Some people take a handful of pills each morning, many of which consist of multiple vitamin and mineral supplements. Although vitamin and mineral supplement manufacturers entice you to purchase their product with the dangers of a deficiency, you might be ingesting way more of these nutrients than necessary. When you’re deciding on whether and which supplements to take, you have to be selective in order to avoid wasting money and jeopardizing your health.
Your Body Expels Extra Vitamins and Minerals
Your body doesn’t retain extra vitamin C for when you need it. Your body doesn’t store vitamins in the B-complex either. These vitamins are water soluble, which means the vitamin dissolves in water. Your body doesn’t store these particular vitamins; instead, water-soluble vitamins dissolve in your system, and what doesn’t get used by the body is excreted in your urine.
Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat soluble, so they dissolve in fat. The body stores these vitamins within the tissue. However, not all fat-soluble vitamins are stored as effectively, so you can lose the excess vitamins over time.
Vitamin Toxicity
Although your body expels water-soluble vitamins, your body stores fat-soluble vitamins, and these vitamins will build up in a person’s system and possibly cause toxicity. In other words, you could be buying products that actually harm your body.
Your liver has to work hard to process the vitamins. Once the vitamins accumulate in excess, you could experience a wide variety of symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and even nerve damage.
Too much vitamin D can cause you to feel weak. You may urinate frequently or experience kidney problems. If you intake too much calcium, you could feel fatigued or drowsy. Muscle weakness is possible. If your body intakes too much vitamin E, you might have an increase in bleeding. This is especially the case if you’re on an anticoagulant. Your triglyceride level could increase while your level of thyroid hormone production could decrease.
Water-soluble vitamins are difficult to overdose on since your body rids the excess automatically. However, if you should intake too much, your body will compensate by taking fluid from inside of the cells into the blood vessels. Your body will react to the fluid change, and you may experience skin blotchiness, excessive urination, nausea, flushing of the skin, abdominal pain, diarrhea and dizziness.
Getting What You Need Without Supplements
It’s not always beneficial to take a supplement as a preventative measure. You might already be obtaining all the nutrients you need from food without having to take a supplement. If you’re taking a multivitamin, you may not need to take any additional supplements. The Mayo Clinic states you should get 600 IU of vitamin D each day if you’re between the ages of one and 70. Individuals who are 71 or older should get 800 IU each day. If you regularly go out into the sun, your body obtains enough vitamin D without the need for supplements. If you’re purchasing bread fortified with vitamin D, you could receive up to 1,000 IU of vitamin D from just one slice, depending on the brand.
Individuals between the ages of 31 and 50 require 1,000 mg of calcium per day. Males between the ages of 51 and 70 years of age require 1,000 mg of calcium each day while females between the ages of 51 and 70 and anyone who is over 70 requires 1,200 mg daily. Eating just one package of fortified oatmeal will give you 350 mg of calcium. An ounce and a half of shredded cheddar provides you with slightly over 300 mg of calcium. A single bowl of cereal could provide you with enough calcium, depending on how much it’s fortified with.
Men who are over the age of 18 require 90 mg of vitamin C each day while women only need 75 milligrams per day. One serving of strawberries has 89.4 mg of vitamin C, which is more than enough for a woman and almost enough for a male. A single glass of orange juice fulfills a man or woman’s need for vitamin C since one glass can have up to 93 mg of vitamin C. One serving of broccoli contains 90 mg of vitamin C, which is enough for a man or a woman.
It’s relatively easy to obtain the right amount of nutrients if you eat the right foods. If you don’t, you could benefit from a supplement, but you should choose wisely. Don’t waste your money buying unnecessary vitamins.
~ Health Scams Exposed
