If you’re on medication or diagnosed with a health condition; pregnant or breastfeeding, check with your GP before taking any new supplements
Sunshine turns cholesterol under our skin into vitamin D, but the UK climate means we don’t always get enough. “I go outdoors with my legs and upper arms exposed in summer, which, I’ve found, gives me enough vitamin D to last until December (it is fat soluble so can be stored),” says Dr Jenny Goodman, medical doctor and member of the British Society of Ecological Medicine. She takes 2,000 international units (IU, equivalent to 50 micrograms) every evening between October and April for bone strength, as well as “brain health, reducing the risk of dementia [as shown by an Exeter University study] and supporting the immune system”.
The government recommends everyone should take a daily supplement containing 400 international units (equivalent to 10mcg) a day of vitamin D during the autumn and winter, but some need more, such as Dr Amina Hersi, a GP who supplements with 1,000 IU daily in winter. “Like 85% of people with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), I am deficient in vitamin D,” she says. “I also have darker skin so I need more because melanin blocks out the sun’s UV rays.”
Dr Lavan Baskaran, a GP specialising in ADHD care, thinks everyone from the age of eight should follow suit. “Unless I’m on a summer holiday, I take 1,000 IU daily. If I forget, I’ll feel low, anxious and tired with achy joints.”
A healthy diet is the best way to help your body function at its best. However, says Hersi: “Some of us don’t get enough omega 3 from fish oil in salmon, mackerel or other oily fish, which helps prevent inflammation and to regulate menstrual cycles by supporting hormone production.” She was frustrated by the lack of specialised supplements for PCOS so founded her own brand, PolyBiotics. She says: “Omega 6 is abundant in our diet as it comes from seed oils such as sunflower oil and eggs but I supplement omega 3 and eat ground flaxseed (high in fibre and omega 3) to balance it out and counter dry eyes, a side-effect of PCOS.”
For Baskaran, the aim should be to achieve the correct concentration of omega 3, 6 (good for brain and skin health) and 9 (known for lowering LDL cholesterol). “Too much omega 6 can encourage inflammation so check products have a higher level of omega 3,” he says.
Goodman adds: “Omega 6 gets a bad press because of the refined versions in supermarket vegetable oils, but natural ones such as evening primrose oil are really good for the brain and skin.”
Baskaran is a firm believer in the benefits of magnesium: “For people who have a severe asthma attack we give them magnesium intravenously. We give magnesium for sleep in ADHD patients. I take it after a workout at the gym if I’m feeling achy and before bed to relax the muscles ready for sleep.”
Goodman, author of Getting Healthy in Toxic Times (out July 11), also hails the mineral’s benefits. “Magnesium supports 300 different enzyme reactions in the body but we lose it in urine due to stress,” she says. “It is vital for enabling muscle relaxation, so tension can be a sign of deficiency.”
Taking magnesium relaxes voluntary muscles (arms and legs) and involuntary muscles (womb, bladder, gut), she says. “A lot of women I’ve seen with agonising period cramps are deficient in magnesium as well as B vitamins, vitamin E and would benefit from taking evening primrose oil.”
Goodman recommends food first for magnesium intake: “Green leafy vegetables and most animal foods like meat, fish, dairy and eggs are rich in magnesium”. She takes 250 milligrams (mg) of magnesium bisglycinate every evening to relax muscles and aid sleep. “An alternative way to get magnesium is with an epsom salt bath,” she says.
It may be a trace element (meaning we only require tiny amounts) but zinc is essential for a healthy immune system and blood sugar balance. Dr Zalan Alam, a GP specialising in improving quality of life in old age, says he takes 5mg daily in colder months to ward off winter bugs.
Goodman says: “If you’ve got zinc deficiency your cuts and grazes won’t heal properly, and your sense of taste and smell could be affected. It can also stunt growth in children.”
Studies have shown zinc can reduce the severity of acne and help balance testosterone levels, and Hersi has found that taking 30mg helps her symptoms of PCOS (the standard dose is 15-30mg). It’s important to not to exceed 30mg, though: too much zinc could leave you depleted in copper and cause skin issues, anaemia and low white cell count or thyroid problems. “Minerals have a whole-body function so if they’re unbalanced you can create symptoms of fatigue,” says Hersi.
“I take a B complex every morning because it wakes you up, gives you energy and balances blood sugar, which is why most people with diabetes test low in B vitamins,” says Goodman, adding that they also help the detoxification enzymes in the liver. “There are a dozen B vitamins that naturally occur together,” she says, so the best way to take them is, similarly, as a B complex rather than individually.
Be careful when choosing your brand, Goodman says. “The vitamins or minerals should be first on the ingredients list so be mindful of cheap, commercial brands that add synthetic substances such as titanium dioxide, talc, sulphuric acid, potassium sorbate, parabens, citric acid – they are additives, colourings and flavours.”
Dr Sohère Roked, a GP specialising in hormones, discovered six years ago that she doesn’t methylate properly (the process of changing vitamins into their active state). She supplements once a day with methylated B vitamins. “It supports my body to process cortisol, the stress hormone and helps my mood, energy levels and hormone balance.”
“I take iron supplements on alternate days as I suffer from heavy periods, so I get anaemic,” says Hersi, who avoids daily dosing because it increases side-effects such as tummy cramps and constipation. She says: “I always take it with something rich in vitamin C like orange juice to improve absorption.”
“This is a herbal supplement that works on your stress hormone, cortisol,” says Roked who takes a 500mg capsule daily. For someone who has found their cortisol is very high – via a gene marker test, an investigation into genetic mutations – “it can help reduce it, or if it’s very low it can give you a boost. There’s good anecdotal evidence that it works on inflammatory markers. If you don’t methylate very well like me, you don’t process stress hormones very well so I have found that ashwagandha helps with my mood, focus and sleep.”
We gain vitamin C from raw fruit and vegetables (cooking strips the nutrients) so a salad every day with tomato and lettuce will boost levels – but Goodman likes to top up her levels with a supplement. “We need more vitamin C than our ancestors because of the pollution we’re exposed to which along with stress, depletes vitamin C,” says Goodman. The NHS recommended daily intake is 40mg for adults, but Goodman says: “I religiously take 500mg of vitamin C at breakfast and 500mg at dinner in winter, but if I’ve been in contact with somebody with a cold I double or treble the dose. It is water soluble so you pee out what you don’t need, and you can’t overdose.”
“We only need tiny amounts, but many of us are low in selenium, which comes particularly from brazil nuts and various fish,” says Goodman, who takes 100mcg daily for two to three months of the year in winter or when someone she lives with has a cold. “It makes me feel as if I have added protection. Too much could cause nausea, diarrhoea or hair loss, though it’s very rare.”
“The risk of diabetes is a lot higher for people with PCOS so I take chromium to balance my blood sugars,” says Hersi, who takes 200mcg a day.
She adds that, according to the EU, chromium improves blood glucose levels and carbohydrate metabolism, which she says, helps your body handle carbs. “Since taking it my sugar cravings are better controlled,” Hersi adds of the vitamin, which can also be found in yeast, shellfish and broccoli. She warns: “Too much can lower blood sugar and you may end up overeating.”
“Many neuroscientists in the US take ginkgo because it has been found to be neuroprotective, helping to keep our concentration sharp,” says Baskaran who cites it as beneficial to those experiencing brain fog and fatigue as a result of fibromyalgia, ME, long Covid, menopause and work stress. He adds: “I take it daily to reduce stress and support heart health.”
Alam says: “I take lion’s mane [derived from a type of mushroom] to improve brain fog and concentration without the spikes and dips I get from caffeine. I use it in adaptogenic coffee form rather than a straight supplement and I get the same levels of energy as from coffee but with fewer crashes.”
The benefits of the plant and garlic- and olive oil-rich Mediterranean diet have long been established. Baskaran says: “Olive oil has anti-inflammatory effects and garlic is good for heart health. If you cook a lot and add garlic to your food that’s great but I don’t, so I supplement it for an immunity boost to ward off coughs and colds.”
It’s always better to take individual supplements to suit your needs, says Goodman. “A problem with all multivitamins is the presence of incompatible elements,” she says. “For example, calcium will reduce absorption of magnesium, copper will reduce absorption of zinc, and most of them have more vitamin A than we need; it is possible to overdose.”
