Some forty years ago, when a scene in which astronauts ate pills with synthesized vitamins, minerals and other nutritional ingredients necessary for life appeared in a then popular movie, vitamin supplements seemed (and were) science fiction.
Today’s hectic life, ie lack of time and lack of vitamins in food, impose vitamins and minerals “from the bottle” as something necessary for our immunity to function without problems. The vast majority of us start consuming vitamins as a dietary supplement after various diseases, to strengthen the body with training and greater effort, and as a dietary supplement depleted of vitamins to strengthen immunity. How much time do we need to peel and eat an orange with breakfast, and how long to just swallow a pill with a glass of water and forget about vitamins until the end of the day and have the luxury of indulging in lunch at an office from a nearby fast food, whose only “vegetable ingredients” are peeled tomatoes and pizza and french fries mushrooms.
Which to choose?
Among the crowded shelves of various manufacturers, there is an almost too large selection of effervescent, in tablets in syrups or fluids; for children, for the elderly and the young; isolated individual vitamins or minerals such as vitamins A, D, E or K, iron or magnesium, the intake of which should be under medical supervision. Excessive use of certain vitamins and minerals can harm your body, even cause bigger problems.
Before taking a blood test, be sure to consult shelves with supplements that you do not know how to dose. Don’t swallow iron pills just because you feel tired; fatigue does not necessarily mean anemia and iron deficiency, and can mean an excessive amount of another vitamin or mineral in the body that you have taken without control so far.
How effective are they?
Some recent research suggests that overuse even has detrimental effects while some suggest that there is no benefit from vitamins from bottles. There is also information that our body is not able to recognize synthetic vitamins and does not even absorb them from the body. Some studies show that excessive consumption of some supplements such as beta carotene, vitamins E and A, increases mortality, while consumption of A and E can also interfere with natural immunity.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E has long been thought to possess antioxidant properties, can prevent prostate cancer, affect diabetes, and prevent cardiovascular disease. Through closer research, scientists have come to the conclusion that vitamin E is retained in the body by dissolving in fat, and the incidence of cancer in consumers who ingest more than the recommended daily dose of 15 mg has increased. Also, it did not affect diabetes or reduce heart disease. We make a special note for the consumption of this vitamin in pregnancy when consumption higher than the allowed daily recommended amounts can harm the development of heart defects in the baby.
Vitamin C
Another known antioxidant, vitamin C, is known to be the only one we can’t have too much in the body because the excess is excreted from the body through urine. However, recent findings reveal shocking data for people suffering from malignant diseases – such as healthy cells, vitamin C also helps malignant cells to grow and maintain themselves and protects them from damage by the drugs used to treat patients.
Ginkgo
Known as a remedy for blood circulation, respiratory diseases and poor immunity, Ginkgo is another of the supplements of which, in layman’s terms – we do not benefit too much. There is even a risk of internal bleeding, according to the latest findings. Folic acid New findings on uncontrolled and excessive intake of folic acid say not only that there is no benefit but that it is harmful to the fetus in early pregnancy, or during the first trimester when it can negatively affect the respiratory system and infections of others. Special attention should therefore be paid to prescribing supplements to pregnant women whose diet is varied and contains enough nutrients on its own.
Multivitamins
Despite skeptics, vitamin supplements have been shown to have multiple benefits for the body and are being incorporated into newer food pyramids as indispensable supplements. Of course, under the obligatory supervision of a doctor. Not every type of vitamin is for every individual because, as we have already said, every organism is different starting from the material, age to physical consumption for which different amounts of different supplements are needed. Use vitamins and minerals, consult a doctor for these, especially if you are in one of the specific situations when you consume too many vitamins E, A, folic acid during pregnancy and in similar situations.
