August 30, 2025 • 5 mins
Naturopath and wellness expert Erin O'Hara covers in detail whether we need supplements and are multivitamins good for you?
What are some of the supplements that can make a difference? How do we know what we need? How much is needed?
Erin breaks it down and gives her advice on what's best for your body.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News talks'b.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Aaron O'Hara joins me now to talk well and this
good morning, good morning, great topic today. We're talking about
vitamins and supplements and are they necessary or a waste
of money?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yeah, this is a really interesting take. I think anyone
who knows the naturopaths seems to think that naturopaths are
all into prescribing excessive amounts of supplements. But there's definitely
a place for supplements. I think it's more about knowing
what your body needs and how do you know that?
And really, supplements are not a substitute for eating healthy
(00:44):
and you can't look at it as an insurance policy
to each crappy diet and then just top up with
supplements to get about it.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
But actually, this is really interesting. It's not just about naturopaths.
I mean we're being marketed to that we need all
these supplements and you can walk into you know, you
can work, walk into shops and there are aisles and
aisles and aisles of supplements there, you know, and people
people tend to think, oh, you know, I need this
or I must get this.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
And that's marketing for you. Like even on TV ads
I said all the time, like promoting what the supplements
are for. And I think people are quick to go, oh,
that's how I'm feeling. Yes, so that's what I'm going
to going to be the answer. So how do you
know if you need a supplement? Well, that's where it's
about looking at your own health. And I always think,
look at your symptoms of what are you feeling, Go
and see your just regular gpay get some testing done
(01:31):
so you can actually see is there actually something wrong.
They can do certain vitamin tests through blood testing, and
you want to look at that and how your body's
functioning before you go leap onto buying a whole cupful
of stuff that you maybe don't need. And I think
just being really cautious to know that you don't go
and pack your own medicines, you don't go to the
(01:52):
doctrin and the like yep, like this and this and this,
And I think we want to be cautious around supplements
because at the end of the day, they are getting
processed through the liver and the kidneys, and if we're
taking things we don't need, we can actually cause overdose two.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It's an interesting question should supplements be regulated like medical drugs.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Personally, I think there's benefits on both sides. I think
that there's certain supplements that don't hold as bigger risk
around being sold over the counters, So things like vitamin C, B, vitamins,
fish oils, magnesium not likely to cause major side effects.
I think it's more when we're looking into our more
targeted supplements that we want to be really careful. So
(02:30):
things like zinc has an upper limit we actually tolerate
to a certain level and then you'll start to cause
more problems than good. Same with vitamin B six And
I know in Australia they've actually just got really strict
on B six and the limit is actually been brought
right down to actually quite low because there's been a
lot more people getting problems with vitamin B six overdoses.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Okay, so that's really interesting. How do we know what
guidelines to follow when it comes to the consumption then
of supplements.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Well, that's where on the label it does have like
the percentage of how much is the recommend a daily
intake or adequate daily intake, which adequate daily intake means
like the dose that you're taking basically just to be alive,
which is.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Probably not what we need to be healthy. So if
you do genuinely have a deficiency, it might be different.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And that's when you would be usually getting some guidance
around how to dose it, because if you're trying to
build up some stores, you want to dose it about higher.
Then once you get to add a good level in
your body, you want to be dropping the dose down.
And that's where it's about being sort of cautious, especially
around the vitamins that are fat solubles, So things like
vitamin A, D and E, as well as things like
(03:43):
celinium and zinc are things that store in the body,
and if we take too much, we're going to then
create will hit that upper limit and then we'll create
toxic sort of problems in the body and the body
won't function to its optimal level really quickly.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
What should a person look for if they're shopping for
a supplement or a multi vitamin.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
When they're looking for a multi motiven it's about kind
of getting a good brand that has some good testing,
so being careful what brands you buy. And also it's
really a good idea to get some advice because then
you know what you're taking is what you need and
you're not taking things for no good reason.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Thank you so much. Erin really appreciate you being with
us today. This topic is fascinating, and I think sometimes
we all think that, you know, if we take a supplement,
it's going to change our lives and it's going to
be what we need, and it sounds like the perfect solution,
but it is quite complicated and it's not quite that simple.
We actually did a podcast with Aaron where we talk
about this for about an hour and it is fascinating
and we cover off a lot of the really popular
(04:39):
vitamins and nutrients and things at the moment. We talk
about everything like you know, how good protein powder is
for you with you any electrolytes, and you know, we
talk about vitamin D and magnesium and and all the
things which are very very common right now. Do you
need a multi vitamin? So you do. If you are
interested in taking supplements, or you do take supplements you're
thinking about taking them, have a listen to the podcast
The Little Things I do it with my girlfriend lou Airy,
(05:01):
and you're be able to find that at iHeartRadio or
wherever you get your podcasts. We've released couple of really
good ones recently. I'll tell you what if you just
need a bit of inspiration and some great tips to
get on top of your finances. We also did a
great episode with Nadine Higgins from The Prosperity Project talking about,
you know, getting our day to day costs and shape
(05:23):
our mortgage rates, are, spending plans, all those kind of things.
And we also our latest episode we released on Saturday,
is about alcohol. And I know that sometimes we don't
all want to talk about alcohol, but it is a
very very non judgmental episode of The Little Things. If
you're thinking about the fact that you might want to
reassess your relationship with alcohol, have a listen. Our guest
(05:46):
is Red George.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News talks'b.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Aaron O'Hara joins me now to talk well and this
good morning, good morning, great topic today. We're talking about
vitamins and supplements and are they necessary or a waste
of money?
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Yeah, this is a really interesting take. I think anyone
who knows the naturopaths seems to think that naturopaths are
all into prescribing excessive amounts of supplements. But there's definitely
a place for supplements. I think it's more about knowing
what your body needs and how do you know that?
And really, supplements are not a substitute for eating healthy
(00:44):
and you can't look at it as an insurance policy
to each crappy diet and then just top up with
supplements to get about it.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
But actually, this is really interesting. It's not just about naturopaths.
I mean we're being marketed to that we need all
these supplements and you can walk into you know, you
can work, walk into shops and there are aisles and
aisles and aisles of supplements there, you know, and people
people tend to think, oh, you know, I need this
or I must get this.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
And that's marketing for you. Like even on TV ads
I said all the time, like promoting what the supplements
are for. And I think people are quick to go, oh,
that's how I'm feeling. Yes, so that's what I'm going
to going to be the answer. So how do you
know if you need a supplement? Well, that's where it's
about looking at your own health. And I always think,
look at your symptoms of what are you feeling, Go
and see your just regular gpay get some testing done
(01:31):
so you can actually see is there actually something wrong.
They can do certain vitamin tests through blood testing, and
you want to look at that and how your body's
functioning before you go leap onto buying a whole cupful
of stuff that you maybe don't need. And I think
just being really cautious to know that you don't go
and pack your own medicines, you don't go to the
(01:52):
doctrin and the like yep, like this and this and this,
And I think we want to be cautious around supplements
because at the end of the day, they are getting
processed through the liver and the kidneys, and if we're
taking things we don't need, we can actually cause overdose two.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
It's an interesting question should supplements be regulated like medical drugs.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Personally, I think there's benefits on both sides. I think
that there's certain supplements that don't hold as bigger risk
around being sold over the counters, So things like vitamin C, B, vitamins,
fish oils, magnesium not likely to cause major side effects.
I think it's more when we're looking into our more
targeted supplements that we want to be really careful. So
(02:30):
things like zinc has an upper limit we actually tolerate
to a certain level and then you'll start to cause
more problems than good. Same with vitamin B six And
I know in Australia they've actually just got really strict
on B six and the limit is actually been brought
right down to actually quite low because there's been a
lot more people getting problems with vitamin B six overdoses.
Speaker 2 (02:53):
Okay, so that's really interesting. How do we know what
guidelines to follow when it comes to the consumption then
of supplements.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Well, that's where on the label it does have like
the percentage of how much is the recommend a daily
intake or adequate daily intake, which adequate daily intake means
like the dose that you're taking basically just to be alive,
which is.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Probably not what we need to be healthy. So if
you do genuinely have a deficiency, it might be different.
Speaker 3 (03:21):
And that's when you would be usually getting some guidance
around how to dose it, because if you're trying to
build up some stores, you want to dose it about higher.
Then once you get to add a good level in
your body, you want to be dropping the dose down.
And that's where it's about being sort of cautious, especially
around the vitamins that are fat solubles, So things like
vitamin A, D and E, as well as things like
(03:43):
celinium and zinc are things that store in the body,
and if we take too much, we're going to then
create will hit that upper limit and then we'll create
toxic sort of problems in the body and the body
won't function to its optimal level really quickly.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
What should a person look for if they're shopping for
a supplement or a multi vitamin.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
When they're looking for a multi motiven it's about kind
of getting a good brand that has some good testing,
so being careful what brands you buy. And also it's
really a good idea to get some advice because then
you know what you're taking is what you need and
you're not taking things for no good reason.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Thank you so much. Erin really appreciate you being with
us today. This topic is fascinating, and I think sometimes
we all think that, you know, if we take a supplement,
it's going to change our lives and it's going to
be what we need, and it sounds like the perfect solution,
but it is quite complicated and it's not quite that simple.
We actually did a podcast with Aaron where we talk
about this for about an hour and it is fascinating
and we cover off a lot of the really popular
(04:39):
vitamins and nutrients and things at the moment. We talk
about everything like you know, how good protein powder is
for you with you any electrolytes, and you know, we
talk about vitamin D and magnesium and and all the
things which are very very common right now. Do you
need a multi vitamin? So you do. If you are
interested in taking supplements, or you do take supplements you're
thinking about taking them, have a listen to the podcast
The Little Things I do it with my girlfriend lou Airy,
(05:01):
and you're be able to find that at iHeartRadio or
wherever you get your podcasts. We've released couple of really
good ones recently. I'll tell you what if you just
need a bit of inspiration and some great tips to
get on top of your finances. We also did a
great episode with Nadine Higgins from The Prosperity Project talking about,
you know, getting our day to day costs and shape
(05:23):
our mortgage rates, are, spending plans, all those kind of things.
And we also our latest episode we released on Saturday,
is about alcohol. And I know that sometimes we don't
all want to talk about alcohol, but it is a
very very non judgmental episode of The Little Things. If
you're thinking about the fact that you might want to
reassess your relationship with alcohol, have a listen. Our guest
(05:46):
is Red George.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
For more from the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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