Dietician warns against consuming vitamins

Most doctors agree that it is better to follow a healthy diet rather than consume vitamins, pills or supplements.

Dr Sajita Sunil, Dietician at Welcare Hospital, said: "A large portion of the world population regularly take vitamins, mineral pills or supplements, spending billions of dollars each year."

She explained that these people can be divided into two groups.

"The first category are those who take supplements as a dietary insurance, thinking that in case they are not meeting their nutritional requirements from their food, the supplements will help.

"The second category include those who take supplements as a health insurance, protecting themselves against certain diseases," she said.

"There are still others who think that the supplements can provide them with energy, enhance their athletic performance and build lean body mass without any physical work. They also believe that these supplements can help them to cope with stress."

Dr Sunil warned that the consumption of supplements is not only an expensive practice, but it can also pose health risks.

"Supplements do have their proper uses. In some cases, they correct deficiencies and reduce the risk of deficiency diseases," she said. "Supplements are beneficial for elderly people whose nutritional intake is inadequate to meet their body requirements."

Supplements are also recommended for women during menstruation, when there is loss of blood.

"For a woman who loses a lot of blood during menstruation each month, it might require iron supplements if her nutritional assessment reveals that she is at a nutritional risk.

"Pregnant women and breast feeding mothers have exceptionally high nutrient needs so they usually need to take iron, folate and calcium supplements," she explained.

The intake of supplements becomes harmful when it exceeds the required dosage.

"Large doses of supplements can also prove to be toxic to the consumers. Severe overdoses of iron can result in bloody diarrhoea, shock, liver damage, coma and death. Hence, it is advisable that people do not take impulsive decisions and start consuming vitamin or mineral supplements without consulting a registered physician," she cautioned.

"Another drawback of supplements is that it might lead to people eating irresponsibly because they think this supplement will cover their needs. Most of the nutrients can be obtained from a well-balanced diet."

Dr Juma Billal, Head of Prevention Medicine at the Ministry of Health in Dubai, said: "Vitamins can compensate for a deficiency, and it is also widely believed that they can make the body stronger.

"But having a healthy diet is the best thing because natural food - fruit and vegetables - contains all these vitamins, which can benefit the body."

Dr Bilu George, Dietician at Zulekha Hospital in Sharjah, said: "In my opinion, it is waste of money because fresh fruits and vegetables contain all the required vitamins for a healthy person. If the person has any type of deficiency, then they need to take extra vitamins."

She added: "Excess of vitamins will create toxicity of vitamins. For example, excess of vitamin A can cause itching of the skin. Pregnant women need to take more vitamins. Even if she is healthy and follows a healthy diet, we have to give her supplements because it is not for one person, it is for two persons."

Dr George also recommended supplements for people who are ill, or convalescents.

Salah Bushra, Pharmacist at Al Rashidiya Pharmacy, said: "We have different types of customers who buy vitamins. Some of them have a good knowledge about vitamins, while others come and ask us to prescribe vitamins for them."

Fatama Rashid, a 24-year-old UAE national, said: "I take many types of vitamins. One of my friends told me that if I take a type of vitamin, it will help my hair and keep it healthy. The other type that I take is to give me energy and make me more active."