Too much Vitamin C can cause kidney stones – are you popping supplements safely?
Non every Singaporean would consider himself or herself a hypochondriac but information technology does seem that a lot of us love our vitamins and supplements.
That's probably because in that location seems to exist a pill bachelor for everything – from boosting memory (gingko biloba) and easing aching joints (glucosamine and collagen) to improving centre function (omega-three fat acids) and claret pressure levels (co-enzyme Q10) to aiding digestion (probiotics) and supporting pregnancy (folic acid).
Take, for instance, that cold you lot think is coming on. Y'all might reach for a Vitamin C or zinc tablet for an immunity heave. Busy individuals may also pop multivitamins in an attempt to fill up nutritional gaps in their diets.
But do you really need these supplements? Co-ordinate to Yeo Qi Mei, a dietitian with Tan Tock Seng Hospital'south Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, our nutritional requirements should ideally come from a varied and balanced nutrition fabricated upward of whole foods – which could be a "cheaper and tasteful alternative".
Having said that, Yeo added that there are situations when these "wellness in a bottle" solutions may be handy.
She cited, as examples, "elevated nutritional needs during pregnancy, Vitamin D supplementation for the elderly, vegetarians at chance of iron deficiency", or individuals who take had stomach or small-scale intestine surgery, and require "specific or multivitamin supplementations", she said.
More SINGAPOREANS ARE Buying SUPPLEMENTS
People consume supplements primarily every bit a mode to safeguard against the effects of poor eating habits, inactivity and stress. And Singaporeans have a lot of these – last twelvemonth, nearly S$594 one thousand thousand were spent on health supplements, according to the Health Supplements Industry Clan of Singapore (HSIAS) in a TODAY article.
It'south a number that's been steadily rising. Co-ordinate to market enquiry firm Euromonitor, we bought US$374.4 1000000 (S$517 million) worth of supplements in 2017, which is already a huge increase from the Us$344 one thousand thousand spent in 2012.
The figure is expected to increase viii to 10 per cent annually, said HSIAS' president, Daniel Quek, who added that multivitamins, calcium and Vitamin C pills are among the most pop supplements sold here.
One factor that contributes to the popularity of supplements is that they're readily bachelor. They don't even take to be approved or licensed by the Health Sciences Dominance (HSA) before they hitting the shelves (even though it does monitor the local market). You can, for instance, buy fish oil or probiotic capsules straight at pharmacies and supermarkets without any prescription.
READ: Is brunch making you fatty? This pancake could be 300 calories without toppings
HOW TO Have SUPPLEMENTS CORRECTLY
If you find your medicine cabinet filled with bottles you've lost track of, information technology may be time to review your supplementary routine. CNA Lifestyle spoke to the nutrition experts, who addressed some mutual – only inaccurately held – notions most taking supplements.
FALLACY #1: WHEN IN Dubiousness, Only GO FOR MULTIVITAMINS TO Embrace ALL GROUNDS
We hate to interruption information technology to you simply you may be meliorate off eating proper meals instead. "Multivitamins usually incorporate pocket-sized amounts of vitamins and nutritional elements, but these tin can unremarkably be obtained from a good for you diet," said Zoe Kong, principal pharmacist with the Department of Pharmacy at National University Hospital.
Moreover, supplements are "necessary simply when one has a proven medical deficiency from blood examination results", said Patsy Soh, a dietitian with Mindful Nutrition. "Or individuals who are lactose intolerant and can't take dairy products can benefit from a calcium pill."
Furthermore, there tin can be serious implications from taking multivitamins, said Kong. "Taking multivitamins tin be dangerous if y'all're on certain prescription drugs such as the blood-thinning warfarin as multivitamins with a high Vitamin 1000 content can cake the effect of the drug," she said.
"Patients taking certain medications such as isotreinoin and acitretin, or who are pregnant, should besides avoid taking multivitamins containing Vitamin A without consulting their healthcare provider."
READ: Are eggs the cholesterol bombs that experts make them out to be?
FALLACY #2: You THINK YOU'RE Non GETTING Plenty NUTRIENTS FROM YOUR Food
You may eat out a lot but most of us aren't in that much trouble nutritionally, unless y'all belong to these categories. For instance, iron deficiency is the virtually common in pregnant women, said Kong. She as well sees a lack of calcium and Vitamin D in the elderly – not a good sign as they need those nutrients to build strong bones and avoid osteoporosis.
Vitamin D deficiency is some other example. Interestingly, Singaporean women are at risk of not getting enough of this vitamin, not because of their diet, but their skincare routine, said Yeo, citing a Ministry of Health report released in Nov 2018, which indicated that 40 per cent of Singaporeans lacked the vitamin. "It is due to the increased use of sunscreen that lowered the amount of Vitamin D synthesised by the body from sunlight," she said.
When it comes to Vitamin B12 deficiency, it is commonly vegans and patients with "certain inflammatory bowel disease" who are likely to develop it, "due to their restricted dietary intake," said Kong. "Vitamin B12 is needed for everyone to make new red blood cells and for our nervous system to function optimally."
But before you rush out to grab some vitamins, expect at the food in your kitchen beginning. Many items are already fortified with vitamins and minerals, such as the calcium-enriched orange juice and the omega-3-fortified eggs in your fridge. To avoid overdosing on vitamins and minerals, pay attention to the food labels, said registered dietitian Chris Rosenbloom, who is a professor of nutrition at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
"When you lot're grocery shopping, picking up an energy bar or breakfast cereal, look at the supplement facts panel. If you run into 100 per cent of the recommended dietary assart (RDA), y'all may not need a multivitamin supplement," she said.
READ: Real weight command is all about portion command, not fad diets
FALLACY #three: IT'S Amend TO TAKE MORE VITAMINS AND MINERALS THAN TOO LITTLE. YOUR Body WILL PASS OUT THE Backlog ANYWAY
Vitamin C tends to fall into this category of over-enthusiastic employ. "Most people recollect it'southward fine to take equally much Vitamin C every bit they desire," said Prof Rosenbloom. "I know people who take 10,000mg a day" when the upper tolerable limit is 2,000mg a mean solar day, she said.
There are repercussions for doing so. "Excessively large amounts of Vitamin C have been occasionally linked to hyperoxaluria, a condition where there is as well much oxalate in the urine," said Kong. "The excess oxalate can combine with calcium to form crystals and possibly, kidney stones. Otherwise, the virtually common side furnishings reported include diarrhoea, nausea and vomiting."
Kong also warned against an excessive calcium intake. "Information technology can damage the kidneys and reduce absorption of other essential minerals similar magnesium and atomic number 26," she said, calculation that fat-soluble vitamins such equally A, D, E, and G are stored longer in the fatty tissues and the liver, and can lead to increased risks of toxicity if consumed excessively.
If you're not sure what the maximum condom limits of the vitamins and minerals are, cheque hither.
FALLACY #iv: IT'South OK TO TAKE THOSE But-EXPIRED GLUCOSAMINE TABLETS
Some supplements aren't cheap just it'south all the same best to discard them once the decease date is past. "As supplements may lose their effectiveness over fourth dimension, the expiry engagement indicates the catamenia of effectiveness of the supplement," said Vanessa Png, senior pharmacist at Raffles Health.
Keeping to the expiry engagement isn't the simply thing to ensure your vitamins' effectiveness. Png brash to keep them in a absurd and dry identify, or refrigerated once opened.
"Storing in certain conditions such equally in a car nether the hot dominicus, or in damp bathroom cabinets may cause the estrus and moisture to reduce the effectiveness of the supplements," she said.
Soh noted that the corporeality of vitamin or mineral in the supplement is "questionable" in the first identify. "Manufacturers typically put 'too much' into the pills, so that towards the end of their shelf lives, they notwithstanding contain roughly what is stated on the label," she said.
Since no i tin tell the supplement'southward charge per unit of degradation over time, in that location's no telling the amount of nutrients in each pill. "It'southward like playing Russian roulette," she said.
FALLACY #5: IT'S OK TO TAKE YOUR SUPPLEMENTS ALL IN ONE GO
At present, hold on a minute before you empty a fist-full of pills into your rima oris like popcorn. While it'southward true that some vitamins and minerals are better taken together (such as Vitamin D and calcium; and Vitamin C and atomic number 26) as they raise the torso's assimilation, some aren't great together. Y'all'll want to avoid iron and calcium, magnesium and calcium, and iodine and selenium combinations, said Yeo.
"To maximise the absorption of the vitamin or mineral, information technology is recommended to take the supplements as directed by your doctor or pharmacist, or equally instructed on the product'due south package," said Yeo. "For instance, taking calcium supplements at to the lowest degree two hours abroad from atomic number 26 supplements may improve bioavailability of the minerals that can be absorbed in our gut."
As for taking supplements with food, Vitamins A, D, E, and One thousand are certainly practiced pals at mealtimes, said Kong. "As fatty-soluble vitamins, they are thought to be better captivated through the intestine in the presence of some dietary fats." Calcium, especially those in the grade of calcium carbonate, are by and large taken with nutrient, said Kong. "Calcium doses should as well exist divided into multiple doses if possible to improve absorption."
Merely this is non then for atomic number 26, which is mostly improve absorbed on an empty stomach. "Just information technology also tends to cause nausea and airsickness in some patients," warned Kong.
Belum ada Komentar untuk "Too much Vitamin C can cause kidney stones – are you popping supplements safely?"
Posting Komentar