Vitamin Supplements

Iron Overdose Toxicity

If your health is generally good, you run little risk of experiencing side effects from high doses of iron (up to 75 mg per day), either in your diet or in supplements. People with an inherited disease called hemochromatosis are at risk, however. The intestines of people with this condition fail to regulate iron absorption properly, so the body tends to accumulate and store too much of the mineral. The extra iron can damage the body’s most critical organs (including the liver, heart, and spleen) and bone marrow, causing serious problems like cirrhosis and irregular heart rhythms. Hemochromatosis tends to affect men more than women. Although this disease is rare, it can be deadly. Read the rest of this entry »

You can meet your optimal calcium needs by drinking three glasses of low-fat (1%) milk and eating two 8 ounce servings of low-fat yogurt per day, for example. Most people, however, consume less than half of our ODA through diet alone. You may find it more practical to get part of your calcium through supplements.

Having a deficiency in iron may at first seem rather implausible. After all, iron is plentiful in many foods we commonly eat—from red meats to vegetables to beans. In fact, though, this is the most frequent nutritional deficiency in the United States and throughout the world. Read the rest of this entry »