- Ever since "I Love Lucy" gave us the classic
"Vitameatavegemin" episode, vitamins have been a household word.
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- Indeed, studies published recently by the National Center
for Environmental Health found that each year Americans spend up to $1.7
billion on vitamin supplements, making them the third most popular over-the-counter
drugstore buy.
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- But, how many of us know what we're really getting when
we purchase supplements? Experts say too often we may be buying far more
"good health" than we really need.
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- "When a multi-vitamin contains an overabundance
of nutrients, or is packed with herbs along with vitamins and many different
minerals, we're not getting the bargain we think we are," says Dr.
James Dillard, an assistant professor of medicine and medical advisor at
the Rosenthal Center of Alternative and Complementary Medicine at Columbia
University.
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- The reason, he says, is "a tablet or capsule can
only hold so much. And the greater the number of different ingredients
you put into a single pill, the less of each individual ingredient you
can have, sometimes to the point where there is so little of each nutrient,
the pill is hardly worth taking."
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- That can hurt in other ways as well -- particularly when
you think you're getting more protection than you really are. This can
be especially true for women when the mineral is calcium, says registered
dietician Samantha Heller.
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- "Calcium should always be taken as a separate supplement,
as they simply can't fit all a woman needs into one multivitamin pill,"
says Heller, a nutritionist at New York University Medical Center. Buying
a vitamin/mineral supplement that boasts a complete nutrient package can
be misleading, she says -- particularly to women.
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- Vitamin supplements with nutrient levels that soar above
the recommended daily amounts (RDA) can also cause problems, increasing
the risk of a variety of unpleasant side effects, including diarrhea and
nausea, Heller says. Excessive doses of vitamins A and D, for example,
can even have some serious toxic effects, she says.
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- How you feel after you take your vitamins should also
influence your choice of products as well. While many people mistakenly
believe that something as healthy and natural as a vitamin pill can't make
you feel sick, the fact is, it can.
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- According to Dillard, nuances in the way vitamins are
manufactured, or even the source of the nutrients themselves, can affect
the way you react to any specific supplement. That can result in everything
from dizziness to headaches, fatigue, hives or other allergic-type reactions.
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- "If you take a vitamin supplement and don't feel
well, switch brands. You might be surprised to see a real difference in
how your body reacts," Dillard says.
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- When it comes to choosing a brand of vitamin, many experts
say name recognition counts -- with the bigger, more experienced companies
more likely to give you a higher-quality product.
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- "The bigger companies that do nothing but manufacture
vitamins, they simply can't afford to give you an inferior product,"
Dillard says. "And I don't know if that can be said for lesser known,
or private-label companies, like supermarkets that package their own brand
of supplements."
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- Also important: Seeking a product with no sugars, starches,
binders or fillers of any kind.
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- Another key concern -- making certain the nutrients you
do take get into your bloodstream, a goal that's often defeated when supplements
carry the equivalent of a bullet-proof vest in the form of a hard shell
coating.
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- "If we X-ray someone's stomach, we can often see
dark shadows indicating undissolved vitamin pills that were consumed many
hours before," Dillard says.
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- To help ensure that vitamins do dissolve quickly and
completely, look for products that carry the U.S. Pharmacopeia seal of
approval, usually noted as "U.S.P. Approved" on the label. That
means the product was tested by a government agency and found to dissolve
in a minimum amount of time.
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- Because seeking U.S.P. approval is a voluntary action,
not all companies do it -- or comply with the agency's recommendations.
It's also true that some companies that don't seek U.S.P. approval do make
vitamins with a high dissolution rate.
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- How's a consumer to know? All you need is vinegar and
water to find out.
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- According to Dillard, simply mix equal parts of water
and vinegar in a glass and drop in your vitamin pill. Within 40 minutes,
it should be well on its way to being dissolved. If it's not, he says,
it's probably going to pass through your body undigested.
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- Finally, always check the expiration date before buying
a vitamin supplement. If you don't find one, don't buy the product. If
you do find one, you should be able to finish the bottle before the expiration
date.
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- What To Do
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- For more information on how to find quality vitamins,
visit WomenToday.com. To learn how to choose supplements wisely, visit
North Dakota State University.
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- To find out what to look for in all dietary supplements,
including not only vitamins and minerals but also herbs and other nutritional
products, visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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