Exposing the great wellness racket: From wonder supplements to tell-all health trackers, doctor and broadcaster XAND VAN TULLEKEN unmasks the troubling truth behind our favourite health products
Doctor and broadcaster Xand van Tulleken has written a book investigating the modern health and wellness industry, prompted by his own experience as a physician who found himself unable to answer confidently when patients and viewers asked about trends such as continuous glucose monitors, NAD supplements, red-light therapy and biological age tests. His inquiry matters because it challenges the assumption that emerging wellness products, often endorsed by confident, highly qualified podcast hosts, are backed by solid evidence, when his research suggests otherwise.
Van Tulleken focuses first on vitamins, noting there are only 13 essential human vitamins and that deficiency-related conditions such as scurvy and rickets are now rare, yet diet-related illness remains a leading cause of death in the UK and US. He cites a 2007 study led by Professor Christian Gluud of Copenhagen University Hospital, which analysed 68 randomised trials involving almost 250,000 people and found that multivitamin supplements, including vitamin C, do not prevent chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular disease, do not reduce premature death, and may even increase mortality risk.
- Doctor Xand van Tulleken's new book scrutinises the wellness industry's claims
- Research on 250,000 people found multivitamins don't prevent chronic disease
- Some supplements may even raise the risk of dying sooner, study suggests
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Van Tulleken, a doctor known for his television work, has written a book examining the modern wellness industry, prompted by finding he could not always give confident answers to patients and viewers asking about popular products like glucose monitors, NAD supplements and biological age tests. His central concern is that many of these products are marketed with great confidence, often by qualified-sounding advocates, without necessarily having strong scientific backing.
The book's early focus is on vitamin supplements, an area of the wellness market that has existed for decades. It notes that humans need only 13 essential vitamins, and that severe deficiency diseases like scurvy and rickets are now uncommon, even though diet-related illness remains a major cause of death in countries such as the UK and US.
This matters because supplements, trackers and similar health products are a large and growing industry that many people rely on to make decisions about their health. Questions about how well such products are supported by research, including large-scale studies looking at their long-term effects, are relevant to anyone who buys or considers using them.