When my grandmother suffered a fall and broke her pelvis, her GP advised her to take supplements to help speed healing.
Initially I was sceptical – these things are not part of medical training and I assumed the herbal remedies and vitamin pills in health food shops were little more than placebos. But I was wrong.

With some research I discovered many supplements have a good evidence base to support their use in specific conditions.
Together, my grandmother’s GP and I came up with ‘bone juice’ – a soluble mix of Vitamins C and D, zinc and calcium.
She was on her feet in no time and she felt she was helping herself by taking the juice. She would call me each day to say she had drunk it all.

My only concern is that people don’t treat themselves without a doctor’s guidance and that supplements should not be used instead of prescribed medication. But, as Gran showed me, there are times when they can have real benefit.

Here is my guide to some that have been proven to help maintain health and even treat disease that I, and other doctors, recommend.