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Tim Spector says people who buy into diet supplements are ‘mugs’

Dr Tim Spector
Dr Tim Spector

A leading gut health doctor has said that people who take vitamin supplements are “mugs”.

Speaking at the Hay Festival alongside infectious diseases doctor Chris van Tulleken, Dr Tim Spector, epidemiologist and co-founder of the Zoe nutrition app, which analyses users’ gut, blood fat and blood sugar, and the author of Food for Life, said that manufacturers of supplements were the future “junk food companies”.

“These supplements are driven by the same companies, they’re going to be the new future junk food companies - their budgets are massive,” he said.

“They’re not these artisan little people in the back of a shed in Somerset making a super organic supplement; they’re all made in massive factories in China and you have no control over what it is.”

“And 99 per cent of them have been shown not to work at all so we’re total mugs paying all that money for supplements when we should be spending it on real food,” he added.

A recent study in the US found that taking a daily multivitamin can slow age-related memory decline by three years for those aged over 60.

Improved mental ability

Researchers in the US found that regular vitamin consumption improved overall mental ability, memory recall and attention in older adults.

However, study leader Dr Adam Brickman, professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, did caution that “supplementation of any kind shouldn’t take the place of more holistic ways of getting the same micronutrients”.

“Though multivitamins are generally safe, people should always consult a physician before taking them,” he added.

Dr Spector also told the audience at Hay that cutting down on meat and dairy consumption was more important when it came to saving the planet than driving less or taking fewer flights.

“The single most important thing we can all do if we care about climate change is reduce our meat and dairy intake, particularly beef and lamb and drinking milk,” he said.

“Much more important than not flying to Spain on your holidays or not using your car as much. It’s been proven that environmentally friendly diets are good for your health and vice versa. You don’t have to give it up completely.”

Drink wine

Dr Spector has previously suggested that mixing up different wine varieties could help boost health and that drinkers should try “thousands” of different types to boost the immune system and fight diseases, as well as improving mental health.

“Drink wine, primarily for the pleasure, but at the back of your mind think ‘could I be trying different bottles or varieties that might actually be healthier for me and that I might enjoy?’” he said.

“Diversity is also important; if you take the analogy from food, having a range of different grape varieties in your diet means you are going to be helping different gut microbes inside you and you will increase your gut health and diversity.”