Diet Safety: Over-vitaminizing as a trend

Megan Roth

Contributor

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As mentioned time and time again, January is diet safety month on InjuryBoard. I think it’s safe to say when most of us think of diet safety, we think of weight loss and physical fitness.

Fair enough. To be honest, I do, too. However, there are numerous other subjects that fit under the “diet safety” umbrella.

As pointed out yesterday, dietary supplements are one of those subjects (and a large one at that).

In fact, in the year 2000 over 40 percent of Americans were taking vitamins; three years later, it was speculated that approximately 70 percent of the population was taking supplements – vitamins included.

It’s true – we’re a health conscious society in some ways, not so much in others. But is vitamin consumption a good thing? Perhaps, but not necessarily.

It’s a good thing if you’re deficient; however, over-consumption of certain vitamins may actually be detrimental – even deadly.

Taking vitamins should not serve as a substitute for consuming nutrients through food, a mistake many individuals (even my roommates) make.

High intakes of a certain vitamin may actually even prevent your body from absorbing others and will have adverse effects on your overall health. Let’s use Vitamin A as an example. Consuming Vitamin A in great excess of the recommended daily intake (RDI) can actually increase your odds of developing osteoporosis. It may also increase your susceptibility to illnesses and can cause birth defects if taken when pregnant,

Wow, all that from a vitamin? It’s true. And, unfortunately, Vitamin A isn’t the only nutrient that can have adverse side effects; like it or not, it falls in place with a long list of others.

And not all of those ‘others’ have the same symptoms. In fact, the symptoms vary greatly based on the vitamin / mineral consumed, the amount that is consumed and what it’s consumed with.

As with any health risks, such effects will vary from person-to-person; one individual may suffer nausea and headaches while another shows no signs of an adverse reaction. This is because certain individuals may require much more than the RDI of one vitamin, while others may need only half that amount.

Similarly, some may be prone to vitamin deficiencies (I, for example, have a family history of anemia; thus, it’s likely I am not processing iron properly and will thus require a higher consumption in order to allow my body to absorb the amounts necessary for good health).

This is less legal and more health-related an issue as the potential side effects and risks are well-publicized; however, it’s an issue to raise eyebrows nonetheless.

Know what you’re getting in to when you take a supplement, regardless of its intentions. Always do your research, demonstrate caution when using and keep mind of any changes / reactions you may notice.