I am very happy to find others are also
urging caution when it comes to vitamins and minerals. There may be
health consequences of overdosing on vitamins and minerals. Caution
is the right description and in some cases, certain supplements
should only be taken under a doctor’s supervision.
A distinction often not explained is
whether a supplement is water-soluble or fat-soluble. Most vitamins
that are water-soluble are the safest as the excess that is not
needed is passed from the body and does not build to toxic levels
that create health concerns. On the other side, fat-soluble vitamins
do build to toxic levels and excesses of these do create levels that
can become toxic, cause severe illness and sometimes, but rarely,
even death.
The best advice I can share with you is
to do your homework before taking vitamins and minerals, and this
includes multivitamin supplements. Do you know what foods are
fortified and with what vitamins and minerals. This is an area that
many people forget about and often overcompensate as a result.
How do you determine if you need
supplements? This is one time that you seriously need to consider
getting a referral to a registered dietitian (RD). Make sure they
know that this is a consultation for vitamins and minerals. Most
medical insurance will cover this, but if in doubt, call the medical
insurance company and ask. They may have a suggestion or even be
able to give you a referral to one they respect. Medicare does cover
this for the people on Medicare.
Then before your appointment, you will
need to do your homework. List the foods that you eat daily and do
this for several weeks. List foods that you do not like and won't
consume so that the RD will have alternate foods. Do not be afraid
to say that you won't eat something if the RD suggests this. Do not
let them bully you into saying that you will eat something. It may
be that this will be the key to knowing that a particular vitamin may
be needed as a supplement. If you are not fond of certain foods,
decide whether you can eat them once a week or only once a month.
And then, live up to this.
Then use these URLs to lookup and read
information about vitamins, minerals, and even drug information if
needed. Do not read part of the topic, but read to the end of the
vitamin or mineral to find the conflicts with medications. Also note
that it may say to only take them under the supervision of a
knowledgeable healthcare provider or doctor. This is wise advice and
should be followed.
The above are sources I use for
information on vitamins and minerals. There are other sources if you
use your search engine and want additional information on a
particular vitamin or mineral. The sources above are more complete
that many I have found. Be healthy, but know whether you need
additional vitamins and minerals before spending money on these.
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