Dietary supplements and their increasing consumption

The rising trend of using dietary supplements to strengthen and preserve health or to debar illness, has intensified over the past few years. As for every other product, dietary supplements have their own pros and cons. Where on one hand, they increase performance, strength, metabolism and physical well-being of the body; they can definitely affect the body adversely.

 What are dietary supplements?

Dietary supplements are synthetic products which add an extra element to the regular diet. These products could be of natural origin (such as those extracted from plant or vegetable sources) or they could be manufactured discretely, and then combined with other food sources to increase their amount of consumption. Dietary supplements are available in various dosage forms and are abundantly used worldwide.

 How are dietary supplements beneficial?

Supplements are beneficial in a variety of ways. The most important benefit of these supplements is the sufficient provision of essential nutrients to the body. These include vitamins, fatty acids, dietary fiber, proteins and minerals.They also help strengthen health and aid in the management of disease conditions. In malnourished and underfed individuals, dietary supplements are the best option to meet up the nutritional requirements.

How to use dietary supplements?

As for every medication, dietary supplements should always be taken on the recommendation of a registered nutritionist or medical practitioner. While taking your daily dose supplements, make sure you take the correct dose at the right time. Also make sure that your supplements aren't interacting with any other medication that you are taking. This is important because some medicines can affect the efficacy of the supplement and vice versa.

Adverse effects of dietary supplements:

Excessive use of dietary supplements can affect almost every system of the body.

·      The active ingredients present in dietary supplements can cause high blood pressure and cardiac arrhythmia.

·     A number of dietary supplements intended for weight loss are reported to have caused hepatic toxicity and liver failure.

·     Use of dietary supplements could be risky for your renal health if you recently had a kidney transplant.

·    Supplements could pose serious risks to your skin if you're using them during radiation therapy.

·    Dietary supplements could be detrimental to both male and female reproductive health, where they can affect the sperm count and production of female sex hormones, respectively.

·   Excess use of dietary supplements may cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. Some may cause indigestion and GIT fatigue.

How to avoid the use of dietary supplements?

Since the synthetic ingredients present in dietary supplements could be harmful to the normal metabolism of human body, their use should be minimized by including all the nutrient components in your diet. Taking a well-balanced diet regularly can meet all the nutrient  requirements of the body without the need to use supplements

Role of Vitamin C in CoVID-19

As I observed the increased usage of Vitamin C supplements and their disappearance  from the market all of a sudden, I wrote this article to help you understand the various effects of Vitamin C on immunity; it's effectiveness in management of CoVID-19 symptoms and its proper usage.

Vitamin C or Ascorbic  Acid is an important nutritional component which performs various functions in the human body. Its potent antioxidant activity prevents cellular damage and aging. It is a part of several important metabolic pathways which build up our immune health

Functions of vitamin C:

Vitamin C is one of the safest and most widely used nutrient supplements. This is attributed to its wide range of effects on human body. These include its effect on immunity, prenatal health of the mother and fetus, effects on eye and its benefits in eye diseases. It's most important function is its antioxidant activity which prevents wrinkles and aging.

Let's have a look at the effects of Vitamin C in various health conditions:

Common cold:

Vitamin C may not be a cure to common cold but it definitely helps in the prevention of serious complications. According to various studies, vitamin C can largely prevents the risk of development of complications like lung infections or pneumonia.

Stroke:

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the higher the concentration of Vitamin C in the blood, lower is the risk of stroke as it reduces the risk by 42%. This is observed mostly in people who consume large of amount of fruits and vegetables and have a surplus amount of Vitamin C in their blood.

Skin conditions:

Studies have proved that a higher intake of vitamin C reduces wrinkles and keeps the skin fresh and young with the growing age.

It prevents dryness of skin and helps in retaining moisture.

Other studies show that vitamin C aids in reducing inflammation. It also assists in anticancer treatment as well as cardiovascular diseases.

Ascorbic acid is also necessary for the absorption of iron.

It helps in healing of wounds.

It allows maintenance of muscular and skeletal structures.

The antioxidant activity of vitamin C protects the body from the damaging effects of free radicals. It also protects against harmful chemicals and toxins which are originated from pollutants such as chlorofluorocarbons, nicotine etc.

Sources of Vitamin C:

Vegetables and fruits are the richest source of vitamin C.

Fruits having the highest concentration of vitamin C include the following:

Citrus fruits and their juices (for example orange, lemon, grapefruit)

Kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa)

Mango (Magnifiers indica)

Papaya (Carica papaya)

Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

Berries (raspberries, blueberries, cranberries)

Watermelon (Citrullus linatus)

Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo var. cantalupensis)

Vegetables having the highest amount of vitamin C include the following:

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. Italics)

Brussels sprouts ((Brassica oleracea var. gemmifera)

Cauliflower ((Brassica oleracea var. botrytis)

Pepper (both green and red)

Sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas)

White potatoes (Solanum tuberosum)

Winter squash (Curcubita moschata)

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)

Cabbage ((Brassica oleracea var. capitata)

Green part of turnip (Brassica rapa subs. rapa)

Leafy vegetables

Recommended daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin C:

The recommended daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamins refers to the amount of vitamin that is safe to use each day. The RDA depends on many factors such as age, gender, body weight, health conditions such as pregnancy or any disease or illness.

The RDA of vitamin C intake for various age groups is as follows;

Kids/Infants:

New born to 6 months of age: 40* milli grams per day (mg/day)

7 to 12 months of age: 50* milli grams per day (mg/day)

*Adequate intake (AI)

Children:

1 to 3 years of age: 15 milli grams per day (mg/day)

4 to 8 years of age: 25 milli grams per day (mg/day)

9 to 13 years of age: 45 milli grams per day (mg/day)

Adolescent (boys and girls):

Teenage girls: 65 milligrams per day

Teenage pregnant girls: 80 milligrams per day

Nursing teenage girls: 115 milligrams per day

Teenage boys: 75 milligrams per day

Adults:

Men (19 years of age and above): 90 milligrams per day

Women (19 years of age and above): 75 milligrams per day

Nursing women: 120 milligrams per day

Smokers (both active and passive): more than 35 milligrams per day.

 

Consult your health care provider and follow his advice before starting the use of any supplement.

The 90 mg per day Daily Value (DV) of vitamin C could be easily met if your diet includes fruits and vegetables. This is because Vitamin C is abundantly present in fruits and veggies, orange for instance, contains 77% of the daily value and a cup of cooked broccoli could provide 112% of the total DV. So, if you are having a good and regular intake of fruits and vegetables, your immune system is all set to combat.

Vitamin C & immunity:

Vitamin C affects immune system mainly through its antioxidant activity. It helps reduce inflammation which is the first reaction of body to any foreign intrusion. The Reduction in inflammation allows significant improvement in immunity.

Vitamin C is also essential for healthy skin as it increases collagen synthesis. This allows the skin to serve as a physical barrier to keep the foreign substances outside the body. Collagen also allows healing of the wounds.

Vitamin C improves the activity of phagocytes and lymphocytes. Phagocytes are immune cells which engulf microorganisms whereas lymphocytes increase the concentration of antibodies in the blood circulation. These two steps are vital for immune response.

Vitamin C and it's usage in CoVID-19:

Various Chinese medical institutions have approved the use of Vitamin C for the management of symptoms of CoVID-19. According to the Chinese Journal of infectious Diseases, it increases the healing of infected lung by 18.2%. Although the use of Vitamin C for the treatment of CoVID-19 is still being tested and no evidence supports it's usage as the treatment option for Corona Virus Disease, its use and effectiveness as an immunity booster is well established. People with weak immune system can definitely use vitamin C supplements to prevent the risk of developing corona virus disease.