The growing use of self-prescribed supplements, protein products, and fitness boosters is raising concerns among medical experts in Jammu and Kashmir, as more people turn to pills, injections, and specialised diets without assessing whether they actually need them.
From vitamins and minerals to protein supplements, steroids, and products marketed for fitness and longevity, supplementation has increasingly become part of everyday life. Experts caution that even commonly used supplements can have adverse effects when taken unnecessarily or without medical guidance.
In an interview with Rising Kashmir Health Correspondent Mansoor Peer, Dr Akhtar Purvez, MD, FICS, FASRA, a Kashmiri-American physician and clinical researcher, discusses the benefits, risks, and evidence behind their growing use.
Q: How has supplement use changed, and what are the risks of taking them without medical advice?
Dr Purvez: Over the years, dietary habits have changed significantly, with more people taking supplements such as vitamins C and E, joint-health injections, protein supplements, steroids, and magnesium without medical advice. While some supplements may be beneficial when medically indicated, unnecessary or excessive use can be harmful and should be avoided without proper medical guidance.
Q: How should we think about supplements used for health, fitness, and longevity?
Dr Purvez: The word supplement covers very different substances. A vitamin used to correct a deficiency is not equivalent to a compound marketed to “reverse ageing”, and creatine used for athletic performance is different again. The right question is not whether supplements are good or bad, but: What is the specific claim, and what quality of human evidence supports it? A supplement may be valuable for correcting deficiency, useful for a particular purpose, unnecessary when nutrition is adequate, or harmful when used excessively.
Q: Has any supplement been proved to make healthy people live longer?
Dr Purvez: No dietary supplement currently has convincing evidence that it extends maximum human lifespan. We must distinguish among a biological mechanism, a biomarker, and a meaningful clinical outcome. A substance may increase NAD+, alter a laboratory marker, or produce interesting results in animals without demonstrating that people taking it live longer or healthier lives.
Q: What does the evidence show for creatine and protein powders?
Dr Purvez: Creatine monohydrate is among the most extensively studied sports supplements. Evidence supports benefits for strength, power, and repeated high-intensity activity, particularly with resistance training. Common studied maintenance doses are around 3–5 grams daily. These benefits, however, do not establish that creatine prevents disease or extends life.
Protein is essential. People who exercise intensively, older adults trying to preserve muscle, or those with inadequate dietary intake may benefit from additional protein. A powder is mainly a convenient source and is not inherently superior to adequate protein from food. Product quality and manufacturing standards also matter.
Q: What about vitamin D, K2, B12, and magnesium?
Dr Purvez: Vitamin D, B12, and magnesium are essential nutrients, and genuine deficiencies should be corrected. But being essential does not mean everyone needs supplementation. High-dose vitamin D should not routinely be taken in the hope of prolonging life, and K2 does not automatically need to accompany D3.
B12 is particularly important for people who are deficient or at risk, including some vegetarians and vegans, older adults, and people with impaired absorption. Magnesium deficiency should likewise be corrected, but claims that magnesium is a universal treatment for sleep, stress, and recovery go beyond the evidence.
Q: Should everyone take omega-3 or fish-oil capsules?
Dr Purvez: No. Omega-3 fatty acids are biologically important and can lower triglycerides, and clinicians may recommend particular preparations in specific circumstances. But this does not mean every healthy person needs a fish-oil capsule. Eating fish within a healthy diet and taking concentrated omega-3 supplements are not identical interventions.
Q: What about ashwagandha, turmeric, and shilajit?
Dr Purvez: Traditional use deserves respect and scientific investigation, but traditional use and clinical proof answer different questions. Some ashwagandha preparations have shown potential benefits for stress and sleep, although broader claims remain insufficiently supported and safety considerations exist.
Turmeric used in food is not equivalent to concentrated curcumin. Research suggests possible benefits in selected conditions, but not universal disease prevention or longevity. Shilajit has historical and Himalayan appeal, but evidence is insufficient to call it a proven anti-ageing treatment. Purity, contamination, and standardisation must also be considered.
Q: What about NMN, NAD+ boosters, resveratrol, spermidine, and Ca-AKG?
Dr Purvez: These are scientifically interesting, but scientifically interesting is not synonymous with clinically proven. NMN can influence NAD+ biology, but that does not establish prevention of dementia, cardiovascular disease, or disability, much less long life.
This illustrates the biomarker trap: a measurable laboratory change is promoted into a clinical benefit the study never demonstrated. Resveratrol, spermidine, and Ca-AKG likewise remain areas of ageing research rather than established longevity therapies. Early research should tell us what deserves further investigation, not automatically what belongs in our medicine cabinets.
Q: Where do CoQ10, collagen, and multivitamins fit?
Dr Purvez: CoQ10 has biological functions and has been studied in several clinical settings, but that does not establish a general longevity benefit. Collagen may offer modest benefits for certain skin or musculoskeletal outcomes, but this is not evidence that it slows biological ageing. Multivitamins can be useful when nutritional intake is inadequate, but they do not replace a healthy diet. Preventing deficiency is different from extending lifespan.
Q: Does “natural” mean safer?
Dr Purvez: No. Natural describes origin; it does not establish safety. Plants contain biologically active chemicals, which is why they may produce benefits but also cause adverse effects or interact with medications. A substance does not become harmless because it came from a root, leaf, or mountain rather than a pharmaceutical laboratory.
Q: Are there concerns about supplements sold in India, especially Kashmir?
Dr Purvez: We must ask two questions: Does the ingredient work, and does the product actually contain what the label says? Consumers should consider reputable manufacturing, transparent ingredient quantities, regulatory compliance, and credible independent testing. Proprietary mixtures that conceal individual quantities deserve particular scepticism, especially when manufacturing or storage standards are difficult to verify.
Q: What concerns you most about today’s supplement culture?
Dr Purvez: The gradual disappearance of the distinction between possibility and proof. A laboratory observation becomes “supports health.” “Supports health” becomes “prevents disease.” A biomarker becomes “anti-ageing,” and eventually “anti-ageing” becomes “longevity,” although nobody has demonstrated that people taking the product actually live longer. Science requires us to ask at every step whether the evidence supports the next claim.
Q: What should someone do before starting a supplement?
Dr Purvez: Start with the objective, not the bottle. Are you correcting a deficiency, seeking an athletic benefit, addressing a medical condition, or simply hoping to remain healthy? Then ask: What exactly is the claim? What is the quality of the human evidence? Does it demonstrate an outcome that matters—or merely a laboratory change? People with chronic illness, kidney or liver disease, pregnancy, or prescription medications should be particularly cautious about unsupervised supplementation.
Q: If supplements are not the answer to longevity, what is?
Dr Purvez: There is no bottle that can presently promise longevity. The strongest foundations remain appropriate nutrition, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, avoidance of tobacco, moderation or avoidance of alcohol, healthy blood pressure and metabolic health, preventive medical care, and treatment of established risk factors. Supplements can have a legitimate place, but they belong on top of the foundation, not in place of it.
Q: If you could leave readers with one rule about supplements, what would it be?
Dr Purvez: The greater the promise on the bottle, the stronger the evidence we should demand before opening it.
