Lately, every part from bottled water to orange juice appears to comprise elevated ranges of nutritional vitamins and minerals. That will sound like a approach to assist cowl your dietary bases, particularly in case your eating regimen isn't nice. However should you routinely eat an extra of nutritional vitamins and minerals, it might be dangerous to you.

An excessive amount of vitamin C or zinc may cause nausea, diarrhea and abdomen cramps. An excessive amount of selenium can result in hair loss, gastrointestinal complaints, fatigue and delicate nerve harm.

Though most individuals don't eat megadoses, should you eat a fortified cereal for breakfast, have an power bar between meals, eat fortified pasta for dinner, and take a each day complement, you possibly can simply meet the really useful each day consumption of many individuals cross. vitamins.

Right here's what you could know to keep away from overdoing it.

Chances are high, the unfortified meals you eat aren't an issue. “It's fairly laborious to overdo it with meals alone,” says Johanna Dwyer, RD, senior analysis scientist within the Nationwide Institutes of Well being's Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements.

So take into consideration the dietary supplements you are taking and fortified meals or drinks.

“Most individuals don't understand that there isn’t a actual profit to taking greater than the really useful quantities of nutritional vitamins and minerals, they usually don't understand that there could also be downsides,” says Dwyer.

“In the event you take a complement, stick to at least one that’s not more than the each day worth,” says Dwyer. (The each day worth is the quantity of vitamin or nutrient an individual ought to eat for optimum well being.)

Discuss to your physician about any dietary supplements you take, together with nutritional vitamins and minerals, and the dose you take. That approach, your physician might help you retain doses inside a secure vary.

“In the event you take a primary multivitamin, you don't have to fret about taking an excessive amount of,” says Andrew Shao, PhD, senior vice chairman of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Accountable Diet, a commerce group for the complement trade.

“Most multivitamins have such a large margin of security that even should you mix them with fortified meals, they nonetheless gained't make you fall over,” says Shao.

“I've by no means seen anybody off the road ingesting poisonous ranges of vitamin A or D — that's very uncommon,” says David Katz, MD, director of the Yale College Prevention Analysis Heart in New Haven, CT, whose medical observe focuses on diet. “What I'm extra more likely to see is an individual with a complement dosage stage that’s increased than optimum.”

Scientists don't but know whether or not routinely consuming somewhat an excessive amount of of a vitamin or mineral (versus a megadose) is an issue, Katz says.

“There might be indicators of concern, however they might be very delicate indicators,” he says.

These pretty delicate signs can embody issue sleeping or concentrating, nerve issues equivalent to numbness or tingling, or a extra irritable feeling – relying on the nutrient going overboard.

The larger concern, Katz says, is that we’re “adorning the meals provide with over-fortification.”

He says producers have shifted their focus from what they take out of meals – equivalent to fats, sugar or salt – to what they put in it, whether or not it's vitamin D, probiotics or omega-3 fat. – no matter nutrient is in style.

“As increasingly meals are improved, it turns into unattainable for customers to know what dose they’re getting over the course of a day,” says Katz. “Physicians want to comprehend that we could also be introducing new dietary imbalances by this observe.”

Dwyer says vitamin D, calcium and folic acid are three vitamins chances are you’ll be getting an excessive amount of of, particularly by dietary supplements.

Adults who recurrently exceed the secure higher restrict of 4,000 worldwide models (IUs) per day for vitamin D could develop severe coronary heart issues.

Folic acid is added to fortified grain merchandise – white flour, pasta, rice, bread and cereal – to assist stop delivery defects in infants attributable to folic acid deficiency in pregnant ladies. Though folic acid fortification has lowered the variety of delivery defects by 25% to 50%, it might have precipitated different well being issues in individuals who eat an excessive amount of.

It isn’t troublesome to get greater than 1,000 micrograms of folic acid per day (the secure higher restrict for adults) frequently by fortified meals and dietary supplements. Doing so can cover the indicators of vitamin B12 deficiency in older adults. Vitamin B12 deficiency can generally result in everlasting nerve harm if left untreated.

You don't have to fret about meals which can be naturally wealthy in folic acid.

“Most individuals can now get sufficient folic acid with out having to depend on dietary supplements,” says Dwyer.

The truth is, she says, “most individuals don't have an issue [with getting too much vitamins or minerals] If they begin with meals, that's the healthiest and most secure method to get them.”