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Vitamin overdose?
Warning - taking high dose supplements over a long period of time could be harmful to your health. Wynnie Chan reports
Over 50 per cent of UK households bought dietary supplements in 2001, spending around £350 million. Yet this trend could be set to change. A recent report by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that people taking large doses of certain vitamins and minerals might permanently damage their health. FSA proposed that a balanced and varied diet gives a person all the necessary vitamins and minerals they need. So, where does that leave the consumer?
Why do we take dietary supplements?
We use supplements for a variety of reasons, from improving our health and wellbeing to preventing and treating specific conditions, and maintaining general health. The body needs an optimum amount of vitamins and minerals to function healthily and stave off illness and disease - and with today's busy lifestyle, it's not always possible to get all your vitamins from diet alone.
What is a dietary supplement?
Dietary supplements can be divided into several categories, as follows:
Existing European guidelines specify the recommended daily amount of vitamins or minerals that adults need to maintain health and prevent deficiencies. These guidelines are known as the recommended daily allowance or RDA.
Micrograms - ugMilligrams - mg
Often, dietary supplements are available in amounts close to 100 per cent of their RDAs. However, some are sold in high or megadoses of the RDAs, and it's these high dose supplements that can pose problems if taken over a long period of time.
Over 50 per cent of UK households bought dietary supplements in 2001, spending around £350 million. Yet this trend could be set to change. A recent report by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) found that people taking large doses of certain vitamins and minerals might permanently damage their health. FSA proposed that a balanced and varied diet gives a person all the necessary vitamins and minerals they need. So, where does that leave the consumer?
Why do we take dietary supplements?
We use supplements for a variety of reasons, from improving our health and wellbeing to preventing and treating specific conditions, and maintaining general health. The body needs an optimum amount of vitamins and minerals to function healthily and stave off illness and disease - and with today's busy lifestyle, it's not always possible to get all your vitamins from diet alone.
What is a dietary supplement?
Dietary supplements can be divided into several categories, as follows:
- Single vitamins or single minerals such as vitamin C or calcium
- Multivitamins and/or multi-minerals
- Natural oils such as essential fatty acids (cod liver or halibut liver oils), and evening primrose oils
- Natural substances such as ginseng, Royal Jelly and garlic, which are often marketed for their health-promoting benefits
- Natural substances such as phytonutrients, which are not essential nutrients, e.g. flavonoids
- Natural substances - herbal compounds such as echinacea, St John's Wort.
Existing European guidelines specify the recommended daily amount of vitamins or minerals that adults need to maintain health and prevent deficiencies. These guidelines are known as the recommended daily allowance or RDA.
| Vitamins | EC labelling RDA | |
Vitamin A (ug) | 800 5 10 60 1.4 1.6 18 200 2 1 0.15 6 | |
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium (mg) Phosphorous (mg) Magnesium (mg) Iron (mg) Magnesium (mg) Zinc (mg) Iodine (ug) | 800 800 300 14 300 15 150 |
Often, dietary supplements are available in amounts close to 100 per cent of their RDAs. However, some are sold in high or megadoses of the RDAs, and it's these high dose supplements that can pose problems if taken over a long period of time.
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