Multivitamin supplements industry is a huge business. Many said that these supplements are unnecessary, while others contended that they’re more essential than ever. They’ve been a source of controversy and debate for many years. Why?
Vitamin supplements have been around for a good long time in one form or another. Cod liver oil for instance was widely given to children daily since 100 years ago. Those same children would never have dreamed that one day people would pay lots of money not only to take fish oil, but to take it more than once a day. You’ve probably seen the daily vitamins sold in most stores that even many doctors are now grudgingly stating are fine to take regularly.
The heart of the controversy is both the types and potential of many supplements. Often a single dose contains a nutrient or nutrients in such high concentration as to be completely impossible to consume in a proportionate amount of foods that contain that same type(s) of nutrient or nutrients.
Many in the medical establishment insist that this is at best a foolish and at worst a potentially dangerous practice. They state that some nutrients, being water soluble, are simply passed through the system and others that are fat soluble can be absorbed into fat reserves in hazardous levels if ingested without caution.
Those who support the use of supplements counter that passing part of a dose of a water soluble nutrient is worthwhile because it ensures saturation of that nutrient at a cellular level, maxing out the body’s available supply. The supplement industry itself has added precautionary statements to their labeling to warn of the potential hazard of ingesting a high level of fat soluble nutrients.
Even so, for vitamins and minerals, there is some monitoring by the Food and Drug Administration. For others that are not recognized as essential nutrients, the truth becomes less clear.
Benefits may only be implied at best, with statements denying solid evidence of any now a requirement of law. How much garlic do you need each day? How much feverfew? There still remains no way to know other than the assertions of alternative health care proponents.
If you truly desire to take multivitamin supplements, start with small doses under the advice and supervision of qualified professionals such as a registered dietitian. After all, they’re not called supplements for nothing.
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