Daily Vitamin Supplements
If you’re like many consumers, you might believe that vitamins are crucial to your health and that they are necessary for many physical functions. It’s easy to assume that more of a good thing should help, but the truth is that, with vitamins, it varies. In some cases, excessive nutrient levels can prove hazardous to your health. Taking vitamins daily is part of the health regimen of many people worldwide, but adherence to the recommended allotment is also necessary. Knowing vitamins’ safety, dangers, and risks helps you make informed healthcare decisions.
Vitamins & Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are crucial to many physical functions, including regulating your hormones, strengthening your bones, healing wounds, and fighting infections. Your body functions well when you have enough of these at proper levels and balance, but health risks can develop if you don’t get enough of certain vitamins. However, toxicity is possible in some cases when you consume too much of a vitamin too quickly. Vitamins and minerals are known as micronutrients, which don’t provide energy as macronutrients do. However, vitamins are often necessary to metabolize protein, carbs, and fat. There are 13 identified vitamins, and they are categorized as either water- or fat-soluble.
Water-Soluble Vitamins
Water-soluble vitamins aren’t substances your tissues can store easily. That’s because your body excretes them easily through urine output. That means they’re less likely to cause trouble even in high dosages. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamin C and the group of eight B vitamins. Even with easy physical excretion, they can still result in dangerous side effects when too much is taken. For instance, chronically overdosing on vitamin B6 can lead to irreversible nerve damage. Furthermore, too much niacin can result in liver damage.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Fat-soluble vitamins don’t dissolve when they come into contact with water. Your physical tissues can easily store them. The four vitamins in this group are A, D, E, and K. These vitamins are more likely to overload to toxicity since your body accumulates them more easily. This is particularly true for vitamins A, D, and E. However, vitamin K proves relatively harmless when it’s in its natural form.
Vitamin A toxicity can result in coma, increased intracranial pressure, nausea and even death. Toxicity from vitamin D can result in weight loss, loss of appetite, irregular heartbeat and elevated blood calcium levels, resulting in organ damage. Excessive levels of vitamin E might prevent blood clotting and cause both hemorrhages and hemorrhagic stroke. Even though vitamin K isn’t noted for direct toxicity, it can impact some medications, including antibiotics and warfarin.
Are Multivitamins Worth It?
Half of all American adults take multivitamins or other kinds of supplements regularly, and that includes 70% of those 65 years old and older. That’s a $12 billion annual industry that might be money and energy better used to get nutrition through food. Low-fat dairy items, whole grains, fruits, and veggies can give most human bodies all the minerals and vitamins they need if they eat enough.
Several recent studies back up this idea. One study tracked over 1,700 heart attack survivors or placebos for over four years and found identical rates of heart attacks, cardiovascular surgery, or death in both groups. Another study examined the multivitamin use and mental capacity of nearly 6,000 men for over a decade. It showed that supplement use didn’t lower risks for slower thinking, memory loss, and other forms of mental decline. A comprehensive analysis of research covering over 400,000 people demonstrated that multivitamins did nothing to lower the odds of cancer or heart disease.
Researchers have concluded that multivitamins don’t lower the risk of early death, cancer, cognitive decline or heart disease. Beta-carotene supplements and vitamin E are harmful at higher doses. Nutritionists suggest a better approach: eating a healthy diet while keeping a healthy weight. Individuals are encouraged to reduce how much sodium, sugar, trans fat and saturated fat they consume regularly.
One notable exception is for women who can potentially become pregnant, and that’s to supplement with folic acid. This micronutrient can prevent neural tube defects for babies conceived in women who take folic acid during early pregnancy and before they get pregnant. That’s why many healthcare professionals recommend multivitamins for younger women. The CDC suggests women of any reproductive age consume 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. The levels of iron in multivitamins might also help women capable of producing offspring.
Nutrients Americans Are Missing
Chronic conditions related to diet include cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Many American adults lack several nutrients, including iron, vitamin D, fiber, potassium, and calcium. As a result, they might use multivitamins and supplements as a means of compensating for multiple deficiencies at the same time.
Calcium
The human body needs calcium during the childhood and teenage years to build strong teeth and bones. In the adult years, more calcium is necessary to keep the bone mass you already have. This particular nutrient also impacts how hormones are released, circulatory issues, and muscle movement. The USDA recommends 1,000 mg of calcium every day. Good sources include almonds, tofu, kale, spinach, milk, cheese, and yogurt. Sardines and salmon are also potential dietary sources. People at risk of not getting enough calcium include certain minorities, lactose-intolerant people, vegetarians, vegans, adults over 50, and women who are past menopause.
Iron
Iron is a mineral crucial to supporting the growth and development of the human body, and it’s necessary for the production of myoglobin, hemoglobin, and certain hormones. Most American adults under the age of 50 need 13 mg per day. Meat sources include turkey, lamb, duck and beef, but you can also get it from game meats and organs. Seafood options you can enjoy are clams, oysters, mussels, and shrimp. Cashews are a good source, and you can drink prune juice as a beverage option. Vegetable options include beans, potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, and leeks. People who might not get enough iron include infants, anyone with menstrual cycles, pregnant and breastfeeding women, vegans, vegetarians, and those with diminished immune systems.
Potassium
Healthy blood pressure is a major benefit of having enough potassium, and this nutrient is also responsible for muscle contraction, nerve transmission, kidney function, and cell function. The average adult should get 280 mg of potassium daily. Yogurt, milk, and soy milk can be good dairy sources of potassium, but you can also drink it in coconut water. Vegetable sources include butternut squash, portobello mushrooms, spinach, and potatoes, and you get potassium from fruits such as peaches, bananas, oranges, raisins, and melons. You can also get potassium from meat, seafood, tofu, and pistachios. Individuals susceptible to potassium deficiency include those who use laxatives and diuretics or are diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and inflammatory bowel disorder.
Vitamin D
Getting enough calcium might only matter if you have enough vitamin D to absorb it. Most American adults need 600 IU of this daily, but it’s also one of the hardest vitamins to get through food sources alone. Fortunately, some food sources have added vitamin D, known as fortified foods. Getting vitamins through food sources rather than supplements is better for the human body because it absorbs more of them through the digestive process. Yogurt, cheese, milk, and kefir are good dairy sources. Orange juice can also be a good source, but sugar levels might be a concern. Raw mushrooms, salmon, freshwater rainbow trout, tilapia, and canned tuna are good dietary sources. Natural sunlight can stimulate vitamin D production in your body at lower latitudes, but if you live in more northern areas, that may not happen during the winter. Dark-skinned individuals, the obese, those over 70 years of age, and breastfed infants might struggle with a deficiency. Certain health conditions limit fat absorption, including ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, and Crohn’s disease.
Seeing Your Doctor About Deficiency
Self-diagnosing mineral or vitamin deficiency is nearly impossible, but you can tell when you don’t feel well. Seeing your doctor is a chance for blood tests that verify your nutrient levels. Supplementation can restore proper levels without toxicity when done under physician supervision. Symptoms that might indicate nutrient deficiencies include hair loss, weakness, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and heightened irritability. You might have dry eyes or worsening vision, and your extremities might have some numbness and tingling. Your gums might bleed, and the corners of your mouth might start forming cracks. It’s also possible to develop acne-like bumps on your buttocks, thighs, cheeks, and upper arms.
Symptoms of Vitamin Toxicity
The specific symptoms of a vitamin overdose may vary based on the particular vitamin in question. For instance, someone with a calcium overdose might suffer impaired kidney function. The pH of their blood might be higher than it should be, and they might exhibit vomiting and nausea. Confusion is also possible, as are altered thinking patterns. Some cases involve itching and an irregular heartbeat. Vitamin D overdose might elevate calcium levels in the blood and increase the risk of calcium overdose.
Vitamin A overdose has the potential to result in vomiting, nausea, blurry vision, and dizziness. Iron overdose might also include vomiting. Dark or bloody diarrhea is another potential symptom, and physical weakness might happen. Individuals with severe cases of iron overdose might develop low blood pressure and fall into a coma. The most serious consequences include lung injuries, liver failure, and death.
Multivitamin overdose can impact many parts of the human body. The kidneys and bladder might demonstrate frequent urination along with increased amounts of urine; the urine might also be cloudy. A person’s mouth might have dry, cracking lips, and irritated eyes might be more sensitive to light. Rapid or irregular heartbeat is a potential warning sign, as are muscle weakness and pain in the muscles, joints, and bones. Nervous system symptoms of multivitamin overdose include irritability, headache, convulsions, moodiness, fainting, and confusion. Hair and skin changes might include dryness, cracking, flushing, sun sensitivity, hair loss, rash, itching, or burning sensations. Digestive tract issues can include weight loss, stomach pain, constipation, and loss of appetite.
Seeking Help
Vitamin toxicity is a cause for seeking immediate medical help. If you suspect you or someone close to you has this condition, don’t make them vomit unless otherwise instructed by a medical professional or consultation with your local poison control center. Before contacting emergency services, identify what was swallowed, how much was consumed, and when it was taken. You should also be able to report the weight, age, and condition of the individual in question. Your first phone call should often be to a poison control center. If you don’t know their number, the Poison Help hotline is a free, confidential service you can call 24/7 at 1-800-222-1222 for anything regarding poisonings or preventing poisoning from taking place. They can connect you with local poison control resources and answer any questions you have, even when it’s not an emergency.
The Emergency Room
If a trip to the emergency room is advisable, take the container of anything consumed with what’s left of the vitamins. Expect healthcare providers to be there to measure and monitor specific vital signs, such as pulse, respiration, blood pressure, and physical temperature. Testing might include electrocardiograms, blood and urine sampling, a chest X-ray, and a brain CT scan to identify neurologic symptoms. You might be treated and released on the same day, or you may have to be hospitalized. Treatment might include medicines for symptoms, laxatives, IV fluids, and activated charcoal. In serious cases, you might be hooked up to breathing-support machinery.
Do You Need Treatment?
If your use of vitamins or other substances has gotten out of control, reach out for help. The National Rehab Hotline is a free resource for anyone struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse. Call the toll-free number, 866-210-1303, 24/7 to speak with a specialist who can help you find treatment and identify resources for a path to recovery that works best for you.