What vitamins and supplements should you take, and can DNA tests help? Or is a healthy diet all you need? Experts explain, including which 3 nutrients we most likely lack
- With such a mind-boggling selection of dietary supplements on offer, firms have emerged offering DNA tests touted to reveal which supplements are right for you
- But their reliability is debated, as is the degree to which supplements should be taken. Dietitians give their take, and reveal which nutrients we commonly lack
Is it any wonder you can’t decide what vitamins to take – or if you even need to take any – when faced with such an overwhelming choice?
The global dietary supplements market size was valued at almost US$152 billion in 2021, and the selection will only get more confusing: the market is expected to more than double by the end of the decade.
Perhaps it’s no surprise then that some enterprising companies offer to take the guesswork out of it by helping you to identify which vitamins your system is lacking.
There are now dozens of vitamin DNA test kits available online, and their results are used to suggest supplements tailored specifically for your requirements: bespoke vitamins.
But are we all really so very different from one another that we each need our own tailored vitamin regime? Michelle Lau, dietitian and founder of Hong Kong nutrition consultancy company Nutrilicious, says quite possibly.
“Everybody is unique,” Lau says, explaining that the vitamins required, and in which amounts, will vary from person to person based on their diets, lifestyle, goals, genetic make-up and health considerations.