clinic that as long as a healthy, balanced diet is consumed, which should provide sufficient vitamins, minerals, fibre and other bioactive compounds, most people should not need to take dietary supplements. This includes eating a variety of fruit, vegetables, grains, pulses, legumes, nuts and seeds.
“At Rhitrition+, we believe passionately in a ‘food first’ philosophy”
What does taking supplements mean?
Dietary supplement is an umbrella term that covers everything from minerals and vitamins to botanicals. The supplement market has become heavily saturated and consumers are often taking multiple supplements, when actually most of us don’t need to. However, the Department of Health and Social care recommends that certain groups of people should take certain vitamins due to their risk of deficiency. If this is the case you will need to supplement your diet so that your body can reach the required levels of vitamins or minerals, helping to aid your health. This supplementation will almost certainly be required on a daily basis, with a minimum dosage of the desired vitamin or minerals and can be taken in various forms.
Should you wish to discuss your nutrition and dietary goals in more detail the Rhitrition clinic can help with bespoke advice in one-to-one sessions.
Support Healthy Muscles, Teeth & Bones
Vitamin D is produced under our skin when we are exposed to sunlight. However, in the UK, the sun’s rays are only strong enough for vitamin D production in the summer months (April to September). Vitamin D can be found in a number of foods, such as oily fish, eggs and fortified foods like cereals but it is difficult to get enough from this alone. Therefore in the remaining half of the year everyone needs to use a 10ug Vitamin D supplement, such as Rhitrition+ Vitamin D, over the autumn and winter months.
Some people are at a higher risk of deficiency, such as those with darker skin or wearing clothing that cover their skin and elderly people who don’t go outside often. If this is applicable to you then it is advised that you supplement with 10ug Vitamin D all year round.
By supplementing with Vitamin D during the autumn and winter months alongside naturally in April-September this will help your body regulate the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the body which are needed for healthy bones, muscles and teeth. This will aid muscle strength, protect against rickets and osteomalacia as well as supporting the immune system.
Protecting Your Baby
Folate (Vitamin B9) is needed for the healthy development of your baby’s red blood cells, the body’s nervous system and is also important for the development of our DNA. When planning a pregnancy and in early pregnancy, folate, together with its synthetic form folic acid, is important for egg quality and to prevent neural tube defects in babies. The neural tube forms the early part of the brain and spine within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and problems in these preliminary stages of development can result in spinal conditions such as spina bifida.
We can all get sources of this from our diet which includes spinach, lean beef, black-eyed beans, rice, asparagus, and fortified foods. But evidence-based research has shown folic acid supplementation can reduce the risk of birth defects such as spina bifida. Therefore a 400ug daily folic acid supplement, such as Rhitrition+ Folic Acid Spray, is recommended for females that are pregnant, could get pregnant or are trying for a baby. The advice states that this should be taken up until 12 weeks of pregnancy and ideally it should be taken before you fall pregnant, so start taking it as soon as you stop using contraception.
Keep Healthy On A Vegan Diet
Along with vitamin D, those who follow a vegan or a plant-based diet also need to be mindful of their vitamin and mineral intake as these can often be low, common ones to look out for include iron, vitamin B12, selenium and iodine.
Vitamin B12 is extremely important for our energy metabolism but the only reliable sources of vitamin B12 are fortified foods, nutritional yeast and supplements.
A lack of iron can lead to an iron deficiency with symptoms including tiredness, lack of energy, shortness of breath and pale skin, vegan sources include legumes, tofu, seeds and pulses.
Selenium helps the immune system work properly, as well as in reproduction and plant sources of this mineral include grains, seeds and nuts.
Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of preventable mental impairment, the amount found is actually dictated by the content in the soil so it is an important nutrient to always consider in your diet. Seaweed is often thought of as a good source, but the iodine content is extremely variable, sometimes even too high, so the advice is not to consume sea vegetables more than once a week and dairy alternatives are rarely fortified with iodine but it is worth checking on the back of the pack for.
These are essential for good health and have a multitude of benefits but can be much harder to get from a plant based diet hence supplementing being advisable. The Vegan Society recommended a vegan multivitamin as an easy way to ensure that your diet contains a reliable source of these. Rhiannon has been looking for the perfect one for so many years for her clients in the Rhitrition clinic and has created her own, Rhitrition+ Vegan Multivitamin that meets specific requirements. A recommendation is to always check the label as it should tell you the amount in each dose and should have an expiry date. Also, please make sure you really need the supplement by asking your doctor, registered nutritionist or dietitian, or pharmacist.
Support Your Babies Health
The NHS guidance is to supplement your child from birth with 8.5–10mcg of vitamin D even if you are taking a supplement of vitamin D yourself and this will be in droplet form for your baby to take.
Babies need vitamin D to absorb calcium and phosphorus. You would only not need to give your baby a Vitamin D supplement if they are having more than 500ml of formula a day.
At six months a baby’s stores of nutrients such as iron start to deplete, so guidelines recommend that weaning should start at around this time. The UK Department of Health also recommends that from six months until five years old, breastfed babies are given vitamin A, C, and D supplements. Formula-fed babies don’t need these unless they have less than 500ml of formula milk a day.
Having too much of some vitamins can be harmful so always keep to the dose recommended on the label, and be careful not to give your child two supplements at the same time.
What are the reasons not to take supplements
Food is the preferable way for the body to source nutrients, which are better absorbed from foods than pills. It’s possible for supplements to interact in ways that affect one another, or to contain one or more of the same nutrients, potentially leading to toxic build ups.
Generally, water-soluble vitamins are less likely to cause harm than fat-soluble vitamins as they are excreted easily in your urine, so have less chance of building up in the body. Yet be cautious. Too much Vitamin C or zinc (a water-soluble mineral) may cause nausea, diarrhoea, and stomach cramps.
Too much selenium could lead to hair loss, gastrointestinal upset, fatigue, and mild nerve damage. As the consequences of taking supplements can be serious, and supplements can be costly, it’s not worth taking supplements unless advised to do so by a healthcare professional.
If you believe you have a nutritional deficiency, speak to your doctor. Blood tests can help to diagnose deficiencies, and supplements can then be prescribed to help correct them.
