Cody Suprak
Mrs. Monte
ENG101 - 27076
25 March 2015
Vitamin Overload Vitamins? More like vitamouts. A lot of people believe that taking a daily multivitamin or individual supplements can increase their health and therefore extend their lives, but science has proven otherwise. In fact, science has proven almost the opposite. In most cases taking supplements can actually be detrimental to your health. Vitamins, if taken properly, can and should be used to improve health, but the possibility of overdosing is a real threat. Overdose of essential vitamins can lead to health complications, dependencies, and in the worst cases early mortality. Since the 1920’s, supplements have been a very popular area of study, not only in the field of health, but also in scientific studies. Many early studies showed that by taking supplements, people could improve their health and increase their life expectancy (Karpecki & Shechtman). New and improved scientific methods of research have developed and allowed for an expanded knowledge on supplementing and new studies have shown that the priors have inconsistencies in regard to the benefits and potential risks. In 2010, for example, a study was conducted to re-examine meta-analysis data and found that only 36% of reviewed studies showed benefit to nutritional supplementation whereas 60% found to show no benefit along with 4% of the reviewed studies showing an adverse effect (Karpecki & Shechtman). By updating these inconsistencies, science has been updated on its information regarding human health. Although supplementation is not often recommended, it is necessary in some cases. For example, people with iron deficiency often rely on iron capsules in order to get the amount their bodies need in order to survive. In other cases, however, where a deficiency is not present in a person, supplementation is often unhealthy due to overdose.
Overdose of vitamins is not a condition that many see immediately, whereas deficiency is. Overdose or hypervitaminosis causes long term effects in individuals and often the signs are not seen until late in life when it is too late to prevent (Fundukian). One exception to this is high-dose niacin. This has been used to treat high cholesterol levels. While safe in normal levels, high-dose niacin is associated with liver damage and severe facial flushing when used in the amounts needed to lower serum cholesterol (Fundukian). Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E are what are called anti-oxidants. These anti-oxidants claim to help in preventing heart disease, infection, and other illnesses and are the most common supplements taken. However, studies that have compared adults who have taken large amounts of these anti-oxidants compared to those who did not were subject to bias and are not a proven scientific study (American Heart Association). While The American Heart Association does not recommend taking anti-oxidant supplements, they do suggest people obtain anti-oxidants from plant-based food products like fruits and vegetables.
A huge controversy surrounding the use of supplementation is the need for the vitamins as opposed to the belief of need. It is recommended that if at any time it is believed taking additional daily vitamins is needed, that you consult a doctor and have an analysis to show that it is necessary to begin intake, otherwise, you run the possible risk of hypervitaminosis which could lead to health complications rather than health benefits (American Heart Association). Some examples of these health complications are; heart disease, including atrial fibrillation, a quivering or irregular heartbeat that lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications, as well as vitamin deficiency, when the body can no longer create the amount of needed vitamins for the body to work and operate properly, and finally osteoporosis, a progressive bone disease that decreases bone density and mass. These diseases are caused by elevated