By supplements I mean vitamins, minerals, herbal extracts, probiotic capsules, prebiotic powders, anything to boost fitness results or sports performance. Products that have been processed or concentrated for convenience or to be more effective, products that supplement a balanced diet not replace it.
If a product is potent enough to treat a health problem or reduce symptoms it is potent enough to have side effects, to interact with prescribed or pharmacy drugs, maybe even harm your health.
So for safety’s sake please discuss supplements with a healthcare professional who is familiar with your diagnoses, drug regimen, activity level, you in general (age, gender, weight, smoking status, alcohol intake, etc). So doctor, pharmacist, registered dietician, practice nurse …
As you get into Clever Guts your needs will probably change so re-assess your supplements regularly. Less is more: increase the dose of prebiotic powders slowly, drop vitamins or minerals as you add in nutrient dense wholefoods.
Be aware that which foods (eg. flour, boxed cereals, dairy) are fortified with which vitamins or minerals vary by country.
Those of us in the UK and similar latitudes should consider vitamin D, which we get primarily from oily fish and UVB sunlight *late Spring to early Autumn only*. Our experts recommend eating up to four servings of oily fish each week, short exposure to midday sunlight in season, vitamin D3 supplements for specific ‘at risk’ groups.
Regarding VitD – almost the entire UK population is deficient, especially in the period from September to end of April when there is simply insufficient of the necessary bandwidth of UV light available – so much so that GPs are encouraged to “treat” and not bother testing in most cases. The approporiate dose for 97% of the population to give reasonable VitD levels is 400iu . Dietary supplements are not regulated and as such are notoriously variable in quality and content. (As the Trust Me team found when they investigated) so ask your local pharmacist to recommend a suitable product. Our pet recommendations are Dlux (made by Better U) or Fultium D (the OTC version is half the prescription strength i.e. it is 400iu)
NB: Its almost impossible go gain sufficient VitD from diet alone.