Most replayed moment: What The Science Says About Supplements | Prof Tim Spector & Prof Sarah Berry
6/23/202615 min
Today, we’re talking about supplements.
We’ve all seen them; the multivitamins, the fortified foods, the neatly packaged powders promising improved energy, immunity and longevity.
Supplements boast bold claims, however, it’s hard to know if they’re genuinely helpful or just well-marketed.
Professor Tim Spector and Professor Sarah Berry join me to unpack why supplements exist, what the science really says about their benefits and risks, and how to decide if supplements deserve a place in your daily routine.
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First 90 secondsJonathan Wolf· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hello, and welcome to ZOE Recap, where each week we find the best bits from one of our podcast episodes to help you improve your health. Today, we're talking about supplements. We've all seen them, the multivitamins, the fortified foods, the neatly packaged powders promising improved energy, immunity, and longevity. Supplements boast bold claims. However, it's hard to know if they're genuinely helpful or just well-marketed. Professor Tim Spector and Professor Sarah Berry join me to unpack why supplements exist, what the science really says about their benefits and risks, and how to decide if supplements deserve a place in your daily routine. What exactly are supplements, and why were they created in the first place?
Tim Spector· Guest0:50
There isn't an official definition of supplement as far as I'm aware, but it's usually some chemical that you have as a pill or a liquid or a powder that will replace a deficiency and improve your health. And this is why we have supplements added to foods all the time routinely, some of them by law. For example, in breads, when you strip out the normal bit of the wheat, you lose the normal vitamins that are there, the B vitamins. And so by law, you have to supplement that food again with what you're lacking. So