Articles > Should I Take Vitamins?

It’s always better to get essential vitamins and minerals from a varied diet that incorporates all of the food groups, but since it’s sometimes hard to eat well, many of us might benefit from certain supplements or a multivitamin. Calcium and certain antioxidants are nutrients that may be beneficial in supplemental amounts. And, it never hurts to take a multivitamin-given it’s a well-balanced one. Read on to find out more about these dietary supplements.

Antioxidants

The ‘free radical theory of aging’ is based on the notion that ‘free radicals’ — charged molecules from bodily waste products, toxins, and stresses — build up over time, damage cells, and cause us to age. The theory goes that if you take in enough antioxidants — compounds that eliminate free radicals — then you can slow down the aging process. Whether or not this theory holds out in nature has yet to be determined. Nevertheless, the Nutrition Business Journal estimates that Americans spent 2.3 billion dollars on ‘antioxidant’ supplements last year.

According to Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., an antioxidant researcher at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, the best way to protect yourself from free radicals is to ‘build your diet around vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, and to include red wine and tea, which will provide the greatest diversity of antioxidants.’

Dr. Blumberg believes that certain vitamins, such as vitamins C and E, are indeed powerful antioxidants. Phytochemicals such as flavonoids and polyphenols are also antioxidants, which you would get by following his dietary advice. For example, a small apple contains a mere 6 milligrams of vitamin C, but a whopping 433 milligrams of flavonoids and polyphenols. No single antioxidant vitamin can do the job of the hundreds of nutrients that occur in food. The best food sources of antioxidants include prunes, raisins, dark leafy greens (kale and spinach), Brussels sprouts, broccoli, blueberries, strawberries, garlic, and any other fruit or vegetable with bright color. However, some scientists think that there may be some benefit to taking extra vitamin C (up to 1,000 milligrams per day) and vitamin E (up to 800 IU per day) to boost your antioxidant power if your diet is lacking.

Remember, that there is such a thing as too much of good thing. How much is too much? Nobody knows. If you’re going to take extra, stick to the amounts here that are known to be safe.

Calcium

Ninety-nine percent of the calcium in your body is stored in your bones and teeth; the remaining one percent, circulates throughout the body to help perform essential functions such as facilitating muscle contractions and transmitting messages throughout the central nervous system. If you don’t get enough calcium through your diet, the calcium is taken out of bones to help your body perform these essential tasks. If your body has to take calcium from your bones on a regular basis, bones become weak and more prone to the debilitating disease osteoporosis, which affects up to half of American women past menopause and 5 million American men. The best food sources of calcium include milk and foods made from milk. However, calcium is also found in dark green vegetables, beans, nuts, canned sardines and salmon with the bones, and calcium-fortified orange juice. Still, most Americans fall short of the recommended dietary calcium levels to prevent osteoporosis. Some people think they get enough through their daily multivitamin, but most multivitamins do not meet calcium requirements — if your diet is low in calcium, a calcium supplement on top of a multivitamin may be beneficial. Calcium supplements in the form of calcium carbonate or calcium citrate are best absorbed if taken with meals. It is best to take calcium twice daily in doses of 500 milligrams because your body can only absorb so much at once. It is recommended that college age women and men get between 1,000 and 1,500 milligrams of calcium each day.

Multivitamins

In general, we could all benefit from a daily multivitamin to provide insurance of adequate intake of essential nutrients. Multivitamins are best absorbed and less likely to cause stomach upset if taken with meals. One-a-day type formulas are convenient and safe so long as they are balanced and not too high in any one nutrient. But, not every multivitamin is created equal. Here’s what you should look for to get the most out of your multivitamin:

• Forgo those with a Laundry list of ingredients — many ingredients (ginseng, alfalfa, cayenne to name a few) are added to multivitamins as a marketing tool, but they are added in too small a quantity to have any effect. Look out for long ingredient lists and keep it simple.
• Avoid those with more than 150% of the U.S. RDA of any one nutrient — certain vitamins, particularly vitamin A, build up in the body and become toxic. Others compete with each other for absorption; too much of one can cause deficiency of another.
• Check the expiration date — make sure it’s at least a few months away and throw away when it has passed.
• Watch out for Missing minerals — many multis have all the vitamins, but they lack all the minerals; minerals are just as essential to good health as vitamins-look for chromium, copper, magnesium, zinc, and if you’re a woman, iron.
• If it has zinc, it should also have copper — zinc and copper compete for absorption. Zinc supplements (sometimes taken to fight the common cold) can interfere with copper absorption and cause copper deficiency over time. Copper, found in shellfish, nuts, beans, meat, and whole grains, is an essential co-factor for many enzymes and for making red blood cells.
• Make sure Daily Values are listed — make sure the percent ‘Daily Value’ or RDA is listed so you know how much of a day’s worth you’re actually getting.
• Don’t be fooled by a label that claims ‘High Potency’ — it may have high levels of some nutrients, but can be lacking in others. Many so-called ‘high-potency’ vitamins have less than 15 percent of the RDA for essential minerals.
• Don’t be fooled by ‘specialized formulas’ i.e. women’s or men’s formulas — these claims aren’t regulated and they often have no meaning.
• Watch out for too much iron — iron deficiency remains common in the U.S. while some people get way too much. Young women who are vegetarians or who diet are particularly prone to iron deficiency due to monthly menstrual losses. Meanwhile, the typical American diet high in red meat can lead to iron overload, which increase the risk for heart disease. If you’re a woman and you don’t eat red meat, it’s probably in your best interest to get some supplemental iron.
• Don’t worry about Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, Iodine, Phosphorous, Manganese, Molybdenum, Chloride, Boron, Nickel, Silicon, Tin, and Vanadium — These nutrients are abundant in the food supply and there’s no evidence that getting more from a supplement is better.

If you’re a very conscientious consumer, here are some other things to keep in mind when considering supplements:

Look for vitamin A in the form of mixed carotenoids and avoid too much — the body converts carotenoids to vitamin A once ingested. Excess vitamin A from supplements can damage the liver and most Americans get enough through diet. Carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach are all good sources.

Watch out for too much vitamin D — more than 50 micrograms or 2000 IU per day of vitamin D can result in kidney damage, weak bones, or even death.

Vitamin E should be in the form of d-alpha-tocopherol — the most biologically active form. Up to 800 IU per day of vitamin E is deemed safe and may even ward off disease and boost immunity according to Tufts research. Consider taking extra or eating more almonds if your multivitamin is low in vitamin E.

Watch out for too much vitamin B6 — also called pyridoxine, vitamin B6 is important for making red blood cells, metabolizing proteins and fats, and contributing to immune and nervous system function. It has been recommended in high quantities to help with PM.S., carpal tunnel syndrome, and sleep problems. Women on the birth-control pill need extra because the pill interferes with vitamin B6 absorption. But, taking high doses for several months can cause permanent nerve damage. The recommended daily allowance for vitamin B6 is 1.3 milligrams per day for college age men and women; women on the pill will need a little more. It is recommended that people take no more than 100 milligrams per day. Vitamin B6 is abundant in meats, fish, poultry, leafy greens, bananas and fortified cereals.

Make sure to get your folate — all women of childbearing years should make sure to get enough folate, also called folic acid or folacin. Adequate folate intake in the early stages of pregnancy greatly reduces the risk of neural tube (brain and spine) defects. Too little folate in men and women can cause anemia and may even be a risk factor for heart disease. Leafy greens, beans, broccoli, orange juice, and fortified cereals are good sources of folate, but taking a multivitamin with adequate folate can only help.

If you’re a vegetarian, make sure to get B12 — only found in animal foods, vitamin B12 is essential for proper nerve function. Luckily, vitamin B12 can be stored in the body for years, but once deficiency develops, it is too late, and irreversible nerve damage may occur. Vegetarians, who can only get B12 from eggs or dairy products, often fall short of their daily quota and are advised to get B12 from a supplement. The RDA for vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms.

If you smoke, get extra C — Cigarette smoke depletes vitamin C. If you smoke regularly or are around people who smoke, you will need more vitamin C than non-smokers. While the RDA for vitamin C is set at 75 milligrams per day, there is debate about whether or not higher levels may be beneficial for optimal health. Up to 1,000 milligrams per day of vitamin C is considered safe and may even be beneficial, but the upper limit is set at 2,000 milligrams because doses this high can cause diarrhea.

Get enough chromium, but don’t overdo it — Chromium supplements are often targeted toward dieters to help them burn fat. There is no evidence that chromium intake above the recommended safe and adequate intake of 200 micrograms per day will help you burn fat. It is true that a highly refined diet such as that of most Americans is typically deficient in chromium, but high doses of chromium can be toxic over time and the long-term effects are not known.

Don’t OD on Selenium — many antioxidant supplements now contain high-doses of selenium, an antioxidant mineral with purported anti-cancer properties. Selenium, found in seafood, meats, and whole grains, is very important for protecting cells from oxidative damage, but high doses (more than 1 milligram per day) can cause toxicity symptoms including nerve damage, hair loss, and fatigue.

For those who are curious, here’s what I take every day (but keep in mind, I’m not perfect and I certainly don’t recommend this regimen for all people):

• Nature’s Plus Multivitamin & Mineral Supplement — the serving size is 3 capsules; I take only one with breakfast (I eat pretty well most of the time).
• Source Naturals C-1000 with flavonoids — 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C with a few extras (probably not enough flavonoids for any significant health benefit, but it was on sale and they probably won’t hurt). I take one with lunch.
• Nature Made E-400 IUs of vitamin E in the form of d-alpha-tocopherol — I take one with lunch and sometimes with dinner.
• Viactiv soft calcium chews — 500 milligrams calcium carbonate. I’m a sucker for anything that takes like chocolate and these make sure I get my daily quota of calcium. I take one with breakfast and one sometime after dinner.

by Valerie Green

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