In the quest to achieve your best health, it seems there’s a supplement out there for everything. So much so, that when faced with a £1.5bn industry of little bottles of seemingly magical pills, it can start to feel overwhelming. How can you know which one is right for you, or if it will even work?
Here to help us simplify the science and set us up for supplement success is Dr Elisabeth Philipps. As a clinical neuroscientist and scientific and clinical adviser at supplement brand Fourfive, she designs food supplements, so knows the process inside-out.
“The most expensive supplement you can take is the one that doesn’t work,” Elisabeth says. “I’m passionate about empowering people to make good choices for their own health and understanding their supplements is an important step in doing so.”
Working with the body
The form in which a supplement is made plays a role in how effective it will be once it enters the body. “In a tablet, the nutrients are tightly packed and it is often coated in plastic,” Elisabeth says. These factors make tablets more difficult for your body to break down and absorb the minerals and vitamins, so it’s likely to leave your body as waste – quite literally money down the toilet.
“When it comes to supplementation, absorption is the crucial piece of the puzzle,” she explains. “In order to work, the nutrients have to get into your body’s cells. This is a complex process, so anything we can do to give them their best chance of absorption, the better.”
Although there are some plastic-free tablet options out there, supplements in a liquid form or in capsules, in which the vitamins are enclosed by a soft outer shell, are more efficiently absorbed in the body. This is because these types of supplements have more bioavailability – possibly the most important thing to consider when trying to up your vitamin intake.
Befriend bioavailability
Don’t be put off by the scientific name, bioavailability is simply a measure of how much a substance is able to enter your bloodstream and reach its target area within the body. When taking any form of supplement, its bioavailability depends on its rate of absorption (what we keep) and secretion (what we lose).
“It can feel confusing, but this is really the key to getting the best out of a supplement,” says Elisabeth. “By having a good understanding of the vitamins and minerals you are looking to absorb and checking the label for ingredients that will have higher bioavailability in the body, you can take your supplementation to the next level.”
So, what are we looking for? “Of course, the specific ingredient depends on the vitamin or mineral you are wishing to increase, but it’s a good idea to look for a supplement that contains an organic carrier,” she says.
“A good example of this is calcium. Many supplements out there contain calcium carbonate, which is essentially just chalk. The body cannot absorb chalk, so you are unlikely to get much out of taking calcium in this form. An organic carrier would be calcium citrate, which has a much higher rate of absorption,” Elisabeth explains.
“Supplements perform best when they enter the body in an ‘active’ form, because the body doesn’t need to spend energy converting it in order to get the nutrients to your cells. “Any brand worth their salt will clearly label if their product contains bio-active ingredients. My advice is to do your research and if in doubt, ask questions,” she says.
Routine, routine, routine
Now we’ve got the science part down, it’s time to consider logistics. Does it make a difference at what time of the day we take our supplements, and how long before we can start seeing results?
“Most supplements need time to build up in the body and have a meaningful impact on our health, so you won’t get much from just taking it for a couple of weeks and then forgetting for the rest of the year,” says Elisabeth. Yikes – we’ve all been there!
“You can also optimise your intake by taking them consistently at the same time each day. Set yourself up for success by finding a time in which you are most likely to remember to take them,” she says.
Breakfast is generally a reliable time, especially as many supplements are best taken with food. However, there are of course exceptions to the rule. “Some probiotics, for example, will state not to be taken with food as this helps get the bacteria to the gut quicker, so be sure to check the label,” Elisabeth says.
Another exception could be vitamin C. Elisabeth explains: “As vitamin C is water soluble, it might be advisable to split dosage to morning and night in order to maintain your levels. If you’re buying a good quality product, information and advice like this should be on the label. It’s your body, so become an investigator and don’t take anything for granted.”
A word on diet
Perhaps the biggest step toward maximising your vitamin intake is, you guessed it, through a healthy diet. “Make this your primary resource for nutrition and then use supplements to keep your levels optimised,” Elisabeth says.
“Environmental factors, plant-based diets and even how we cook and consume food can all affect how many nutrients we get from our food, so supplements are a great way to stabilise and boost these and support our health – but it should never be considered a replacement for eating well,” she says.
Seeking advice and direction from a nutritionist is also a good idea to pinpoint exactly what kinds of vitamins or minerals your body may need more of, so you can be sure you’re spending your money wisely.
“A good nutritionist will be able to give you solid advice based on an overview of your diet and lifestyle, so don’t be afraid to reach out to one,” Elisabeth says.
There we have it – now you are ready to become a master of supplementing for your body. Protect your health and your bank balance by doing your research and finding a routine that works for you. From here, there really is no stopping you.
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