Dietary supplements and vitamins: many of us pop them daily because we’ve been told they improve our health. But do we really need to? Are we wasting our money? Is it hurting us? I decided to find out.
There have been many studies lately trying to find out whether taking supplements has a quantifiable impact on health. Despite supplements being a multi-billion dollar industry, almost every study had similar findings. More isn’t always more. The main source of vitamins and minerals for humans comes from our diet. A healthy, balanced diet (or even a moderately healthy one) should provide us with every vitamin we need and then some. Unless you are experiencing specific symptoms that a doctor or dietitian has prescribed supplements for, you really don’t need to be taking supplements at all.
In fact, taking megadoses of these vitamins such as those found in concentrated supplemental pills can actually cause harm.
Vitamin A can be bad for your bones and in extremely high doses causes poisoning.
Vitamin E has been linked to higher rates of prostate cancer in men.
Vitamin B6 can lead to nerve damage.
Extended use of multivitamins has been linked to higher overall risk of death.
You may be thinking I’m crazy, but hear me out. These studies show the risks of extremes by megadosing, but the risks are still potentially there for long-term use even in small doses. Doctors, dietitians, and researchers all agree that you shouldn’t have to be taking supplements unless you have a significant deficiency in your diet. There are, of course, exceptions to this very broad guideline such as young children with very picky eating habits, people with food allergies, pregnant women, anemic people, and other special cases. If you fit into one of those categories, talk to your doctor to make sure you’re getting what you need.
I’m not saying you should panic and throw out your vitamins as soon as you read this. But if you’ve been taking vitamins without a second opinion, you may want to consider asking a professional to make sure you’re not doing more harm than help!
