Magnesium

Magnesium is essential for maintaining normal blood pressure, heart rhythm and strong bones. If you’re low in magnesium, taking a magnesium supplement may result in improvements in your blood pressure and mood, as well as better blood sugar management and a lower risk of developing serious health conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Some people may be at risk of being low in magnesium - like those who drink a lot of alcohol, take certain medicines, are malnourished, have chronic diarrhoea, uncontrolled diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases or burns that affect a large area of the body. If you’re at risk of developing magnesium, you should visit your GP and request a blood test to see which vitamins or minerals you may or may not be lacking.

Vitamin supplements don’t cause acne.

Acne is a skin condition caused by hormonal changes in your body, like those during your period or when you’re pregnant.

Although some vitamins can help to support healthy skin, they don’t affect your hormones, so they shouldn’t affect your acne.

If you have acne and have found that normal skincare routines haven’t helped, we recommend speaking to your doctor or pharmacist for advice.

They could recommend a treatment like benzoyl peroxide that can help to ease moderate to severe breakouts.

Yes, you can overdose on vitamins and supplements, so it’s important to take care with the supplements you’re taking.

You should not take more than one multivitamin a day.

These products will often contain the same vitamins and this can lead to you accidentally taking too much.

If you’re taking a multivitamin, you should also be very careful if you’re taking any separate singular supplements, such as a vitamin d supplement — you could end up taking too much if these overlap.

You can find out which vitamins and minerals are in your supplements by checking the nutritional values table on the packaging, so make sure you’re never doubling up on any nutrients.

If you have any concerns, make sure to speak to your doctor or pharmacist, just in case.

Look at the label first - you want to get a product that is 100% free from any animal product or animal-derived ingredients.

Most vitamins will boldly state whether they’re suitable for vegetarians or vegans, or have the official green logo on the container to provide clarity to shoppers.

Certain supplements, like omega 3, are harder to find in a vegan alternative.

Vitamin supplements usually won’t cause stomach problems like pain, nausea, or diarrhoea.

However, it’s important to note that supplements can have side effects sometimes, and stomach issues can be some of these.

This can happen if you’re sensitive or allergic to any of the ingredients in your supplement or simply because the supplement isn't right for you.

If you experience any side effects after taking a vitamin or supplement, you should speak to your doctor or pharmacist right away and ask for their advice.

The vitamin supplements that you will need to take will depend on your circumstances.

Although supplements should never be used in place of a healthy, balanced diet, they can support you if you’ve realised you’re lacking in certain nutrients and you’re working on making positive changes to your diet.

There are also some vitamins that the NHS recommend for certain people — for example, the NHS recommends that you take a vitamin D supplement during the winter months when the weather is less sunny.

Another recommendation is folic acid for women who are trying to get pregnant or are in the first months of pregnancy.

When your little ones are growing it’s essential that they get a wide range of vitamins and minerals, but there are a few which are especially important.

The Department of Health recommends that all children aged 6 months - 5 years take a daily supplement containing vitamins A, C, and D to support their growth and immune system.

They also recommend that all breastfed babies should take vitamin D supplements from the day they’re born, formula-fed babies who are taking more than 500ml of formula a day won’t need these as their formula will already contain enough vitamin D.