Too Much Of A Good Thing
In order to ensure that any supplements you do decide to use are of maximum benefit to you, you must commit to using them regularly and on a long term basis too.
There is therefore a slight degree of risk with regard to the cumulative toxicity of certain nutrients that you should be aware of.
Now, that is not to say that using supplements is in any significant way either dangerous or risky. It is just that a couple of the most important nutrients do require a degree of prudent usage, particularly when it comes to longer term use.
The first of these is vitamin A (retinol), too much of which over long periods can be a problem because its solubility in fatty tissues can lead to it becoming toxic when taken in high doses over along period.
Similarly, chronic iron overload can significantly increase the level of oxidative cells in the body, which can lead to the increased production of free radicals allied to reduced effectiveness of the antioxidants that generally fight against them.
In fact, accidental overdose of heavily laden iron-based supplements is a leading cause of fatal poisoning in very young children.
This is not to say that vitamin A and iron are not important for the health of your body.
Indeed, both nutrients play vital roles in keeping you healthy, and so it is extremely important that both are included in your supplementary program.
But the truth of the matter is that both too little and too much of both is bad for you, and so the most important thing is striking the right balance.
For example, vitamin A (retinol) is an important element in maintaining the health of your eyes, skin, teeth and bones.
It also possesses anti-viral and anti-carcinogenic (anti-cancer) properties as well.
In fact, deficiency in vitamin A is one of the most common deficiencies known and one of the five major nutritional deficiencies in children under five years of age, especially in third world countries where malnutrition is rife.
Such deficiencies have been linked with a long list of medical conditions and illnesses, including respiratory infections, blindness and pneumonia.
And yet, retinol toxicity is also a relatively common occurrence. As much as five percent of those who supplement with vitamin A will suffer the effects of retinol toxicity, albeit without generally being aware of it.
Pregnant women too need to exercise great care when supplementing with vitamin A, as a very small number of birth effect cases have been traced to abnormally high levels of retinol taken on board during pregnancy.
So, is there a safer alternative to vitamin A?
Yes, there is, in the shape of or old friend from the ‘triad’ of antioxidants, ProVitamin A, or Beta-Carotene.
Your body has the ability to convert Beta-Carotene into retinol, but it will only convert as much as is needed at that particular time, thus avoiding the build-up of retinol which is what presents the toxic threat.
++++++++++++++++++++
The picture with iron is remarkably similar.
Deficiency in this most important of minerals is rife in developed and third world countries alike, with one US study showing that some degree of iron deficiency exists in 35 to 58 percent of health young women, for example.
The biggest problem with iron is that it is so fundamentally important to the human organism that your body, and in particular your kidneys, will hold on to it at all costs.
Now, iron can be consumed in two forms.
When it is taken on board in the form of heme-iron (found in meats and other foods) it is easily absorbed and utilized by your body, so it is unlikely to cause any appreciable problems.
However, when iron is ingested in large amounts as elemental iron (the form that is often used in cheaper supplements) then that iron can quickly become an aggressive oxidizing agent, adding considerably to the negative effects of free radicals and oxidation on your body.
Iron overload can also cause serous deterioration of the gut lining, vomiting and diarrhea, abdominal and joint pain, liver damage, loss of weight and intense fatigue.
It can sometimes prove lethal too, with acute doses of elemental iron as low as 3 grams proving fatal in young children.
So, just like retinol, you must have iron in your diet, but you also need to appreciate that it can be very harmful if allowed to build up to excessive levels in your body.
The answer is twofold.
First, most high quality supplements will not add excessive amounts of iron in the more dangerous elemental form to your body.
Again, this is another argument in favor of using only higher quality supplements.
Secondly, if you need to supplement your diet with iron, try to do so through the food that you eat, rather than through additional supplements.
Dark leafed green vegetables, dried beans, lean red meats and whole grain cereals are all safe sources of the extra iron that you might need.
Iron consumed in this way very rarely leads to excessive iron build up, and the associated toxicity in normal subjects.