Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

75% of British people are supplement junkies, popping pills in search of good health

SUPPLEMENT ABUSE
75 % of British people are vitamin junkies

Britain is a nation of supplement junkies, with three quarters of us regularly adding extras to our diet to keep healthy, spending more than £350m a year on shortcut solutions to health.

New research from Cravendale exposes that over half of those UK citizens (59%) are investing in pills and potions with very little or no knowledge of their benefits. Even fewer people realise that milk contains crucial nutrients such as vitamins B2 [Riboflavin] and B12, protein, and phosphorus as well as contributing towards daily vitamin A, B1 [Thiamin], zinc, magnesium and potassium.

A quarter of supplement fans (27%) blame their busy lifestyles, and one in four cite pressure to get in their “five a day”: with no time for fruit and vegetables, they’re stocking up on supplements instead. One in ten men are taking pills to get gym fit; and 15% of women take supplements specifically to help prepare them for pregnancy.

Leading the trend are youngsters: 86% of under-25s take supplements on a regular basis. This habit is being established at an increasingly young age - 44% of mums admit to adding supplements to their children’s diet on a regular basis.

Sue Malcolm, consultant nutritionist for Cravendale milk comments:
“Supplements do have their place, but for many of us a healthy diet should be the 1st choice. A simple glass of milk contains important nutrients including vitamins and minerals that help you on your way towards achieving a healthy diet, no matter what age.”

A glass of Cravendale naturally contains more than 20 crucial nutrients, including a third of your recommended daily requirement for calcium for strong bones and teeth.

A glimpse of unhealthy Britain reveals:
Bad diets
Nearly a quarter of the UK (24%) takes supplements to combat the negative effects of a bad diet. This is most prevalent in Northern Ireland, where nearly a third of people (31%) choose to supplement their diet with pills – compared to the hearty North (16%)

Milk ignorance is rife
Milk is a natural source of many of the nutrients we are taking as pills, but only a quarter of us know that milk contains vitamins, only 5% know that it contains zinc and only 10% know that it contains any magnesium. Two in ten think milk contains added sugar and salt!

Don’t ditch the milk!
The survey reveals a male misconception that milk is fattening – one in ten men (14%) said they don’t drink milk because it is fattening. However strong evidence shows that people who drink milk as part of their diet are actually slimmer than people who cut it out[2] <#_ftn2> . In fact, a glass of semi skimmed milk contains about the same number of calories as a banana – not a lot!

The UK’s supplements of choice – Vitamin C and calcium
Vitamin C is taken by 25% of the population to stave off colds. Calcium is also high on the list, with almost one in ten taking calcium supplements. But both of these nutrients can be found in a glass of milk - a 250ml glass of semi-skimmed milk contains around 8% of an adult’s daily requirement for vitamin C and a massive 38% of an adult’s daily requirement for calcium.

Londoners are too busy to be healthy
43% take supplements to counteract their busy lifestyles, compared to a national average of 27%


-ends-

For more info please contact the Cravendale team on 020 7684 6969 or cravendale@cowpr.com

About Cravendale
At Cravendale milk matters. That’s why it’s finely filtered to make it purer for a fresher taste. Filtering removes more of the bacteria that causes milk to sour, so Cravendale lasts longer too.

For more info visit www.milkmatters.co.uk <http://www.milkmatters.co.uk> <http://www.milkmatters.co.uk/>

The survey was conducted with 1001 consumers through FlyResearch in June 2008.



[1] Heart Protection Study, 2002

[2] Zemel MB (2005) J Am Coll Nutr 24; 537S-5346S, Zemel MB (2005) J Am Coll Nutr 24; 537S-5346S, Zemel MB (2005) Obes Res 13; 192-193, Zemel MB et al (2005) Obes Res 13; 1218-1225, Zemel MB et al (2005) Int J Obes (Lond) 29; 391-397, Zemel MB et al (2004) Obes Res 12; 582-590, Moore LL et al (2006) Obesity 14; 1010-1018, Jacobsen R et al (2005) Int J Obes 29; 292-301