Q: What supplements do you recommend for an over-active thyroid?

– Andrea, London

A: The thyroid gland produces hormones which regulate metabolism. When the thyroid becomes overactive, metabolism is speeded up and calories are burned off quickly causing weight loss, restlessness, insomnia and the eyes can have a bulging appearance.

It is important to get a medical diagnosis if you have these symptoms and also to look at your diet and to add in certain supplements. With your diet, avoid any stimulants such as coffee, tea and sugar as these can make your body produce more adrenaline. It is thought that stress can be implicated in an overactive thyroid problem. The B vitamins are known are the ‘stress’ vitamins and so are important for an overactive thyroid.

Take a good all round multivitamin and mineral and add in a B complex together with extra vitamin E, as a deficiency in this vitamin can cause the thyroid gland to secrete too much hormone.

Q: I have recently been diagnosed with osteoporosis and wondered what advice you can offer?

A: Calcium is the most prevalent mineral in the bone but other nutrients are involved in calcium absorption with magnesium playing a crucial role in the prevention and reversal of bone loss.

Include mineral rich foods in your diet; calcium, magnesium and silica are found in tinned salmon, chlorophyll rich greens, pulses, almonds and sunflower seeds. Vitamin D aids absorption of calcium and good dietary sources include egg yolk and oily fish; 20 minutes of daily sunshine will also help. Avoid fad diets and eat a healthy diet with sufficient protein, especially if you are a vegetarian.

Reduce your intake of acid-forming foods such as coffee, tea and salt which can disrupt the calcium-magnesium natural balance in your body. Developing stronger muscles through weight bearing exercise and yoga will also help protect your bones.

Take a good bone supplement containing boron to help reduce urinary excretion of both calcium and magnesium. (Osteoplus is a good combination containing calcium and magnesium citrate, zinc, boron, vitamin D3 and digestive enzymes).

Q: I’ve taken supplements containing fish oil for years but read somewhere that they can do more harm than good. Is this true?

A: Many people have asked me this since a major study recently came out questioning the benefits of omega 3 and in particular fish oils. In fact this study failed to take into account the many differences between the two groups of people tested (one took fish oil the other didn’t) and is far less scientifically sound than the mass of evidence about the benefits of these supplements.

Omega 3 fatty acids, of which fish oils are a major source, can dramatically decrease the risk of heart disease and fish oils are one of the supplements I routinely recommend — although eating oily fish twice a week, of course, is another good way to get the benefits of omega 3. (I take the Mega EPA supplement myself).