Years ago it was said that a healthy diet is going to supply you with enough minerals and vitamins that you would not need to take anything from a bottle. Then came the age of the vitamin bottle and that heralded the beginning of a supplemented diet complemented with the additional worry of when to take the right pill and in what combination.
Today the food supplement industry is doing quite well and it has diversified offering people extracts coming from herbs and additives that can be found naturally. I have viewed some common uses and habits in an attempt to redirect the potential user as I think he should use his discretion to determine whether he really needs the supplement or it will act as a placebo. Research at a local library and online with a pharmaceutical company will provide the end user with enough information on what supplement he should take if any.
Many people believe that additional Vitamin C would ward off the common cold but the vitamin is useless if there is no substrate to work on like Proline. It causes the hydroxylation of that amino acid in the synthesis. That chemical reaction is what builds cartilaginous tissue and in the case of scurvy that afflicted mariners years ago, it was essential in the repair of gum tissue. Vitamin C occurs naturally in fruits and certain vegetables but is often found in small amounts in other foods. Additional amounts of the vitamin would lead to calcification of cartilaginous tissue we were told years ago. Without the proline then the vitamin will be useless.
Similar issues would occur with occur with people ingesting large amounts of Vitamin D supplements, now found in milk. That vitamin is important in the absorption of calcium for the making of bones. Back in the day when women who were giving birth had a lack of calcium in their diet that would cause a bending of their leg bones, commonly known as rickets. Children who are growing and don't get a good supply of calcium will also show bending of the tibia causing the characteristic bow leggedness.
Recent studies show that cancer can be avoided with an intake of Vitamin D and has caused people to by vitamin D in pill form but they are forgetting that for it to be useful vitamin D has to be converted to form so that it can be absorbed by Osteocytes, cells destined for the deposit of calcium in the bones. That conversion takes sunlight and the body needs only a certain amount of the active form of the vitamin for calcification of the bone to occur properly. Otherwise one may encourage Vitamin D toxification.
Vitamin D occurs naturally in certain fish but it has been added to milk in its inactive Vit D3 form to complement diets poor in the substance. The vitamin because of its cholesterol base is stored in adipose tissue and cell membranes.
Other vitamins are also naturally occurring like Vitamin E found in green vegetables and only a relatively small amount is required for its use as an anti-oxidant or anti-aging agent in the body. An increased amount of the vitamin is only recommended if there is a therapeutic need or is training and so there would be an increased need in protecting the body from oxygen free radicals. Too much of the substance would reduce the clumping of platelets that would require for normal blood clotting but muscle weakness and tiredness has also been reported.
Consumers should review their needs before buying extra amounts of Vitamins C, D and E that are also naturally occurring.
