An excess of vitamins is just as dangerous as a deficiency.
Take vitamins and think that all of them are good for you? Think again — many of them are dangerous to use.
What vitamins can be dangerous to health, according to the Chronicle.info with reference to novyny.live.
Vitamins dangerous to health
Taking vitamin supplements is not without risk. In fact, almost 60,000 cases of vitamin toxicity are reported annually to the Centers for Poison Control in the US alone.
«There are many advertisements for vitamin and mineral supplements. People hear about research on the Internet or TV and think that all vitamins are useful and necessary. There is a lot of overuse and misuse,” said Katherine Tucker, Ph.D., professor and director of the Center for Population Health at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
The abuse and overuse of vitamin supplements is driven by a number of unfounded assumptions:
- vitamin supplements allegedly needed;
- vitamins are safer or more important to health than prescription drugs, and patients can self-administer supplementation without a doctor's instructions.
And some vitamins should be used with extreme caution. After all, their overdose can cause serious consequences.
Vitamin A
«Vitamin A is one of the best examples of acute vitamin toxicity», said Dr. Guallar.
Unlike water-soluble vitamins, the excess of which is excreted in the urine, fat-soluble vitamins, such as A, are stored in the body for a longer period of time. While those taking vitamin A may be concerned that they are not getting enough of this nutrient, the opposite is actually more common: in general, the body absorbs vitamin A very efficiently, but your body cannot get rid of vitamin A.
If you take more supplements than your body needs, it builds up, leading to potentially serious health problems.
«Especially the elderly should not take vitamin A. Instead of having problems absorbing vitamin A, they have problems excreting vitamin A, so it can become toxic and accumulate in your liver,» said Dr. Tucker .
Vitamin E
Besides solubility, another key indicator of vitamin overuse and potential toxicity is the difference between the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) and the amount supplied in a supplement found on the pharmacy shelf.
< p>«With vitamin E, the amount people get in the most common supplements is about 20 times the amount you get from food», said Dr. Guallar.
In the short term high levels of vitamin E can affect blood clotting and platelet formation. In the long term, high vitamin E levels may be associated with prostate cancer and higher overall mortality rates.
Folic Acid or Vitamin B9
Also known as folate, it is very important if you are planning to become pregnant to prevent neural tube defects in your baby. However, nutritionists are concerned that the population is currently taking too much folic acid, which can have serious negative effects on the nervous system.
The recommended allowance for folic acid for adults is 400 micrograms, but the National Academy of Medicine's safe upper limit is only 2-1/2 of that, 1000 micrograms.
It's easy to overdo folic acid, according to Dr. Tucker because many common foods, such as breakfast cereals and refined grains, are already fortified with folic acid. Research has long established that too much folic acid can mask a vitamin B12 deficiency, but now researchers are discovering that a high folic acid/low vitamin B12 environment can also lead to nerve damage.
Vitamin D
Among supplements, vitamin D is one of the most controversial at the moment. Using a general threshold set by the National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine), more than one-third of US adults are vitamin D deficient. And vitamin D is critical for strong bones, especially for those who live in northern climates and have limited sun exposure.
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a decrease in bone density (osteoporosis), an increased risk of fractures.
And as with other supplements, more is not better with vitamin D. Excessive levels of vitamin D can increase blood calcium levels, leading to vascular and tissue calcification and ultimately damaging the heart, blood, vessels, and kidneys. It is also associated with a greater risk of cancer in some places, like the pancreas, and higher death rates from any cause.
Vitamin B6
The most common dose in vitamin B6 tablets is 76 times the amount of B6 that an adult should be taken daily.
It is not common to find pills that provide 200 or even 350 times the recommended dietary allowance. Like folate, another B vitamin, chronic overconsumption of vitamin B6 can lead to nerve damage, which includes ataxia or loss of body control.
Too much vitamin B6 can also cause a range of other problems, from skin lesions to gastrointestinal problems such as nausea and heartburn.