My first advice is always going to be to start with food. Your diet is going to impact how you feel more than any supplement can; diet first, supplement second.

But here are the ones that we know work, and some of the reasons I recommend them:

1. The supplement I recommend most often is Vitamin D: It's difficult to get it from food and sunshine alone, and it's critical for bone health and a healthy immune function. Low levels can be associated with low energy, and low mood/wellness.

2. Omega 3: Whether or not you supplement this depends on diet as this one is entirely possible to get from food - oily fish, primarily. There's lots of research to suggest it can play a really important role in all sorts of things including heart health, reducing inflammation, metabolic health (things like type 2), blood pressure, and general wellness. There are also studies associating it with improved rates of strength gain and weight loss.

3. Creatine: occurs naturally in muscle (our muscle, and the muscle meat that we eat) and helps us to produce energy. Also supports cognitive function. It's marketed at gym-goers and fitness individuals usually, but it's actually suitable for anyone who wants to top up their natural stores, particularly if your diet is low in lean meat.

These aren't sexy are they - there are no wild transformational claims...

That's because there is no substitute for eating your protein and your fruit and veg, folks 🤷.

Other supps I recommend include:

👉Insulin resistant or type 2? Take inositol.

👉Going through a period of dietary adjustment and know your nutrition is under-par? Take a multi-vit.

👉Want an immediate energy burst? Have a coffee (time of day is important).

👉Blood tests (VIA YOUR GP NOT A SHARKY COMPANY) have identified a specific deficiency? Follow GP supplement advice.

👉Interested in collagen? The research behind it points to possible skin benefits.

(By the way - protein powder, in my opinion, isn’t a supplement, it’s a food, so that’s why it’s not listed).

Most supplement products rely on marketing rather than science for popularity, but if you've found something that works for you and it's not listed here - that's great and you crack on. No evidence doesn't mean something doesn't work, it just means there's no strong evidence for it at this current time in a gen pop of people.

My job is to give sound evidence-based advice that's backed by science. Science isn't one observational study, or a handful of case studies. Science is a bulk of evidence weighed up for it's quality and reliability and then applied to each individual context.

There's huge variability between individuals with what works when it comes to supplements, and so you need to do what works for you.

Even placebo effects have benefits that should not be overlooked.

Most packaged supplements are expensive versions of protein and vitamins, offered in varying strengths, and with various added plants/herbs etc that get people focusing on the minutiae rather than the things that actually matter:

Diet, exercise, and lifestyle, will serve you way better than supplements will.

(There are other, sports specific supplements that may be well worth considering if you are an athlete, but I've concentrated this post on the general public.)