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Azra
My name is Azra, I am a Leo and a proud Malaysian. Yay! I am quite opinionated, but I don't usually say it out loud, hence the blog! And I also like to review movies and TV shows. Besides that, I am a daughter, a girlfriend to that special someone, a sister, an aunt and your pharmacist... If you are interested in any of the products in my blog or would like to be my business partner, please contact me: AZRA - nur_azra@yahoo.com. (YM or Facebook me!) Happy reading, cheers!
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Supplements: Do you need them?

1/30/2009 10:55:00 AM Posted In Edit This
No supplement tablet can replicate the natural goodness of whole, fresh foods. The best way to achieve vitamins and minerals RDA is by ensuring that we eat variety types of food. Furthermore, most foods are now fortified with micronutrients, e.g. cereals. If you practice a well-balanced diet, there is no need for supplements. Mind you, they are not cheap!

However, if you do need supplements, once-daily multivitamins is the best choice. Formulas with only a single vitamin predispose one to overdose. You must also adhere to the dosage because they can be toxic (although unlikely) –overdose of vitamin E increases risk of stroke, excess beta-carotene may increase cancer risk, particularly in smokers (and give your skin a tinge of orange/yellow, like carrot!). Furthermore, taking too much water-soluble vitamins is a waste as they are excreted in your urine.

As a guideline, here is a table brief enough to take when you’re buying supplements:
(http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labellingnutrition/supplements/documents/denmark_annex2.pdf)


Micronutrient Upper Limit (maximum/day)

Folic acid 1000 microg
Vitamin B1 100 mg
Vitamin B2 40 mg
Vitamin B6 100 mg
Vitamin B12 2000 microg
Vitamin A 3000 microg
Vitamin C 2000 mg
Vitamin D 50 microg
Vitamin E 1000 mg
Calcium 2500 mg
Magnesium 350 mg
Iron 45 mg
Zinc 40 mg
Manganese 11 mg