Boots nutritionist reassures customers about the recent news coverage

Publication Date:17/04/2008

Recent news articles have led to speculation about the safety of certain antioxidants, vitamins and supplements currently available to buy. As four in ten adults regularly take some form of supplement, Boots want to help you understand how this may affect you. Here, Boots gives more details on why we take vitamins and what we should make of the recent news.

Ideally we should be able to get all the nutrients we need from a well-balanced diet but according to a recent dietary survey, due to our hectic lifestyles, fussy eating or poor appetite less than a third of men and women eat the recommended 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day.

Food may also have less nutritional value due to poor growing conditions, for example if they are grown in poor soil or if stored for long periods of time in less than optimum conditions. Even poor cooking techniques can lead to a reduction in the amount of nutrients that are finally consumed.

Vicky Pennington explains that taking vitamin and mineral supplements is one way to help this dietary short-fall and may help maintain good health. Vicky says “Vitamin supplements are designed to help support the diet and maintain health. They are supplements, not medicines.”

Here at Boots we do not believe there is any evidence to suggest that vitamins can shorten your life, if taken as directed to help maintain health. When taken as intended they are safe and beneficial and there is a huge, and growing, body of evidence to support the use of vitamin and mineral supplements.

Boots also has a formulation expert, Nick Bennett, whose role it is to ensure that Boots vitamin and minerals are made to the highest standards and are formulated according to the latest scientific research. Nick says, “As experts in everyday health, we will continue to provide the UK with our very best in vitamin and mineral supplements, enabling people to help maintain their own, and their families’ good health”.

If you are at all worried about the vitamins and supplements you are taking, please visit your local Boots pharmacist, all of whom been trained in vitamins and supplements. They can help you work through what the best mix of supplements for you should be, based on your lifestyle and requirements.

A few other things to remember:

Always read the information on the label.

Be aware of the amount that you are taking daily.

Do not exceed the daily intake recommended on the label.

Always talk to your doctor if you have a medical condition before taking supplements.

Any member of the Boots Healthcare team in store can help you with any concerns of queries.

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This information does not replace medical advice. If you are concerned you might have a medical problem please ask your Boots pharmacy team in your local Boots store, or see your doctor.