Take Your Vitamins

If you get less than enough iron, you become anemic; too little vitamin C, and you get scurvy. Vitamins and minerals are critical for good health, but the message for clients, says Kim Kirchherr, MS, RDN, a nutrition consultant in Chicago who has worked extensively in supermarket nutrition, is “bigger isn’t always better. This is true for things that are good for us, too.” We can’t easily get rid of excess vitamins stored in fat, such as fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. The B vitamins and vitamin C, on the other hand, are water-soluble, and we excrete what we can’t absorb, so taking an excess of those may mean you are essentially flushing the money you paid for them down the toilet.

While a multivitamin and mineral supplement containing around 100% of the Daily Values may be low risk and could make up for nutrients missing in the diet, we have little research on the long-term effects of large doses of vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements. In the U.S., laws do not require the Food and Drug Administration to verify safety or effectiveness before dietary supplements are marketed to consumers. And don’t assume that because a supplement is popular, it is also effective. Many people believe that taking large doses of vitamin C will prevent them from getting colds, but the scientific evidence doesn’t support that belief (PubMed Health 2017).

To avoid nutrition misfires, we need to help clients scratch the surface and see there is more to every nutrition topic than just a sound bite. Kirchherr wisely reminds us, “Extremes, like ‘always’ and ‘never,’ don’t work in food and nutrition.” Perhaps that should be our first message to clients.

Key Tip:  Supplements containing around 100% of Daily Values may be helpful and low risk, but more is not always better. Keep in mind that excess fat-soluble vitamins are retained in the body, and water-soluble nutrients are flushed away.

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