Multivitamins and vitamin supplements can make you sick!

In this article, Manoj Pandey explores the often-overlooked risks associated with the regular consumption of multivitamins. While many believe that these supplements can help maintain a healthy balance of vitamins, the reality may be quite different. The article advises us to be more careful in this regard as over-reliance on supplements can lead to deficiencies and imbalances in essential nutrients. We encourage readers to critically assess their vitamin intake and consult healthcare professionals before making any changes to their supplement regimen. Your health deserves informed choices!

Multivitamins and vitamin supplements can make you sick!

Manoj Pandey

In today’s fast-paced world, people turn to vitamin and mineral supplements as a quick fix for their nutritional needs. 
If careless prescription by doctors is one big reason for excessive consumption of vitamins, people’s misconception that regular intake of vitamins is good for health is an equally big reason. This misconception often takes birth in our minds and gets strengthened due to exaggerated claims about vitamins’ benefits by companies, traditional media and social media. 

Add to this, the misplaced belief that since multivitamin capsules and supplements contain most types of vitamins and essential minerals, they are a cure-all against deficiency of all types of micronutrients.

You might have seen videos on YouTube in which false information is purveyed on health topics, in which exaggerated claims are made about multivitamins. Worse are the videos by doctors (and fake doctors) who recommend regular use of multivitamin capsules or supplements to remain healthy and youthful. 
It is also seen that most people who were once prescribed vitamins or minerals continue taking those medicines or supplements in the belief that they are good for them and are safe.

Among the supplements that can lead to excess consumption of micronutrients are the health drinks or energy drinks given to children, mostly under the myth propagated by their manufacturers that these are essential for a child’s proper physical and mental growth.

But vitamins are minerals are essential for health, no?

Definitely. Vitamins play a crucial role in the body, acting like enzymes for biochemical reactions or like hormones for controlling various biological processes. Some of them help in proper absorption of other nutrients. 

Though vitamins and essential minerals are so important for health, we need them in very small quantities, usually a few micrograms a day. 
Out of the 13 vitamins (some add an important biochemical Choline also as a vitamin, taking the number to 14), some dissolve in water (vitamins of B group, C and Choline) while others dissolve in fats (vitamin A, D, E, and K). 

When we get extra vitamins from food or medicines, the water-soluble ones are excreted out by kidneys and the liver. On the other hand, the fat-soluble vitamins are not eliminated this way and, therefore, if they are consumed in excess, the excess quantity remains in the body until it is consumed.  
Since the fat-soluble vitamins can accumulate in the body, they can lead to toxicity. For example, excessive vitamin A intake can cause headaches, dizziness and liver damage. An excess of vitamin D, which is very frequently prescribed by doctors and taken by people without prescription, can lead to high calcium levels in the blood, causing kidney stones and heart problems. Too much excess of this vitamin is found to promote prostate cancer in men.

Even water-soluble vitamins can cause a range of small to big health issues if taken in excess. Excessive vitamin C can lead to digestive issues like diarrhoea and kidney stones. Too much vitamin B6 over long periods can cause nerve damage and muscle weakness.

Some vitamins can interact with medications (including other vitamins), reducing their effectiveness or increasing the risk of side effects. For example, Vitamin K can reduce the effectiveness of blood thinners like warfarin, increasing the risk of clot formation. On the other side, high doses of vitamin E can increase the risk of bleeding when taken with blood-thinning medications.

Most multivitamin capsules, syrups, tonics and supplements contain minerals. Like vitamins, minerals are also essential for many biochemical processes in the human body, and they also cause health problems when consumed in excess. 

We discussed a common misconception that regular consumption of multivitamins helps maintain a balance of vitamins in the body. Common sense strongly supports this idea: such supplements provide us with small amounts of various essential vitamins, reducing the risk of deficiency without causing toxicity. However, this can actually lead to an imbalance! For example, my body struggles to absorb enough vitamin B6 due to aging, and I am chronically deficient in vitamin D, even though I obtain other vitamins in adequate quantities from my diet. If I regularly take a multivitamin supplement, the small amounts of vitamin B6 and D it provides are insufficient to address my deficiencies. Consequently, it would leave me chronically deficient in these vitamins while my body has to work hard, unnecessarily, to remove extra vitamins (and minerals) supplied by the supplement.  
 
The irony is, while a large number of people suffer from nutrition deficiencies, nutrient toxicities are increasing. It has been reported that in the USA, thousands of children are admitted to hospitals due to vitamin toxicity, thanks to their excess consumption of health drinks. In India, some experts have hinted that due to mindless prescription of multivitamins and certain vitamins – and also their over-the-counter purchase – vitamin B12, C, D, A and E are being consumed in excess, leading to side effects and more serious health issues. 

Say ‘no’ to multivitamins?

Almost yes.

A balanced diet, coupled with a healthy lifestyle, ensure that we get the needed quantity of vitamins and minerals from natural sources. 
There are circumstances, including deficient diets, pregnancy, certain diseases and old age, in which there can be deficiency of certain vitamins in our body. In such situations, vitamins need to be taken in the form of medicines or supplements. 

Experienced doctors can diagnose vitamin and mineral deficiency based on symptoms and other observable patterns such as dietary habits. Since the symptoms of vitamin deficiency can easily be confused with those of other diseases, doctors, when in doubt, recommend lab tests for particular vitamins and/ or minerals. 
Allow me to conclude by saying that while the consumption of micronutrients based on proper diagnosis makes sense, gulping multivitamins carelessly and in excess is an invitation to ill-health besides being a waste of money.

I have made a video explaining the above in Hindi and showing how exaggerated claims in advertisements and on YouTube channels encourages people to consume vitamins in excess. You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHoaGjn8UKs

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Manoj Pandey is a former civil servant with a keen interest in exploring and analyzing issues related to science, technology and health. He has contributed extensively to this web magazine, particularly in the विज्ञान  (Vigyan) and स्वास्थ्य  (Swasthaya) categories. While he writes articles in English, he also makes Videos in Hindi showcasing his commitment to informing the common-man on these important issues. His videos can be seen on YouTube under the heading 'Hindi Health Videos' or you can copy-paste this Link:  Hindi Health Videos