London, May 29 (IANS): Ditch those health supplements as they have no health benefits, and are simply a money-making scheme by drug companies, according to a top UK scientist.

Professor Tim Spector, a genetic epidemiology expert at King's College London, said people should instead eat 'real food', Daily Mail reported.

He also vouched for a predominantly plant-based diet with minimal, if any, ultra processed food. Spector said a majority of the supplements are made in Chinese factories and research has shown that they do not work at all.

"These supplements are driven by the same companies... they're going to be the new future giant food companies," Spector was quoted as saying.

"Their budgets are massive. They're not these artisan little people in the back of a shed in Somerset making a superb organic supplement. They're all made in massive factories in China and you have no control [over] what it is - and 99 per cent of them have been shown not to work at all.

"So we're total mugs paying all that money for supplements when we should be spending it on real food," the scientist said.

He added that the only supplement with any benefit is B12 for vegans who are not eating as many iron-rich foods as they should.

Spector said while it is "impossible to do away with all the unhealthy foods completely", people must be educated on how to identify them.

He said real food "could massively increase the life expectancy of the poor and our health span".

Spector also said that switching to a plant-based diet will prove beneficial for the planet, claiming that giving up meat is more effective than not driving and not taking flights for holidays abroad, the report said.