Supplements Exposed: What's Healthy and What's Harmful | Dr. Gemma Newman

The Exam Room by the Physicians Committee

Physicians Committee

Carroll, Health & Fitness, Diabetes, Science, Nutrition, Vegan, Pcrm, Barnard, Weightloss, Food, Health, Recipes, Medicine, Diet

4.9 • 3.3K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are supplements helping you — or wasting your money?

In this episode of The Exam Room Podcast, Dr. Gemma Newman joins Chuck Carroll to break down the science, myths, and marketing behind the multibillion-dollar supplement industry.

Discover which supplements are truly worth taking, which can be harmful in excess, and how to build better health through a whole-food, plant-based diet.

Whether you're taking vitamin B12, vitamin D, omega-3, or a daily multivitamin, Dr. Newman explains how to personalize your nutrition safely and effectively.

In This Episode:

- The truth about supplements and what's actually backed by science

- Why multivitamins don't extend lifespan — and can sometimes harm your health

- How to get vitamin B12 safely

- The risks of "natural" supplements

- The difference between fish oil vs. algae-based omega-3s

- Dr. Newman's SMART method: Science, Mechanism, Aim, Risk vs. Benefit, Tracking

- How to spot fake supplement ads and AI deepfakes online

Known as The Plant Power Doctor, Dr. Newman is a respected physician and lifestyle medicine expert helping patients reverse chronic disease through evidence-based nutrition and lifestyle change.

🌱 Start your journey to better health today!

Work with the expert doctors and dietitians at the Barnard Medical Center: https://www.BarnardMedical.org

👩🏼‍⚕️ Visit Dr. Newman's website: https://gemmanewman.com

💻 Apply to become a Building Healthy Communities intern or see current career openings at PCRM: https://www.pcrm.org/about-us/careers

If you feel like you've raised your health IQ, please leave a 5-star rating and nice review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Today on the exam room.
0:04.0	It is very much the Wild West when it comes to supplements, very little regulation and every one of them marketed as being the cure for everything that ails it.
0:14.0	It's shocking how much misinformation is on social media and how many different supplement companies exist with zero regulation and how
0:22.5	we're all kind of sucked into just buying something because we saw someone say it might be good
0:28.1	or yeah it's a real wild west welcome to the exam room podcast brought to you by the physicians
0:35.7	committee hi i'm Chuck Carroll, raising health
0:38.5	IQs coast to coast and around the world. Hi to the exam room. He's listening in Austin, Texas,
0:44.6	Madison, Wisconsin, and Helsinki, Finland. Wherever you are, we appreciate you helping to make
0:50.3	the world a healthier place. This is episode 85 of season 8, number 684 overall.
0:57.8	And today, my friend, we are talking about supplements. What's healthy, what's harmful,
1:03.8	and what's just plain hype. You see, the supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar free-for-all, and many people are taking pills
1:13.3	and powders that they simply do not need. So how do you know what's truly worth it? Well,
1:20.1	my good friend from across the pond, Dr. Gemma Newman, aka the plant-powered doctor,
1:25.8	she is here with us to help cut through the noise with her
1:28.9	smart method for choosing supplements. It's an acronym, science, mechanism, aim, risk versus benefit,
1:37.5	and tracking. So from B12 to vitamin D, from turmeric to omega-3s, she's laying out the facts so you can make an informed, safe, and effective choice.
1:50.0	Let's get into it with Dr. Newman right now on the exam room.
1:54.0	Thanks for being back, Doc.
1:57.0	Thank you for having me, Chuck.
1:58.0	I'm honored to be here, and I love to be chatting to you about supplements.
2:01.6	In the US, you tell me if it's the same over in the UK, in the US, it is very much the Wild West when it comes to supplements.
2:10.6	Very little regulation and every one of them marketed as being the cure for everything that ails you.
	...

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