The truth about vitamin supplements

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Science, Health & Fitness, Education

4.6 • 5.6K Ratings

🗓️ 24 November 2022

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Good information about vitamins is hard to find. With over 70% of Americans and 40% of Brits using them, it's a hugely lucrative market, which means numerous voices in the media and online pusing a pro-vitamin agenda. All without the scientific evidence to support their claims. So do we need vitamins to lead a healthy life? Or could these supplements actually cause serious health complications? In this episode, Jonathan speaks with Prof. JoAnn Manson and Dr. Sarah Berry to better understand how vitamin supplements affect our health. JoAnn Manson is a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and one of the world's most cited researchers. She’s run multiple enormous studies with over 20,000 participants to uncover the real effects of vitamin supplementation on our health. Dr. Sarah Berry is one of the world's leading experts on human nutrition, who has personally run over 20 randomized clinical trials looking at how humans respond to different fats. Download our FREE guide — Top 10 Tips to Live Healthier: https://zoe.com/freeguide Timecodes: 00:00 - Introduction 02:29 - Quickfire questions 04:27 - Why are people confused about supplements? 05:17 - Which supplement does the majority of the population benefit from taking and why? 05:51 - What are dietary supplements and vitamins? 09:33 - Why is there so much advertising suggesting supplements? 10:54 - JoAnn’s research 14:07 - About vitamin C 15:15 - Megadosing 19:51 - VITAL and COSMOS trials 25:13 - Should we take vitamin D 27:37 - Omega-3 32:48 - Variation & personalization 36:51 - Actionable advice on supplements 38:45 - Should children take supplements? 42:13 - Should we all take a standard dose multivitamin? 44:54 - Summary 46:25 - Goodbyes 46:57 - Outro Episode transcripts are available here. Check the trials mentioned in today’s episode: AREDS 2, COSMOS, Physicians' Health Study II, VITAL Follow Sarah: https://twitter.com/saraheeberry Follow ZOE on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zoe/ This podcast was produced by Fascinate Productions.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zoe, Science and Nutrition, where world-leading scientists explain how their
0:04.9	research can improve your health.
0:07.0	Let's talk about vitamins, shall we?
0:13.8	Good information about vitamins is hard to find, and there's a reason with over 70% of
0:19.0	Americans and 40% of Brits using them, it's a hugely lucrative market.
0:24.9	However as voices push a pro-vitamin agenda in the media and online without having the
0:29.8	scientific evidence to support their claims.
0:33.8	Have you heard the one about vitamin C curing colds?
0:37.1	This theory spread across the Western world in the 1970s.
0:41.2	Decades later, it's utterly debunked, but many still hold this belief.
0:46.3	Cash incentives may explain the pro-vitamin argument, but what about those who think the
0:50.5	vitamin supplements should be avoided?
0:53.5	Consupplementing naturally occurring micronutrients really be dangerous.
0:58.5	Sure, supplements markets lack regulation, especially in the US, no one really knows what's
1:06.4	inside those pills they're popping.
1:09.0	Products containing many times the daily recommended doses are widely available.
1:13.6	Could overdosing on these supplements actually lead to serious health complications?
1:18.3	Amidst the scare stories and the miracle cures, the Gittermitt's scientific research has
1:23.0	been taking place, trying to uncover the real cost and benefit of vitamin supplementation
1:28.6	on our health and our wallet.
1:31.4	Our guest today is behind a lot of that research.
1:38.8	Joanne Manson is a professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and
	...

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