Monday, May 14, 2012

Are You Overusing Liquid Vitamin Supplements?


Choosing the right liquid vitamin brand to trust is a problem for many people, but sometimes, the problem is in the user. According to studies, more than half of Americans who take supplements do not really need them. Moreover, many Americans do not even know what type of supplement to take, yet they still buy the best sellers.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
If you do the math, many consumers are overusing liquid vitamin supplements. Many people reach their Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for all needed nutrients just by eating balanced meals. Unfortunately, they tend to believe that absolute wellness could be achieved by taking in more nutrients, disregarding tolerable limits and toxicity levels.

The nutrient deficiency you have (if you really have one) will determine the type of liquid vitamin supplement you need. Liquid vitamins enriched with certain phytonutrients in large amounts are common, but only few need the actual big boost in nutrition. Vitamin B complex deficiency, for instance, is often seen in adult Americans, but in a study, the majority of subjects were using Vitamin C. Most of the subjects/patients used up to 500 milligrams of ascorbic acid while the needed average amount is only 60 milligrams. On the other hand, the needed B complex was not supported in any way.

For patients, brands with more phytochemicals are popular as some studies show that certain compounds help in coping up with diseases. OPC is said to stop edema from occurring after surgeries. Resveratrol is touted to be the next cancer cure because the intracellular levels of cancer cells tend to induce self-apoptosis when mixed with it. EGCG found in green tea extract is believed to kill leukemia cells in a matter of days.

Nonetheless, with fortification many liquid vitamin supplements have, downsides are still present. OPC and resveratrol, for example, when mixed with other compounds and given in large amounts, can cause nausea, vomiting and headache while EGCG might counteract treatment when taken alongside chemotherapy.

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