Too Many Supplements Can Be Dangerous!

[bishoujo 0]

I read an article in a health magazine which talks about vitamins and all those pills you pop because you're afraid that you aren't getting enough of something, or even pills that also have aesthetic purposes such as those that promise to help rid you of old age spots, make your skin more radiant etc.

It is all right to eat a single multivitamin pill a day, if it makes you feel more secure. However, a person whose diet includes lots of fruits and vegetables generally does not need additional vitamin supplements. On the other hand, if your diet is poor in fruits and vegetables, a vitamin supplement may be helpful.

Also, people who have health problems, such as cancer, liver and kidney problems etc, should not start relying on supplements as a potential cure to their health problems, especially not when they have not consulted a specialist.

According to the Food Standard Agency in Britain, some supplements are potentially harmful.

High doses of the mineral chromium picolinate may cause cancer and daily doses of vitamin B6 exceeding 10mg over many years may lead to loss of feeling in the arms and legs.

Furthermore, some substances may have irreversible harmful effects if taken for long periods at the highest doses.

Smokers and those exposed to asbestos should not take beta-carotene and vitamin E as it may increase their chances of developing cancer. People who drink more than the recommended amounts of alcohol and take high doses of vitamin A may run the risk of developing liver problems.

Eating a variety of supplements daily is also dangerous, since there is little information about how these supplements interact in the body, especially in the long run.

Therefore the bottomline is, ensure that you eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables everyday and you won't have to worry about supplements.

If you really must take supplements, just choose one standard multivitamin pill, or consult a nutritionist.

[thorne 0]

Have you read any of Michael Pollan's books? I read The Omnivore's Dilemma and it was really interesting...he creates four different meals and talks about the history and such behind them. You really see how food comes from the earth and gets onto your plate. In some cases, it makes you want to stop eating crap! But he argues that we have come to the point where we are no longer eating food but rather nutrients. We buy processed products meant to deliver protein or vitamins or whatever instead of eating whole foods, the way they were meant to be consumed. This is where our nutritional imbalances begin; if we simply stuck to eating a variety of nutritious, whole foods such as fruits and vegetables, we would get most of the nutrients we needed without supplementation.