Are Vitamin Supplements Good For You?

The COVID 19 pandemic has made people more conscious of their health and the need to protect it. While this is a positive development, there is often a tendency to overuse vitamins and over-the-counter medications in an effort to prevent COVID 19 and other diseases. Unsupervised and/or excessive vitamin consumption can, by itself, lead to disorders from overdose of some of them; Vitamin A and D are classic examples.

Who needs vitamins?

Our bodies require only a small amount of vitamins each day. A varied and balanced diet will normally provide all the vitamins that are required. However, some people, at some time in their lives, may have a greater need for some vitamins and for them supplements are essential. These include but are not limited to:

• Those recovering from illness or surgery
• Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• Those who smoke, consume alcohol or use recreational drugs
• People with food allergies that prevent them from consuming certain vitamin-rich foods
• The elderly
• Those who are on controlled diets – medically ordered or just to lose weight
• Those whose metabolism is unable to fully absorb natural vitamins.

How long should you take vitamins?

There is no hard and fast rule on this. The duration for which a person needs to take vitamins depends on both the reason for taking the vitamins and the type of supplements. Vitamins are not magical solutions to health issues. They are substances that the body uses to maintain itself, protect itself from disease, and ifyou should fall sick, to enhance the recovery.Some vitamins and nutritional supplements such as D and B vitamins and iron, taken for energy and strength, may take up to 6 months to start having an impact on the metabolic system. Others, such a vitamin D, calcium and magnesium, taken to strengthen the bones, may need years for the full benefits to become available because the rate of absorption is much slower.

The quantum of vitamin intake is also important. Too little and the benefits may not develop. In general, excess vitamin intake is passed out of the body naturally, but in some cases, it may have a negative impact on health. For this reason, consulting a doctor before starting on a vitamin supplement regime is the best course of action.

The danger of excessive vitamin intake

While any excess of vitamins beyond what the body requires is normally passed out of the system, this is not always the case. An example is vitamin C, the most common of all supplements. Supplements when taken by those who need it and in the right quantities are completely safe. However, an excess can result inseveral side effects including cramps, abdominal pain, headaches, nausea, insomnia and more. Excessive zinc intake may cause some of the same symptoms along with diarrhea, influenza-like symptoms,changes in the ability to taste, a drop in HDL (or “good”) cholesterol levels, etc.

There is a difference between what are known as the maintenance dose of vitamins and therapeutic dosage. Maintenance dose is the vitamin intake needed to maintain the right vitamin levels in the body. Therapeutic doseis required to make up for vitamin deficiency and bring the levels to normal. Vitamin D presents a good example of this. According the research done by the British National Health Service, for adults a vitamin D level of below 30 nmol/L is considered to be deficient. 30 to 50 nmol/L may be inadequate in those suffering from certain health conditions. Above 50 nmol/L is considered to be sufficient for most adults. Those with low or inadequate vitamin D levels should take vitamin supplements as prescribed by a doctor. Those with sufficient levels need only take lower maintenance doses.

Once again, obtaining medical advice before starting on vitamin supplements will keep you safe from the effects of vitamin deficiency or overconsumption.

Taking vitamins along with medications

Medications, even over-the-counter ones, may have side effects. It is common for people to take vitamin supplements to prevent or combat these problems. However, some dietary supplements may increase the effectiveness of your medication, and other dietary supplements may decrease it. Medications are prescribed in specific dosages for specific medical conditions. If the dose or effectiveness is too high or too low, the health consequence could be very serious. An example is when blood thinners  are prescribed and the patient also takes vitamin E supplements. This vitamin is a blood thinner itself, so the thinning may be excessive, which could be dangerous. This is true even of so-called “natural” substances and herbs. The fact that they affect the metabolism means that they may not be safe to consume when medications, which have their own metabolic effect are being taken. Medicines and vitamins do not automatically go together.

Taking vitamin supplements can be beneficial to health, especially for those who are recovering from illness or have special vitamin requirements that cannot be met from the normal diet. However, a blind belief that taking vitaminsupplements is always good for the health and helps to fight disease and infections is a fallacy. Consumption of unrequired vitamins or consuming those that are needed in the wrong quantities both can result in a variety of medical problems which, in extreme cases, could have severe health consequences. Obtaining qualified medical advice before starting any vitamin intake routine is advisable.

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Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

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