Can I harm myself by taking nutritional supplements? Are they safe?

Nutritional supplements, i.e., vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and the essential fatty acids are extremely safe.  Not only ARE they safe, they help KEEP you safe and healthy.  They are some of the safest, health-promoting substances you could ever consume.  Certainly, too much of some supplements can be harmful, but this is the case for nearly anything, even water.  It is possible to die from "water intoxication."  Drinking too much water in a short period of time may be fatal.  If this is the case, then should we avoid drinking healthy amounts of water every day?  Of course not.

It is interesting that the same people (often doctors) who tell you that you need to "be careful about vitamins and minerals because they could harm you if you don't know what you're doing," actually don't know much about vitamins and minerals at all.  In fact, they go to the other extreme, and that is write prescriptions for ailments and tell you not to worry about the side-effects, as they "usually don't happen."   

Let's look at the difference between the safety of vitamins and minerals vs. the track record of prescription medications, which are doled out daily as if they were completely benign.  In the United States alone, over 100,000 people die each year from prescription medications, mostly taken the way in which they were prescribed.  That is about 275 people dying every day from medications!  That would be like a jumbo jet full of people crashing on a daily basis in the U.S.  If a jumbo jet with 275 people on board were crashing every day do you think there would be an investigation, and a push to stop such madness?  This is happening in the pharmaceutical industry and we all accept it as if there were no alternatives.

What about vitamins and minerals?  The number of deaths each year in the U.S. from vitamins and/or minerals is around 5, ...and they are mostly among children who have overdosed on iron.  Iron is a component in most children's vitamins.  Most children's vitamins look, and taste like candy.  When their mothers are not looking a child may eat several children's vitamins per day, and before long the child is admitted to the hospital in critical condition.  Iron overload damages the heart and liver.  That is why we recommend a brand in which the supplements for all age groups (adult, teenager, and children) do not contain iron.  That way there could be no accidental overdose.

Iron is important for the creation of hemoglobin; the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells.  However, it should not be indiscriminantly utilized or taken.  Pregnant women need iron.  Those with a true iron-deficiency anemia need iron.  If a person needs iron they should be followed by their physician to avoid an overdose.

Regarding vitamins, it is generally felt that the fat soluble vitamins, vitamins A, D, E, and K are the ones most likely to accumulate in the body and cause harm, and the water soluble vitamins, B Complex and C are not a concern.  It is true that at high levels, vitamin A can cause liver problems and birth defects (even before the mother knows she is pregnant).  That is why we use and recommend a brand that contains no vitamin A, but rather a "pro-vitamin A," beta carotene, that is not associated with liver problems and birth defects.  Beta carotene converts to vitamin A within the body at the level the body determines.  Once the appropriate level of vitamin A is attained, the conversion ceases, and the remaining beta carotene acts as a safe antioxidant, protecting cells from oxidative damage.

An overdose of vitamin D is almost unheard of.  It can be done, but along with vitamin E, there is a vitamin D deficiency epidemic.  Most multivitamins may contain 400 IU of vitamin D or less, when current research is absolutely clear that we should be obtaining 1000 to 2000 IU per day.  The benefits are too numerous and significant to ignore.  The level of vitamin D that one should not exceed would be around 50,000 IU per day.  But, to play it safe, people should keep their intake well under 20,000 IU per day.  The safety margin on vitamin D is wide. 

Most multivitamins contain 15 to 30 IU of vitamin E, when medical research shows that the true health benefits are achieved with levels of 400 to 800 IU.  Vitamin E does not appear toxic until one consistently takes over 3000 IU per day.  So, again, to play it safe, keep your daily doses below 2000 IU per day.

Vitamin K is very important for bone mineralization, clotting, and many other functions in the body.  The amount of vitamin K provided in most multi-vitamins is about 30 to 60 micrograms.  There are benefits to obtaining more, 120 to 240 micrograms, all of it being safe.  Osteoporosis may be aided with prescription levels of vitamin K, on the order of 5000 micrograms per day, ...along with calcium, magnesium, and vitamin D.   It's probably best to stay below 10,000 micrograms of vitamin K.  (Those on the blood thinner Coumadin, or warfarin, should consult with their physicians, and keep their supplemental vitamin K intake at 60 micrograms or less.)  

The point is that most antioxidants (vitamin C, grape seed extract, resveratrol, fish oil, co-enzyme Q10, etc.) have no known toxic levels (other than diarrhea in some cases).  Those supplements that do have established toxic levels are usually much higher than most people would ever obtain, or even think of taking.  One could harm themselves with certain vitamins and minerals, but he would really have to try hard to do it.  If taking a quality, broad spectrum, pharmaceutical-grade vitamin and mineral brand as we recommend, and taking it as recommended on the package, not only is it safe, it is the smartest thing one could take to help maintain health.  This is not the case for many prescriptions.