VITA-MANIA

More and more Americans are taking vitamins and minerals as a sort of "health" insurance. In 1997, sales of vitamin supplements reached nearly $5 billion, a 9 percent increase over sales in 1996. In the wake of this vitamin mania, there are a number of unanswered questions about supplementation that even experts struggle to answer. The scientific research is still mixed on the effectiveness, recommended dosage, and interactions of many vitamins.

Just a decade ago, it was considered unnecessary for people who eat right to take vitamin supplements. Vitamins were originally used for the prevention of deficiency diseases, such as vitamin C for scurvy and vitamin D for rickets. Then in the 1940s, a successful marketing campaign for "One A Day" multivitamins launched a trend in the use of multivitamins that has become a daily habit for millions of Americans. Most nutritional experts today agree that taking a multivitamin supplement can't hurt and it offers a simple way of insuring that your nutritional needs are met. However, new questions have arisen about the interaction of certain vitamins and how they may cancel each other if taken together. Take the case of a multivitamin that offers both vitamin C and calcium. In the battle of absorption, calcium attaches like a magnet to some minerals like iron, zinc and copper reducing their absorption rate while vitamin C increases the absorption of iron. So rather than taking the multivitamin with 20 different vitamins and minerals, the evidence suggests that less is more in a multivitamin.

Today, the use of vitamin and mineral supplements is considered a pro-active approach to health in not only guarding against the possibility of illness, but actually preventing certain diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. The problem with this approach is that not everyone needs the same amount of supplementation. Lifestyle factors, such as diet, level of exercise, tobacco use, drug use, and alcohol use, impact the amount of vitamin supplementation needed by an individual. For example, smokers need an additional 100 milligrams per day of vitamin C, heavy drinkers need additional B vitamins, and women taking oral contraceptives may need additional folic acid.

As more people mix vitamins and minerals, the confusion over how to create the best concoction builds. Which vitamins interfere with each other? Which ones should be taken on an empty stomach and which ones with food? When is the best time to take your vitamin cocktail? To dispel some of the confusion, Sally Squire of the Washington Post offers the following guidelines for taking vitamins and minerals:

Take vitamins, both multi- and individual vitamins and minerals, at the same time each day. Don't take them all at once. Because some vitamins and minerals interact in a way that depletes absorption rates, stagger your supplements throughout the day. Take some with breakfast, some with lunch, and some with dinner. Just be consistent. Do not take calcium with multivitamins or zinc and iron supplements since calcium blocks their absorption. Take the latest recommended amounts, but no more. There is no scientific proof that megadoses help. Keep it simple. Don't bother with the time-released or sustained release vitamins. They cost more and have no apparent benefit. Think about your stomach. Some vitamins can cause stomach irritation when taken without food, such as iron and calcium, while others are best absorbed without food. Fat soluble vitamins--A, D, E, and K--should be taken with food containing some fat.

(Source: The Washington Post, January 12, 1999)