# Dr. Weil on vitamin supplementation



## Island girl (Jul 24, 2000)

Too Many Vitamins? If my one-a-day vitamin supposedly contains everything I need for a day, and my cereal contains 100 percent of everything, am I getting too much by taking both? Can I believe the labels? Are vitamins in pills as good as vitamins in food? -- Anonymous  (Published 5/29/96) If you're a man, my only concern would be about getting too much iron by taking a supplement containing that mineral. Take a multivitamin without iron. (By the way, most cereals don't contain 100 percent of the RDA of vitamins and minerals.) And yes, you can trust the labeling on both vitamins and foods. I think it's desirable to get most of our nutrition from our diet, but there are reasons to take supplements. Certainly, if you use drugs like alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine, if you're under a lot of stress, or are sick, your requirements for some nutrients may be greater than your diet can provide. Vitamins in foods may be superior to synthetic forms because they can be better absorbed. Plus, other elements in foods may be present that are missing in the pill form. For example, we know that fruits and vegetables rich in beta-carotene are strongly cancer-protective, but isolated beta-carotene in supplements does not appear to provide the same protection. Generally, there's no difference between natural and synthetic vitamins. The only real exception is vitamin E: It's important to get this in its natural form because the body uses it more efficiently. Different brands vary in cost. I always recommend the cheapest brands that are as free of fillers and additives as possible. Here is my basic vitamin cocktail. Adult men and women: 1 capsule a day of mixed carotene (providing the equivalent of 25,000 IUs of beta-carotene); 400-800 IU of vitamin E; 200 mcg of selenium; 250 mg of vitamin C; 60-100 mg of Coenzyme Q.


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## Guest (Sep 19, 2000)

What happens if a man gets "too much iron?"


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## Guest (Oct 25, 2000)

Callmejim, My doctor told me that too much iron can contribute to the development of heart trouble, and told me to take a vitamin/mineral supplement without iron.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

> quote:What happens if a man gets "too much iron?"


See http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/iron.html


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