When a consultation is not needed
A standard vitamin D supplement through the winter, which UK guidance recommends for everyone. A daily multivitamin at label dose. Omega-3 if you eat little oily fish. These are low-risk and well understood.
When it is worth talking to someone
Taking several supplements at once, where doses can overlap and interact. Taking any medication, particularly blood thinners, thyroid medication, antidepressants or blood pressure tablets, since several common supplements interact with these. Pregnancy or trying to conceive. A health condition, especially kidney or liver disease. Supplementing for a symptom: tiredness, hair loss, low mood, poor sleep, joint pain. These symptoms have many causes and a supplement may be treating the wrong one. Spending significant money each month on products whose effect you cannot see.
What a consultation adds
A blood test where relevant, so you know whether you are actually low in iron, vitamin D, B12, folate or thyroid function rather than guessing. A review of what you are taking against what you need, which often means fewer supplements rather than more. Attention to quality and dose, since products vary widely. A plan for how long to take something and when to retest.
How we approach it at Omnia
Supplements at our Chiswick clinic are recommended within a consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor, nutrition practitioner or physiotherapist, usually informed by a Randox blood test. We would rather tell you that you do not need something than sell it to you. Products are from regulated suppliers and are listed on our health supplements page.