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Supplementation - Are you Concerned?

Article written by Rochelle Trail.

Have you been advised to take a multivitamin supplement? Or perhaps you’ve read our article '10 Reasons to Supplement’ but are a bit concerned about supplementing?

Taking a vitamin or mineral supplement is a personal decision but can be a daunting thought if you’ve never taken one before. You may be worried about overdosing or had someone tell you that they are dangerous or simply that they are a waste of money. Let’s take a closer look at some of these concerns.

Can’t I have too much?

A 1998 study published in the Journal of American Medicine showed that 106, 000 people die each year in American hospitals due to medication side effects but this is not the case with vitamin and mineral supplements.2 It is very rare for vitamins and minerals to result in toxicity. For example many vitamins and minerals have no tolerable upper intake level (UL) as set by the Food and Nutrition Board due to lack of toxicity.  However, there are a few such as the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K that can be stored by the body. But toxic levels are generally high and these won’t be included in supplements at such levels.

Aren’t some vitamins and minerals dangerous?

Some vitamins such as vitamin A have received bad press for doing more harm than good.  For example, excessive amounts of Vitamin A have been linked to birth defects making all pregnant women wary of consuming too much.  However, a further study found no birth defects appeared in women consuming greater than 50,000IU per day.3 In fact, a 50% decrease in birth defects was found in babies exposed to Vitamin A compared to those not exposed. Further investigation revealed the greatest amount of birth defects occurred in babies exposed to between 10,000 and 40,000IU but a decreased risk for those exposed to even higher levels.3, 4 This suggests that it may actually have been due to chance.  However, caution is still advised for pregnant women and they should still avoid supplementing with more than 10,000IU per day unless under the guidance of a health practitioner.

Doesn’t it just make expensive urine?

Finding an intact vitamin tablet in your stool is an indication of the fact that it has not been absorbed therefore you will reap no benefit from it.  However, colouration of urine is not an indication of lack of absorption.  This is simply due to the distinctive bright yellow colour of Vitamins B2 and B5.  For anything to pass into your urine, it must have entered the bloodstream and been filtered by the kidneys and then enter the bladder.  Therefore fluorescent urine is an indication that your vitamins have actually already had a very productive life.1

Does this mean you should have supplements by the bottle load? Not at all, but supplements can be useful when trying to meet your nutritional needs. Be sure to always read the label and use as directed, supplements should not replace a balanced diet rather complement it. If in doubt, speak to your doctor before use.

 

 

References

  1. Beim, Mim, 2001. Nutrition for Slobs. ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  2. Lazarou, J., 1998. Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. JAMA [Online] 279(15) p. 1200-5. Available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9555760 [Accessed 10th February, 2010].
  3. Mastroiacovo, P. et al, 1999. High vitamin A intake in early pregnancy and major malformations: a multicenter prospective controlled study. Teratology [Abstract Online] 59(1) p. 7–11.  Abstract available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9988877 [Accessed 10th February, 2010].
  4. Rothman K.J. et al, 1995. Teratogenicity of high vitamin A intake. N Engl J Med [Online] 333 p.1369–73. Available at http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/333/21/1369.pdf [Accessed 10th February, 2010].


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Last updated 8/18/2010 4:23:01 PM