Dietary supplements

Summary Twenty per cent of the public buy vitamin supplements and a smaller but growing number of dedicated customers buy the products of the health food business. Yet most nutritionists and dietitians say these are quite unnecessary; everything we need can be obtained from the diet. Estimates of nutrient intakes always show a number of individuals well below the acceptable range but with no evidence of any clinical, subclinical or biochemical risk, until recently. Now we have claims that blunderbuss dietary supplementation affects development, behaviour and even IQ. Is this true? Is it applicable to the whole population, to young developing children, to those whose diet is deficient, or will it remain unconfirmed as are the claims for vitamin C and the common cold?