Good Lifestyle

Vitamins are essential to our health. Our bodies simply can not work without them. Although most of our vitamins are obtained from our diet, one third of adults and more than 50% of those over 55, report daily Vitamin supplements.

People generally believe that vitamins must be sure and that even if they do not feel any advantage, it is unlikely to harm. It's an unfortunate fact that it does not seem to be true. As a doctor, I am often asked:

• Which vitamins are recommended?
• Is it prudent to take vitamins?
• Which vitamins could be dangerous?
• What are the side effects of taking vitamins?
• Are there special points on the taking of vitamins safely?

Read on and to ensure your health and health of others, do not miss theseSigns that your illness is actually coronavirus in disguise.

The truth is that most people get all the vitamins they need their diet. If your body has enough vitamins on board, if you take additional vitamins, you simply excrete them into your urine and feces.

It is not usually necessary to take vitamin supplements. However, there are some exceptions:

• Folic acid- Pregnant women are invited to take 400 mcg of folic acid a day. This helps to prevent the baby from developing neural tube defects (for example, Spina Bifida).
• Vitamin D- The current recommendation is intended for British adults, at least, is to take 10 mcg (400 IU) per day of vitamin D. Indeed, the low levels of vitamin D are very common. This advice was published in April at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic because vitamin D is made in the skin in sunlight and people were invited to get out of the exercise for 1 hour a day. As winter is now approaching and the days become shorter, it may be wise to complete the levels of vitamin D because all respiratory infections are more common in the winter months and vitamin D plays an important role In our immune defense.

A 2016Examination in the Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin has reviewed all good quality randomized controlled trials on the use of vitamins between 1993 -2015. The authors concluded that taking high doses of vitamins A, E, D, C and FOLIC do not always help prevent diseases and, in some situations could be harmful. They proposed that vitamins be issued only under the control of a trained pharmacist. Read on to find out what vitamins could be dangerous - and when?

Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are important molecules because they have many anticancer effects in the body. However, their effect is complex and too much can be harmful.

In many studies where Vitamin EPatients were given to try to reduce the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases or death, there was no significant benefit.

Some studies have examined the effect of vitamin E from preventing prostate cancer or lung cancer, have even found that this has led to a small increase in risk.

It seems that there are risks associated with taking Vitamin Eat high doses.

Vitamin C is also a powerful antioxidant with many properties, very beneficial for health. However, many large studies have failed to show that the taking of vitamin C supplements has no effect on the reduction of cardiovascular disease, cancer or death.

Many people believe that high-dose vitamin C can prevent upper respiratory infections. However, this does not seem to be the case. A 2013Review of Cochrane Data, including 29 tests, and 11, 306 participants did not show that the taking of vitamin C supplements prevented colds.

Vitamin CSupplements can even be harmful. In 2004Study, vitamin C supplements in diabetic women result in an increase in mortality from cardiovascular disease.

Adverse effects of vitamin C are only observed in those taking supplements. They are not seen when large amounts of vitamin C are ingested in food.

Vitamin A-also called retinol - is largely derived from beta-carotene, red / orange pigment in many vegetables such as carrots. Vitamin A is another powerful antioxidant. Studies have shown that, with good food consumption of vitamin A, the risk of lung cancer, breast, pancreas and bladder is reduced. However, taking vitamin A supplements does not seem to have the same effects.

For example, in the efficacy test of beta-carotene and retinol, 18,000 current or recent smokers, and asbestos workers, were randomly attributed to vitamin A or placebo and followed. After 6 years, a 28% increase in lung cancer and a 17% increase in mortality in the Vitamin A group.

In pregnant women, heavy doses of vitamin A was shown to increase the risk of Anomalies of the neural tubeby a factor of 3.5. Vitamin A is now considered teratogenic.

Although vitamin A is known to be important for bone growth, vitamin A consumption is not necessarily beneficial. Vitamin aThe deficiency is associated with poor bone growth, but excess vitamin A causes increased bone resorption (bone clearance) with fragile bones and increased risk of fracture.

This is a soluble vitamin B in the water. Folate deficiency increases the risk of developing new cancer, but excess folate also increases the risk of cancer, increasing the growth rate of cancer cells.

In 2009Norwegian study, 6837 patients with cardiovascular disease were randomly attributed to folic acid supplements or placebo and followed for 9 years. The folic acid group showed a significant increase in cancer results and mortality compared to those of the placebos.

At once, experts estimated that vitamin D supplements could reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and intestinal polyps. However, a big, 2006, randomized trial of 36,282 menopausal women who took calcium and vitamin D supplements for 7 years, had no reduction in the incidence of colony cancer.

In the United Kingdom, calcium and vitamin D supplementation is recommended for perimenopausal or postmenopausal women at risk of osteoporosis, as it has been demonstrated to improve the bone mineral density and prevent the fracture.

Although most vitamins are well tolerated, side effects are possible with any type of medicine. Always check with your health care provider if you have chronic medical conditions or take any other regular medications, before you start taking new tablets, including vitamin supplements.

If you have signs of an acute allergic reactionAcute anaphylaxis-After swallowing a vitamin tablet, you must immediately search for urgent help.

Vitamin E- Side effectsare rare. These include headaches, vertigo, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fatigue and rashes. Rarely, vitamin E can cause nose nose bleeding problems, or bleeding gums.

Vitamin C- Side effectsare rare. These include headaches, rinsing, nausea, vomiting, vertigo and migraine with high doses. High doses of vitamin C can increase uric acid levels leading to renal calculations. Vitamin C can increase blood glucose in diabetic patients.

Vitamin a-Side effectsare rare. These include headaches, fatigue, lethargy, abdominal pain, loss of appetite and vomiting. Vitamin A can also cause drying and cracking skin, skin loss (desquamation) and hair loss. At high doses, vitamin A can cause liver toxicity - you do not have to drink alcohol when taking a vitamin, a supplement. This list is not exhaustive - Always consult your doctor.

Folic acid- Side effectsare rare. These include fatigue, nausea, bloating, wind, wind, malaise and rashes. An increase in epilepsy seizures has been reported. Some people complain about a bitter taste in the mouth. There may be an association with insomnia.

Vitamin D- Side effectsare rare. These include nausea, vomiting and cutaneous eruptions. Take too much vitamin D can result in high levels of calcium - hypercalcemia - which is a serious health problem, associated with confusion, muscle weakness and bone pain. Take your vitamin D supplements exactly as indicated and do not be tempted to take too much.

Beware of the hygienable vitamins, a, d, e and k, which can potentially accumulate in the body and are more likely to cause toxicity.

Although vitamins K1 and K2 are safe, synthetic vitaminK3 is known to be very toxic.

Water-soluble vitamins, such as most B b vitamins, are easily excreted from the body every day in the urine. These vitamins are not stored in the same way and are less likely to cause toxicity.

The recommended food allocation (GDR) - is the amount of vitamin you need every day to stay healthy.

• The upper tolerable (UL) level of admission is the maximum amount you need to take before risking serious overdose or side effects.

The UL is not indicated on the product label. You can find the GDR and UL in line.

The GDR is much lower than UL. If you stick to the GDR, you should not encounter any problems.

More nutritionistsSense What to take a multivitamin is useless if you eat a healthy diet, but there may be an advantage for some vitamins in certain situations. A good example is the current British advice to take Additional vitamin Dduring the current pandemic.

It is important to note that some vitamins should be taken together and some to splend.

For example, calcium and vitamin D are taken at the same time, but calcium prevents the absorption of the intestine iron, so that calcium and iron should be taken at separate moments.

We must all think carefully about our health right now, in the middle of the Pandemic of Covid-19. However, reaching a bottle of vitamins will never be as good for you as eating a nutritional balanced diet. Your body is designed to absorb vitamins and minerals of food and not supplements. These are less well absorbed and do not have the same effects as nutrients from natural food sources. If you are considering vitamins, why not focus on improving your diet instead? More delicious, safer and much more interesting! And to protect you more, and to cross this pandemic without catching coronavirus, do not miss these35 places you are most likely to catch Covid.

Dr. Deborah Lee is a medical writer for Dr. Fox Online Pharmacy.