Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Too much of a good thing?

Do you take vitamins?  How many?  How often?  Did you know that some vitamins can cause serious problems if you have too much?  Personally, I am of the mindset (=stubborn) that if I need vitamins then I will eat whatever I need to get them.  I love to eat!  That’s why I need to exercise so much.  But I really do not like taking vitamins.  The gummies are good because I feel like I’m eating candy.  My husband, Steve, on the other hand loves to take vitamins.  But how much is too much?
Hey!  Is that alcohol in the food pyramid!!!  "Moderation"  is subjective isn't it?

Too much vitamin C and other antioxidants can have the opposite effect.  Feeling nauseous, or have stomach cramps not otherwise indicated by some other condition?  You may be taking too much!  Too much of the antioxidant glutathione was linked to heart disease. 

Too much selenium = hair loss.  Now you don’t want to completely cut this out if you hair is thinning because it may be due to something completely different.  For instance, when I stressed out from school, work, triathlon, and everything else my hair started turning grey and falling out faster than normal. 

Too much vitamin A can cause blurred vision and dizziness.  Too much zinc can be fatal. 

All this may seem very scary if you are taking vitamins now, but keep in mind that it is EXTREMELY UNLIKELY that you will get too many vitamins from eating too many vegetables. 

One vitamin that is commonly deficient is the big D!  So eat some salmon, tuna, egg yolks (not always just whites you body builders), cheese, yogurt…  Speaking of body builders, they are sooooooo disciplined in their eating habits... Their discipline amazes me!!!  You go Michael and Kristy McKinney at Gold’s Gym!!! 

So how much is okay?  Check out this USDA site where you can calculate what you need specifically:

No comments:

Post a Comment