Supplements

Mostly, the answer is no.

Twenty-eight of the supplements people actually buy, graded the same way as everything else here. Each one says who it genuinely helps, what it is legally allowed to claim, how much is too much, and what it interacts with. We do not sell any of them, which is why we can afford to tell you that most of them are not worth your money.

CBotanicalAshwagandhaMarketed for stress and sleep on small, short and often industry-funded trials, against a safety signal serious enough that regulators…CVitaminBiotinSold everywhere for hair and nails on almost no evidence in people who are not deficient, and it can corrupt…BMineralCalciumFood first, clearly. Supplements make sense when a doctor has asked for them alongside vitamin D, not as routine insurance.COtherCoenzyme Q10Popular, expensive, and thinly supported. Statin muscle symptoms deserve a conversation with your prescriber rather than a supplement.COtherCollagenSmall studies suggest possible skin and joint effects; the mechanism claimed on the packaging is not how digestion works. If…AOtherCreatine monohydrateOne of the very few sports supplements with evidence that holds up. Cheap, well studied, and does nothing for anyone…CBotanicalEchinaceaTrials are inconsistent and the preparations differ so much that they are barely comparable. Not a reason to skip the…AVitaminFolic acid400 micrograms daily before and in early pregnancy is not optional in the way most supplements are. Outside that, food…CBotanicalGinkgo bilobaThe memory claims have not survived large trials, and the bleeding interaction is real. A poor trade.AMineralIodineNarrow safe range. Worth attention on a plant-based diet or in pregnancy, and worth avoiding casually.AMineralIronEffective and important when you are actually deficient, and a bad idea when you are not. Test first, always.CMineralMagnesiumSold hard for sleep, cramps and anxiety on evidence that is thin. No authorised EU sleep claim exists for it.…BOtherMelatoninReal but modest, and it shortens the time to fall asleep rather than improving sleep quality. Doses sold online are…COtherMultivitaminLarge trials have repeatedly failed to show that multivitamins prevent disease in well-fed people. Nutritional insurance that mostly insures against…BOtherOmega-3 EPA and DHAThe heart-protection story is weaker than it was in 2010 and stronger than the sceptics allow. Reasonable if you do…COtherProbioticsA category, not a medicine. A product that does not name its exact strains is not evidence-based whatever the label…AOtherPsyllium fibreGenuinely effective, and the honest version is still that vegetables, pulses and whole grains do this better and bring everything…CMineralSeleniumAlmost nobody eating a varied diet needs this, and the safety margin is tight enough that guessing is a bad…CBotanicalTurmeric and curcuminThe spice in food is fine and pleasant. The concentrated extract is a different product with real reports of harm…CBotanicalValerianOne of the most-sold sleep remedies in Europe with no authorised claim and trial results that mostly do not separate…CVitaminVitamin A retinolBeta-carotene from vegetables carries none of this risk. Retinol supplements need a reason.AVitaminVitamin B12Genuinely necessary for the groups listed and pointless for everyone else. If you eat meat, dairy and eggs regularly you…CVitaminVitamin CDoes not prevent colds. May marginally shorten them. One orange and a pepper get you past the reference intake without…AVitaminVitamin DThe one supplement with a decent case for routine use in people who genuinely get little sun. A blood test…CVitaminVitamin EOne of the clearer cases where the supplement failed to reproduce what the food it came from is associated with.CVitaminVitamin K2The bone and artery claims run well ahead of the trial evidence. The warfarin interaction is the part that actually…BOtherWhey proteinFood, not magic. A convenient way to hit a protein target that meat, dairy, eggs and pulses would also hit.CMineralZincThe cold evidence is genuinely mixed and dose- and form-dependent. Not worth taking daily on the off-chance.