Do vitamins and other supplements really boost your health?
Singaporeans reportedly spend millions of dollars every year on vitamin pills and other supplements to supposedly prevent disease, compensate for nutritional deficits, or to generally boost their health. But do these vitamins and supplements actually benefit health?
According to experts, vitamins and supplements are beneficial in the short term to address specific nutritional deficiencies. They are also beneficial for pregnant women. However, they should not be taken in lieu of nutritious foods, which constitute a balanced diet and are essential for good health, advises the American National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Nutrition experts at Johns Hopkins in the United States say that the huge sums of money spent on vitamins and supplements would be better spent on nutrient-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy and fish.
So if you are generally healthy and eat a balanced diet, you are unlikely to need supplements.
Negative long-term effects of taking supplements
Many supplements contain active ingredients that can affect the body in positive and negative ways. If these supplements are not taken judiciously under a doctor’s advice, or taken in combination with other supplements and prescription medicines, they can have unexpected consequences. They can:
Reduce the effectiveness of prescription medicines
Produce side effects such as nausea, vomiting, headaches
Cause an excessive build-up in the body and affect the liver and other organs
4 common supplements and their benefits
Multivitamins: Researchers have concluded that multivitamins have little benefit for healthy individuals. They don’t lower your risk of heart disease, cancer or cognitive decline. However, multivitamins may benefit women who have heavy bleeding during menstruation and vegans/vegetarians who lack B-12 in their diet.
Vitamin D: Most adults are deficient in this vitamin which is essential for bone health. Since few food sources contain vitamin D, which the body produces from direct sunlight, this is a useful supplement to have. But it’s important to take it under a doctor’s advice. An overdose can damage the kidneys and heart.
Calcium: Like vitamin D, calcium is essential for bone health. If you are unable to get the required calcium from food sources, or if you are at risk of osteoporosis, you will benefit from taking a calcium supplement.
Fish oil: If you don’t eat fish, you could consider taking a fish oil supplement which is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. However, fish oil can act as a blood thinner so follow your doctor’s advice and have the recommended dose.
Related articles:
Is your daily multivitamin doing any good?
Sugar and dairy products cut off good vitamins in body
