Insight: Mar 12

Tonight on SBS Insight hears from researchers, doctors, pharmacists and consumers and asks – what is the evidence behind the vitamins and supplements we love to take? And do people even care?

About half of Australians are taking a vitamin, and more than 60% take some type of supplement.

More and more of us are turning to vitamins and dietary supplements to treat specific ailments, or boost overall health and wellness. The industry has doubled over the last 10 years – we’re now spending more money on complementary medicines than we do on prescription ones, an estimated $4.9bn each year.

But while some medical professionals say vitamins work to treat ailments and deficiencies, or boost overall health and wellness, others say the scientific evidence isn’t there, and warn we could be wasting money and risking our health.

Susan Willoughby takes about 10 vitamins and supplements every day. She says they absolutely work – and she doesn’t care if there’s scientific proof or not. “I think they’re doing me good”, she tells Insight’s Jenny Brockie. “Whether it’s psychosomatic, I don’t care.”

But public health expert Associate Professor Ken Harvey is much more scathing of the vitamin industry, calling it “a triumph of celebrity endorsement and hype over science.”

“There is no evidence that routinely consuming multi-vitamins or whatever gives you extra benefits”, he says.

Not everyone agrees that the evidence behind vitamins and supplements is lacking. Rhiannon Tracey turned to a long list of supplements after a spinal cord injury at 20 left her a quadriplegic. She says she knows what works for her based on how she feels, but seeks advice before starting something new.

Annie Gilberthorpe wasn’t as thorough. When she came down with a virus, she tried to push through by taking all the supplements she could find to boost her energy. She says it was a mistake that proved almost fatal.

“It ended up being complete liver failure,” she says. “[My doctor] said ‘you’ve taken all these things because you think they’re natural … well, funnel web venom is also natural, would you take that?’”

8:30pm tonight on SBS.