With the use of multivitamins from 2003-2008 creeping up to 40% and many people scarfing down vitamin megadoses (an approach that most experts disagree with) we had better know what they’re doing for us and not simply assume that because they’re ‘natural’ only good can come from popping a fistful of them every morning.
During the European Age of Discovery, scurvy would have been a laughable concept if we knew then what we know now about Vitamin C, so historically important discoveries have been made in disease prevention through the employment of vitamins and minerals, but not every study has been a stroll in the park.
How Safe Are Multivitamins?
A series of observational studies in the 90’s showing that certain antioxidants including vitamin A, E and C could protect against heart disease and other maladies has turned out to be incorrect with new evidence linking vitamin E and beta carotene supplements to increased incidences of lung cancer in smokers, while researchers have become wary that megadoses of B vitamin folate (which many foods are fortified with) promote colon cancer.
Also, Consumerlab.com, a watchdog for the supplement industry found that more than one half of the 21 multivitamins it tested had too much or too little of certain vitamins or had been contaminated with dangerous substances like lead. This demonstrates that you can’t assume every vitamin is safe or that it contains all it says it does because there are no actual manufacturing rules for supplements.
If you’re taking a prescription, check with your doctor about risky interactions. Too much Vitamin E, for instance, may be a problem if you’re taking a blood thinner. If you’re a cancer patient, you should ask your doctor about risks before taking vitamins. Cancer cells need vitamins to grow and some supplements can even interfere with chemotherapy.
The Helpful Multivitamin
The federal government’s 2005 Dietary Guidelines suggest that people older than 50 take them as a way to ensure adequate vitamin B12 and calcium intake while Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised all women of child-bearing age to take 400 mcg of folic acid which helps make and maintain new cells. Pregnant women should take 600 mcg of folic acid which reduces the incidence of neural tube birth defects. In both cases a multivitamin is an excellent way to do this.
The whole point of taking multivitamins isn’t to turn you into an immortal health-hero but to help you get key nutrients your diet might be lacking. Nobody’s asking you to swing through the jungles eating everything that grows skyward but if your diet is low on fruits and veggies one of the best ways to ensure you’re not going overboard on vitamins is to simply eat whatever you’ve been missing in its most natural form.
If you are tempted to take multivitamins, talk to your doctor first and consider enriched foods that can accomplish the exact same goal. “When you’re grocery shopping and picking up an energy bar or breakfast cereal, look at the supplement facts panel. If you see 100% of RDA, you may not even need a multivitamin supplement,” says Jeffery Blumberg, PhD, professor of nutrition of Tufts University in Boston.
Power To The People:
1. Filling our medicine cabinets with vitamins instead of pharmaceutical pills isn’t a step up and if we’re taking in much more than we need, the high levels of excess our bodies *can’t* absorb can result in toxic side effects. We might as well be flushing our money down the toilet.
2. Most supplements aren’t cheap but something far more cost effective would be making a b-line to the grocery store to get what you need in raw produce. Think about what you eat, what you might be missing and check this out: (healthism healthy food plate) http://t.co/QQxIE1K
3. If we want to spend our hard earned dollars wisely while safeguarding against chronic disease, we’ve got to start questioning how effective ever-changing health trends are when a simple well rounded diet and regular exercise have been *proven* to keep our pockets full and bodies healthy -free of charge.
The goal is to put your well-being back into your own hands and accept that the elusive magic-bullet for health is only found in the choices *you* make. Eating well, following through with recommended screenings and exercising will be the best insurance you can award yourself instead of loading up on multivitamins that have yet to produce conclusive beneficial evidence.
