Health Fitness And Beauty Secrets Your Guide For Better Health

By Peter Ebeling , University of Melbourne If your blood test results suggest you’re low on vitamin D, you’re not alone – nearly one-third of the Australian population isn’t getting enough of the sunshine vitamin. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you need to take a supplement. Contrary to some reports, there is no evidence that taking vitamin D supplements reduces your risk of developing diabetes, colon cancer, arthritis or infections, or that supplements help you live longer. In some cases, taking a supplement merely means you’re wasting your money. But if you’re taking high doses, you may be doing more harm than good. What is vitamin D? Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is not readily available in the diet, apart from in fatty fish, ultraviolet (UV) light-irradiated mushrooms and green leafy vegetables. In fact, an average diet only provides one-sixth of the daily requirement for vitamin D, or about 110 international units (IU). In many countries, including the United...

Image Source - which.co.uk Which? research shows that some supplement manufacturers are making misleading claims on their products - as a result, people could be wasting money on unnecessary food supplements. Other manufacturers use clever language and font sizes to exaggerate the effect that some ingredients have. So although only a small minority of people actually need supplements, a third of adults in our survey told us they regularly take them. The supplements industry was valued at £385 million in 2012. Misleading claims The most popular supplements people take are multivitamins, glucosamine supplements for joint health, and probiotic tablets and drinks. However, all health claims relating to glucosamine and joint health have been rejected by the EU. Claims that probiotics improve digestive health were also rejected. In the past five years, products (food, drink and supplements) that want to carry a health claim have had to submit the evidence behind that claim to the EU's Eu...