Dietary supplements? Slow down!

 BY KEMI LAWAL

Dietary supplements, slow down

Food supplements, also known as dietary supplements, are meant to improve your diet by providing vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, enzymes, and other beneficial substances. They come in a variety of forms, including capsules, soft gels, gel caps, and tablets.

According to the website www.military.com, they contribute to improved muscular strength, endurance, and overall physical performance.  For this reason, they are commonly taken by athletes to improve their performance. Food supplements can also prevent a variety of diseases and health conditions. For example, pregnant women are advised to take folic acid to prevent birth defects. Other supplements are used in combination with drugs as a method of complementary or alternative treatment for health conditions.

Although supplements are available for every type of vitamin and mineral, most experts advise obtaining nutrients through diet because supplements can’t replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods. According to www.mayoclinic.com, some vitamin supplements can be dangerous if you ingest too many of them. Too much vitamin A, for example, can cause hair, skin and bone problems, headaches, and irritability. Overuse of vitamin D can cause kidney stones, tiredness, and mental health problems. Vitamin C is an exception in the water-soluble category, as too much of it can cause kidney stones and gastrointestinal problems.

Another problem with vitamin supplements is that they ordinarily do not contain fibre. Replacing nutritious food with vitamin supplements may therefore decrease fibre intake. Fibre is a substance derived from food that helps to clear out and regulate your intestinal tract. It is also filling, which helps decrease appetite, and soluble fibres play a role in lowering blood cholesterol.

Taking vitamins may decrease your natural phytonutrient intake. Phytonutrients are chemical substances in foods that likely protect against certain types of cancer and cardiovascular disease. They are found in a variety of foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.

In addition, when taking vitamin supplements, you may miss out on the intake of other needed vitamins and minerals. A multivitamin may make up for this deficiency to an extent; however, your risk of vitamin toxicity increases. Eating a balanced diet consisting of a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and dairy is more likely to give you the appropriate balance of all needed nutrients.

Most vitamins are water soluble and will quickly be used or flushed out of your body without building up to toxic levels; however, there are some vitamins that may build up to dangerous levels in the body. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E are stored in the body for long periods and unhealthy build-up can cause health issues such as birth defects, nausea, kidney damage and digestive tract disorders. Supplementation can lead to toxicity of these nutrients. Healthy adults should intake no more than 10,000 IU— International Units— of vitamin A; 2,000 IU of vitamin D; and 1,100 IU of vitamin E in supplement form per day to avoid toxic levels of these vitamins.

Vitamins have the potential to interact with drugs or exacerbate certain health problems and it’s recommended that you inform your doctor if you are taking them. Vitamin E is one of the primary nutrients, which has great potential to interact with certain medications. This nutrient may increase risk of blood clotting in people taking anti-clotting drugs, may interact with chemotherapy or radiation therapy and has the capacity to lessen the effectiveness of certain cholesterol-lowering medications.

There is still a lot of research that needs to be done to confirm the effectiveness of certain vitamin supplements. Many people take them with the assumption that they will work just as well as natural nutrients from foods. In reality, supplements are man-made ‘nutrients’ which are not always as effective in improving health as their natural counterparts.

For example, vitamin C ingested from food sources may help reduce risk of certain cancers of the mouth and breast and lower high blood pressure— with the help of blood pressure medication –  while their synthetic counterparts have been shown to have no beneficial effect in reducing certain cancers of the mouth, breast or lowering high blood pressure.

For optimal benefit, consult your doctor about the right dietary supplements for you. Research the supplement ingredients before you purchase the product. Avoid dietary supplements with mega doses of any ingredient, particularly vitamin A, vitamin D, and iron. A mega dose is one that exceeds the recommended dietary intake. Although mega doses can be beneficial for the treatment of certain health conditions, they can also cause toxicity symptoms. Finally, stop taking any supplement if you experience an unpleasant side effect, and never combine supplements with medication or other supplements without your doctor’s recommendation.