Vitamins: How much is too much?
I received some Kinetica Essential tablets with some protein (I paid a little more for them, they weren't free), and looking at the RDA for the vitamins it contains raises some questions. They recommend 4 tablets a day which amounts to some huge %'s.
For example:
Vitamin B8 (Biotin) is 4000% RDA
Selenium content is 4000% RDA
Vitamin B12 content is 8000%
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) is 9,091% RDA
etc.
A side effect of all of this is that my urine is bright (almost nuclear) yellow, even when I'm completely hydrated.
My questions are: Are too many nutrients or vitamins bad for you? 9000% of anything doesn't sound great, so are these tablets more of a hindrance than a help? Are these amounts of vitamins safe or too much?
Thanks
(3)3 Comments
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I find that supplements should be exactly what the word implies: a supplement, specifically because you need a certain amount and are not getting it.
Strength training athletes generally supplement protein in their diets because they need more and it's simply hard to get the correct amount of protein in a normal diet. The same would be true for anyone who, using peer reviewed evidence, identifies something in their diet that they aren't getting enough of and ensures that they're making up for it.
The idea that you (and me, and everyone) actually need 9000x the amount of B12 that you normally get seems really far fetched. Go through and look at foods that are high in that nutrient, I bet you'll see that you're probably covered. And if not, you can make a change to you diet via "real" food before you introduce pills and powders.
It's worth pointing out though that there certainly is a middle ground in vitamin supplementation. It's naive to say everyone needs 9000x the daily recommended B12 allotment, and likewise it's rhetorical and anecdotal to trot out the "you'll just pee it out, and that's if it's not bad for you" blanket answer.
Keeping on the B12 bandwagon, for those who suffer from aphthous stomatitis (canker sores), there was a 2009 study that showed nearly complete abatement when study participants were treated with 1,000 mcg of B12 daily:
The duration of outbreaks, the number of ulcers, and the level of pain
were reduced significantly at 5 and 6 months of treatment with vitamin
B(12), regardless of initial vitamin B(12) levels in the blood. During
the last month of treatment a significant number of participants in
the intervention group reached "no aphthous ulcers status".
So in that case, if you get canker sores, a particular vitamin supplementation regime might not only work quite well but could also have you ingesting less of other types of medications (pain, topical analgesics, etc). So putting 1,000mcg of B12 into context like that creates a much more nuanced and particular discussion than "should I take a multivitamin or not?"
Summary
Don't take a shotgun approach to supplements. Study the research put out by peer reviewed bodies, and make case by case decisions. I think you'll quickly find that the pro-supplement and anti-supplement crowd are equally in the dark on the particulars of your body and what you need.
All of the micronutrients you have listed are water-soluble, but that doesn't mean that it's safe to take any amount. But it's significantly less dangerous than overconsuming fat soluble micro nutrients. Had there been clear science showing that vitamin-pill-level-doses where dangerous, they wouldn't be sold, on the other hand, don't assume that every substance at every level, in combination with every other substance, has been tested on humans. There are loads of substances of which we have no clear knowledge about the effects.
However, the question you should ask yourself is not if they are dangerous but if they are beneficial. The answer, in most cases, is no. Most vitamin suplementation is completely unnecessary and makes no difference what so ever to your health. But they still sell for billions of dollars, because you never know, right?
Don't take excess vitamines unless it is something your doctor has prescribed.
Assuming you do not have any medical conditions, and if you eat a balanced and varied diet there is no need for supplements, vitamines or similiar.
Anyone else saying something else, is misinformed or trying to sell you something you do not need.
Here is an official link from the danish goverment that says exactly this: altomkost.dk/fakta/kosttilskud/ - Sorry it is in Danish.
Here is an official link from the Danish elite training facility. Go to page 15 for a summary in english.
Link
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