Vitamins and supplements

                        Vitamins and supplements

Vitamins and supplements may do more harm than good in some cases, according to a new report by Consumer Reports. 

The report surveys 10 unknown hazards associated with the intake of vitamins, minerals, herbs and nutritional supplements. In the US, more than half of the population take supplements, and the industry has grown to 27,000 million. 
But supplements are not necessarily risk free, according to the doctor José Mosquera, medical adviser to Consumer Reports, although patients may believe that supplements are safe because they are natural, not really all are.
Between 2007 and mid-April 2012, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA, for its acronym in English) received more than 6,300 reported cases of adverse reactions associated with dietary supplements, including vitamins and herbs, according to Consumer Reports . The reports included 115 deaths and more than 2,100 hospitalizations.
Supplements should only be taken when there is a true deficiency, Mosquera said, and people should talk to their doctor before you start taking a supplement.
"Supplements and vitamins should never be a substitute for a healthy lifestyle with a nutritional plan," he says. Adds that it is better to get vitamins from a healthy food than from supplements.
The Council for Responsible Nutrition USA (NRC, for its acronym in English), an association representing dietary supplement manufacturers, opposes. "There is strong scientific evidence supporting the benefits of nutritional supplements and these products have a very strong safety profile."
But Consumer Reports finds that some assumptions are modified natural products with the same active ingredients of prescription drugs, and people often experience unwanted side effects while taking them.
Supplements for bodybuilding, sexual enhancement and weight loss are the most likely to be modified, says Mosquera. "Protect yourself trying to avoid these types of supplements, and talk to your doctor about changes in lifestyle," he advises.
High doses of vitamin and mineral supplements present in some other hazard. People taking more than 100% of the recommended dose of a nutrient may have adverse reactions.
The report also warns that the FDA does not require supplements have warning labels unless they contain iron. For example, some products with St. John's wort are not aware that it is known to reduce the effectiveness of birth control pills and blood thinners.
It has not been shown that any supplements cure a major disease, the report says. New evidence shows that even Omega-3 pills, believed to reduce the risk of heart disease, it may not be as effective as once thought. Click here for more details.