TONIGHT: AMA with Xand van Tulleken on wellness, supplements and health tech 7-8:30pm, post your Qs now!

[RayaMumsnet]

Hi there,

We’re delighted to announce an AMA with leading doctor, broadcaster and presenter Xand Van Tulleken, on Thursday 10 September, 7-8:30pm.

He’ll be discussing his new book Make Me Well: A Quest to Understand the Confusing World of Wellness

"There has never been a more confusing time to try to be healthy. In the past decade, the healthcare sector has witnessed a remarkable surge in innovation: drug design, genomics and diagnostic technology have all changed almost beyond recognition.

Simultaneously, there has been a significant expansion in consumer health services, including the supplement industry, blood testing, consumer genomics and wearable technology, which claim to improve “wellness” (emphasising physical and mental performance and longevity) rather than curing or preventing specific disease states.

For a typical consumer this is both confusing, as the health and wellness industries are almost indistinguishable, and expensive, as consumer health emphasises personalised products, often sold on a subscription basis. In Make Me Well, Xand van Tulleken investigates the new Wild West of the wellness industry, demystifying a landscape dominated by three products: supplements, blood testing, and wearable technology. In doing so, he shines a light on how people can take care of themselves better in this new and overwhelming world of wellness."

Please post your questions below and join Xand on the thread at 7pm on Thursday 10 Sept to hear the answers.

As always, please remember our guidelines - one question per user, follow-ups only if there’s time and most questions have been answered, and please keep it civil.

So sorry but I cannot give specific health advice here! Definitely do speak to your GP as this is not a wellness issue but a health issue. I would always advise taking mineral or vitamin supplements on the advice of a GP so that you understand the underlying problem and can manage it effectively.

This is a very interesting question @FeelingOldOldOld I'm afraid it is beyond my expertise, but I will look into it. Thank you so much for pointing out to me.

If you are a person that doesn't seem to absorb vitamins, consistently suffers with low Iron etc. Do you think supplements are useful in this case?

@PestoQueen thanks so much for this question. It's an extremely important issue to understand who is best place to comment on what. I would love to know which issues you feel I should not comment on but my book is a work of journalism rather than health advice and looks into the widespread fraudulent practice and poor science in the wellness industry. As you will see from this thread I don't give any advice about nutrition beyond saying that people should speak to their GP and stick to NHS guidance on supplements. It seems to me that I'm as well qualified as anyone to for example visit the collagen factories and fraudulent supplement factories and to interview the people working there about what they think of their own products. I would be thrilled if you read the book and would let me know if there are claims you think that a nutrition professional would be better placed to make than me. But in every instance where the book touches on nutrition guidance it does so by consulting and independent expert and it is their view that I communicate rather than my own opinion. Both Chris and I rely heavily on expert colleagues who are nutritionists I don't think either one of us bring any personal or professional bias that we are not very clear about. I don't think anyone has no bias but transparency about conflict of interest seems to me to be the most important thing.

So many thanks everyone for your superb and thoughtful questions! I'm sorry I've not been able to answer all of them but the two small children in my house are now demanding my attention and it is well past their bedtime! I really appreciate your thought and engagement. Of course I would love it if people could read the book! Make me well is currently available everywhere but of course I would be thrilled if you would borrow it or get it from the library as well! No need to purchase it but I hope that it would address for many people a lot of the confusion and concerns around menopause supplements like collagen and multivitamins and many other aspects of the wellness industry! Very best to everyone XX

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my question - I do think it's better to get your vitamins from the food we eat but I find that it's hard to get them all in, even when trying to eat the rainbow.

Oh man

Hi Dr Xand
I have the occasinal hot flush which is a very horrible feeling and what can I do about it. and also I am I habe a little boy called Charliy and I bought him cloths for the winter and summer and spring. he sleep at the end of my bed. and because I can mot habe children because of my learning disabilty a friend gave my charliy and I make a good mum looking after him very well. and ladtly how to take vitaments if I dan not swallow them because they are too big