Having worked in health care for many years, especially with the elderly, I was often asked whether vitamin supplements were really all that necessary or important to good health. The answer is vitamin supplements can be beneficial, especially if a diet is inadequate in providing essential vitamins and minerals. But, there are several precautions and warnings everyone should heed before taking vitamin supplements.
Doctors routinely order daily multivitamin supplement for younger children, the elderly, those that are anemic or anorexic and daily pre-natal vitamin supplements for pregnant and lactating mothers. Those with inadequate levels of certain vitamins, or with health conditions needing increased antioxidants, may be prescribed vitamin supplements by their doctors.
Vitamin supplements, non-prescription drugs, and other natural supplements may alter or intensify effects of many prescription medications. This may cause unintended adverse side effects which are sometimes serious. So whether prescribed vitamin supplements by your doctor, or simply choosing to take them to improve your own health, following these five safety precautions should help you avoid any ill effects from taking vitamin supplements.
Vitamin Supplements: Five Warnings and Safety Precautions
– Educate yourself regarding all potential health risks and benefits.
– Notify your doctor if you are taking, or are planning to take, any vitamin supplements or other supplements or over-the-counter medications.
– Compare vitamin supplements for quality as well as price
– Learn how well a particular vitamin supplement will be absorbed by the body
– Quit taking any vitamin supplement if you observe signs of adverse effects and notify your doctor immediately.
Registered dieticians, naturopathic physicians, and doctors trained in nutritional medicine are great sources for of information on vitamin supplements. Check your local bookstore or library for books on nutrition. Magazines such as Prevention, Health Magazine, Women’s Health, and Men’s Health are among many others that routinely publish articles on the benefits of vitamin supplements. Health food stores, print and on-line health newsletters, and numerous medical websites are also great resources for finding the latest information on vitamin supplements and how they may help improve a particular health condition.
The choices of vitamin supplements and various combinations seem endless. Anyone who has ever walked down the vitamin supplement aisle at a health food store, a pharmacy, or a drug store understands exactly what I am talking about. There you will find a host of vitamins and natural supplements, everything from A to Z.
Knowing which combinations of vitamin and mineral supplements are most effective taken together is often key to gaining greater health benefits from nutritional supplements. Be sure to do your research. Too much or the wrong types, or certain combinations of vitamin supplements taken with certain medications can prove dangerous to your health. Sometimes, too much of a good thing may prove dangerous as well.
Water-soluble vitamins, like vitamin C, are flushed out of your system whenever your body has taken in more than it can use. So taking larger doses of vitamin C supplements may not be dangerous, just a waste of money being flushed down the toilet. Daily vitamin supplements are especially helpful when diets are lacking in adequate amounts of daily vitamin C and other water-soluble vitamins.
Fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamin A, are stored in the body until needed, resulting in toxicity when levels become too high. Vitamin A toxicity does not occur naturally. You will not get it by eating large amounts of foods like carrots that contain the vitamin, only by consuming large doses of vitamin A supplements.
Acute vitamin A toxicity can occur within a few hours, or days, after taking a very large dose of vitamin A–usually about 25,000 IU/kg. Chronic vitamin A toxicity occurs when daily doses of 25,000 IU or more are taken for prolonged periods. Death from vitamin A toxicity is rare according to e-medicine, Medscape’s Continually Updated Clinical Reference, but it can cause a wide range of serious complications including osteoporosis, peripheral neuritis, and cirrhosis of the liver.
If a diet is inadequate, vitamin supplements can be a big benefit. However, vitamin supplements should never be viewed as a replacement for a nutritious diet. They can be extremely beneficial in treating and preventing many health conditions, but everyone needs to be aware of the potential risks as well as benefits before taking nutritional or vitamin supplements.
Help avoid ill effects from vitamin and nutritional supplements by discussing health concerns with your personal health care provider. Be sure they know if you are taking, or plan on taking, any vitamin supplements. By following these warnings and safety precautions, you increase your chance of reaping the fullest possible benefit from taking vitamin supplements.
Here’s to your good health!
Resource:
e-medicine (Medscape’s Continually Updated Clinical Reference), Vitamin A Toxicity,
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/126104-overview, 2009.
