Would you take prescription medication because you saw an advertisement on the television about it and you think it will help your health? Would you call up your medical doctor and ask if you could start taking a medication just because you heard it was a good prescription to take? If not – why not?
We are all aware that you should get a proper assessment done through your medical doctor, and then they usually suggest what prescription drugs you need to take based on your health issue right? Depending on how your body responds they may suggest blood tests to monitor your liver or kidney function as well once you start certain prescriptions because of the adverse effects these drugs can cause in your body.
Why should vitamins or supplements be any different? They are beneficial for various health issues, yes, however if your blood tests do not demonstrate a deficiency, then adding a vitamin or mineral supplement or herbal medication can also have adverse effects on your wellbeing. Many vitamins and herbs can have toxic adverse effects as well on the body, if not taken appropriately. One might argue that foods have vitamins and minerals too, so should we not be concerned about eating foods too? Well, most foods do not contain isolated amounts of vitamins and minerals in high concentration like vitamin and mineral supplements do, so they are mostly safe to eat.
In practice, quite often clients come to me complaining of low energy and fatigue issues. A closer look at what they are eating and ingesting, they usually say – well, I started taking a high potency vitamin and mineral supplement to increase my energy and improved my diet, but still not feeling much better. Here is a classic example of why I suggest not to take vitamins and supplements without understand what your body’s needs may be. I have found that ingesting high amounts of certain vegetables and red meats can cause liver issues in men who already have a high concentration of iron in their blood, causing a condition called liver hemochromatosis.
Hemochromatosis is an inherited disease in which the body absorbs too much iron from the diet. The excess iron is then stored in your organs, especially your liver, heart and pancreas. Unfortunately ingesting too much iron can lead to life-threatening conditions, such as liver disease, heart problems and diabetes and fatigue is one of the symptoms associated with this condition as the liver is unable to do it is job properly. This is just one example of how an excess amount of a nutrient can cause harmful effects on your body, if taken without knowing whether you needed to take this or not.
As a naturopath, I usually check for lack of nutrients and vitamins through blood tests along with routine blood tests, at our initial naturopathic consultation. I have regularly found that quite often clients lack or have high amounts of nutrients and vitamins that they were not aware of at all. As naturopaths, we are trained in clinical nutrition, herbal medicine and are well aware of the interactions of drugs with vitamins and herbs. If you are thinking of supplementing your diet with additional vitamins and herbal supplements to improve your health and wellbeing or for any health issues, first please see a naturopath who can assess what your body’s needs are based on your health. Your body will thank you.
By: SUSHMA SHAH, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor.