4 ms·

why is it that any time i read about a nutrient (iron, magnesium, etc) i check my multi-vitamin and find that it's not even there? if these are so important, wh

why is it that any time i read about a nutrient (iron, magnesium, etc) i check my multi-vitamin and find that it's not even there? if these are so important, why I am taking 12,000% of my daily vitamin B and C and 0% of some other ones?

PaulHoule 4y ago
Some essential nutrients are dangerous in excess. It's estimated that 200,000 Americans a year suffer from an iron overload which can cause all sorts of problems including damaging your heart. So it's not considered to be a good thing for a "one a day" supplement to habitually contain iron. Many Americans are deficient in potassium and you might think, "cap up some KCl and take one a day". KCl can slow down your heart rate and reduce your blood pressure which is good to some extent but if you could buy KCl supplement that gave 100% of your daily potassium need some people would be dropping dead from an overdose of potassium (a potassium is part of the usual lethal injection cocktail), not necessarily because 1 pill is dangerous but because some people are going to take 10. Also some people take pharmaceuticals that either raise or lower potassium levels so what is too small of a dose for some people would be dangerous for others. The 12,000% of your daily dose for most things is a scam with the possible exception of vitamin B₁₂ for which many people have bio-availability problems.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 4y ago
  The oral ld50 of potassium is measured in grams (Wikipedia is listing at 2.5g/kg). An overdose would be fairly intentional and there are more poisonous things you are likely consuming daily.
- Mezzie 4y ago
  The weird thing is that potassium salt is really cheap and available. I use it with some Mio to make water drinks that have an actual appreciable amount of potassium in them.
- scythe 4y ago
  Oral potassium is dramatically less toxic than IV potassium, because the body has to actively transport the ions and it's not terribly interested in killing itself. It could still be dangerous in very high doses, but that's unlikely to happen by accident. However, oral potassium does have other effects. The proton pump in the stomach works by exchanging K+ for H+. Excess potassium may affect its functioning. There are several reports of nausea and pain with potassium supplements [1], although I've been adding KCl/NaCl "lite salt" to my work lunches for a long time with no problems. 1: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/485434 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullar...
- throwaway74829 4y ago
  You would also burn a hole in your stomach if you took a 2-3g potassium pill(s). For what it's worth: I've used "losalt" drinks for potassium-replenishment (especially during carbless diets), and it works well. Hard to overdose, because it will induce vomiting if you get reckless with the ratio of water to losalt.
notshift 4y ago
PaulHoule is correct; potassium and iron are dangerous in excess. Magnesium you can just take in a separate supplement since you really want more of it than easily fits in a multivitamin. You can get sufficient potassium by eating 2-3 meals with plenty of vegetables or leafy greens every day, and you can get sufficient iron by eating animal meat (unless you have a diagnosed iron deficiency and need to supplement with it directly).
umangsh 4y ago
Calcium can inhibit iron absorption. If your multi-vitamin has calcium, it likely won't have iron.
throw8383833jj 4y ago
there's a big difference between minerals and vitamins. Potassium and magnesium are minerals and they are a bit harder to stuff into a pill. Also, vitamins (especially vitamin C) can be found in much higher abundance in a particular food.

PaulHoule 4y ago

Some essential nutrients are dangerous in excess. It's estimated that 200,000 Americans a year suffer from an iron overload which can cause all sorts of problems including damaging your heart. So it's not considered to be a good thing for a "one a day" supplement to habitually contain iron. Many Americans are deficient in potassium and you might think, "cap up some KCl and take one a day". KCl can slow down your heart rate and reduce your blood pressure which is good to some extent but if you could buy KCl supplement that gave 100% of your daily potassium need some people would be dropping dead from an overdose of potassium (a potassium is part of the usual lethal injection cocktail), not necessarily because 1 pill is dangerous but because some people are going to take 10. Also some people take pharmaceuticals that either raise or lower potassium levels so what is too small of a dose for some people would be dangerous for others. The 12,000% of your daily dose for most things is a scam with the possible exception of vitamin B₁₂ for which many people have bio-availability problems.

0cf8612b2e1e 4y ago
The oral ld50 of potassium is measured in grams (Wikipedia is listing at 2.5g/kg). An overdose would be fairly intentional and there are more poisonous things you are likely consuming daily.
Mezzie 4y ago
The weird thing is that potassium salt is really cheap and available. I use it with some Mio to make water drinks that have an actual appreciable amount of potassium in them.
scythe 4y ago
Oral potassium is dramatically less toxic than IV potassium, because the body has to actively transport the ions and it's not terribly interested in killing itself. It could still be dangerous in very high doses, but that's unlikely to happen by accident. However, oral potassium does have other effects. The proton pump in the stomach works by exchanging K+ for H+. Excess potassium may affect its functioning. There are several reports of nausea and pain with potassium supplements [1], although I've been adding KCl/NaCl "lite salt" to my work lunches for a long time with no problems. 1: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/485434 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullar...
throwaway74829 4y ago
You would also burn a hole in your stomach if you took a 2-3g potassium pill(s). For what it's worth: I've used "losalt" drinks for potassium-replenishment (especially during carbless diets), and it works well. Hard to overdose, because it will induce vomiting if you get reckless with the ratio of water to losalt.

notshift 4y ago

PaulHoule is correct; potassium and iron are dangerous in excess. Magnesium you can just take in a separate supplement since you really want more of it than easily fits in a multivitamin. You can get sufficient potassium by eating 2-3 meals with plenty of vegetables or leafy greens every day, and you can get sufficient iron by eating animal meat (unless you have a diagnosed iron deficiency and need to supplement with it directly).

umangsh 4y ago

Calcium can inhibit iron absorption. If your multi-vitamin has calcium, it likely won't have iron.

throw8383833jj 4y ago

there's a big difference between minerals and vitamins. Potassium and magnesium are minerals and they are a bit harder to stuff into a pill. Also, vitamins (especially vitamin C) can be found in much higher abundance in a particular food.