Crucial new supplement guidance published by Food Standards Agency

If your New Year’s resolution is to get a firm handle on your health, then you may have already spent some of your hard earned money on food supplements.

If that’s you, then you may want to hear what the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has to say before you start religiously using them.

The supplement industry is booming in the United Kingdom, with almost two-thirds of citizens consuming at least one per day, as per a W-Wellness survey.

Some of the more popular pills on the market include Vitamin D and C, herbal options like Ashwagandha, creatine, and collagen, which aims to improve skin and hair health.

To coincide with the uptick of people choosing to invest in supplements amid the January health kick, the FSA has shared updated advice.

Anyone using supplements during their January health kick should take stock of guidance (MoMo Productions/Getty Stock Image)

On 12 January, the ‘How to consume for supplements safely’ website was updated with new information, including a focus on dosage, labelling, and product authenticity, as per New Food Magazine.

On the site, the agency first reminds supplement users that food supplements are defined as ‘any food, the purpose of which is to supplement the normal diet, and which is a concentrated source of a vitamin or mineral or other substance with a nutritional or physiological effect, alone or in combination and is sold in dose form’.

Food supplements are add-ons

The FSA stated that the guidelines are in place to remind supplement takers that they are designed to be ‘something you take to add extra nutrients to your normal meals’, not instead of.

“Most people should get the nutrients they need by eating a healthy balanced diet.

“Food supplements are not intended to replace a varied and balanced diet.”

Cases where supplements are advised

However, the agency did acknowledge that in some cases, supplements are recommended.

The best examples of this is boosting vitamin D levels during autumn and winter, when sun time is capped, and using folic acid when trying for a baby and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

According to Tommy’s pregnancy charity, folic acid is important as it reduces the risk of having a baby with a serious medical condition known as a neural tube defect.

Types of food supplements

The most common form in which food supplements are sold are:

• Tablets
• Capsules
• Gummies
• Powders
• Liquids

Food supplements can come in pill, powder, and liquid, among other forms (Anna Blazhuk/Getty Stock Image)

Advice on purchasing supplements

The FSA has also provides tips on buying supplements, remarking that you should only purchase pills from reputable businesses.

“Beware of counterfeit products, particularly on the internet if the product’s price is much cheaper than from other suppliers,” it warned.

To consume food supplements safety, you should first be wary of any warnings and instructions on the label.

Don’t take more than the recommended dose, and check with your GP before taking strong tablets.

You should also inform your doctor of your plans if you’re on prescribed medication, and tell them about any herbal medicines.

If you have a negative reaction to food supplements, be sure to quit taking them immediately and contact your local healthcare professional for advice.

Any concerns you have with labelling should be reported to the FSA.

You can check out the full food supplements guidelines here.