Dangerous Side Effects of Supplements

Claims that certain supplements can cure anything and keep you healthy and wise have boosted the vitamin business to billions of dollars per year. Most people today want to stay young and avoid diseases and have bought into the idea of supplements to enhance their health. Side effects of supplements aren’t something they often think much about.

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Health food stores in America abound with shelves laden with goods that promise miracles for your health. But there are certain dangers involved in surreptitiously ingesting vitamin supplements. Some risk occurs if you’re taking other medications that the supplements might have an adverse reaction to.

The Dangers of Vitamin Supplements

Some people think that “natural” is safe, but that isn’t always true. Some supplements that might endanger your health are:

  • Weight loss supplements that contain “theophylline.” Theophylline is taken from a black tea extract and bitter orange. It’s sometimes prescribed for asthma but can cause seizures and irregular heartbeat.
  • Aristolochia. An herb supplement that sometimes causes cancer or kidney failure.
  • Bitter orange. This is a weight loss supplement that may cause seizures.
  • Kava. It can be the source of liver failure.
  • Pennyroyal. An herb that has been linked to nerve damage and liver and kidney failure.
  • Comfrey. An herb that sometimes causes liver damage.
  • Lobelia. An herb that can cause tremors, dizziness, breathing difficulties, and low blood pressure.
  • Androstenedione. It can increase cancer risk and decrease good HDL cholesterol.

Despite possible side effects, there are many instances when supplements are effective. For example, if you’re a vegetarian, senior citizen, or a woman who’s menopausal or post-menopausal, you may not get all the vitamins you need.

Dangerous Side Effects of Supplements hand full of vitamins

People on a severe diet plan, smokers, heavy drinkers, and pregnant women may also need extra vitamins to supplement their diets because many vitamins are difficult to absorb. Gastric surgery people have a list that their doctors recommend for them.

It’s always best to consult a health professional if you suspect that your body needs dietary supplements. Also, check with the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) to see if there are current bans on a particular supplement. The side effects of supplements can be serious if you don’t know what to look for.

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Best Supplements for Immune System : Vitamins to Look At

During stressful situations, your immune system will naturally become stressed, and this can make you more vulnerable to infection. It’s essential to stock up on vitamins that will help your immune system stay in tip-top shape. We came up with a list of the Best Supplements for Immune System stability and strength.

Best Supplements for Immune System article cover image of a hand holding pills

Let’s just look at vitamin C as it is commonly known for its immune-boosting effects. Keeping a supply of it onhand can help you stave off illness. Whenever you got a cold or the flu, you may have heard your mom (and doctor) warn you to drink plenty of fluids and get extra vitamin C. That’s because this particular vitamin can help boost your immune system.

Stock Up on Vitamins to Boost Your Immune System

It’s preferable that instead of waiting until you’re already sick, you bulk up on vitamin C beforehand – to stave off any foreign invaders ahead of time. You can find vitamin C naturally in oranges and other citrus fruit.

Aside from boosting your body’s natural defense system, taking regular doses of vitamin C helps your body heal from minor cuts and wounds. Your tissues benefit from the intake of vitamin C as well, as do your teeth and gums.

This unique vitamin contributes to your absorption of other vitamins within your body, so a deficiency in vitamin C can have prohibited other nutrients from helping your health. Each organ needs specific vitamins to stay healthy and to function correctly. Vitamin C helps those other nutrients get carried out to the organs and tissues that need them most.

Best Supplements for Immune System : Vitamins to Look At citrus fruit for vitamin c

Your muscles need vitamin C to stay healthy and flexible, which can help lessen some of the pain you may suffer from now – or in the future. It helps your joint muscles retain their resiliency so that they can bend adequately with a good amount of pressure placed on them.

Vitamin C is also known to be an antioxidant, which helps eliminate free radicals within your body. This simply means that it can help prevent you from developing some types of cancer. Can you see how this made our list of the Best Supplements for Immune System yet?

It can also get rid of toxic byproducts that can be produced from fat metabolism.

Because of its ability to neutralize the toxic byproducts, vitamin C is now known to help prevent heart disease.

It promotes healthy blood flow, which can help fight against atherosclerosis. The healthier your heart is, the longer you may live! Vitamin C can be purchased in pill form that you can get from your local grocery store or as a supplement online.

You can also find it in oranges, strawberries, and cantaloupe. In vegetables, you can find it in tomatoes, broccoli, and cabbage. If you’re not into fruits and vegetables, then it’s recommended that you drink a glass of orange juice every day. Get your daily dose of vitamin C and give your body the boost it needs to stay healthy!

Best Supplements for Immune System variety of pills that work well together

Vitamin C, though, isn’t the only vitamin that will help you, and many scientists believe that vitamin C works in connection with other vitamins but isn’t as effective alone. It actually helps your body absorb iron better!

Why Iron Is Important for Your Health

An iron deficiency isn’t apparent to spot, but it can wreak havoc on your overall health, leaving you feeling sluggish and tired without an apparent explanation. Restless leg syndrome, anemia, dyspnea, and an odd disorder called pica are all a result of having a low iron count. We have to have it in our list of the Best Supplements for Immune System strength.

Restless leg syndrome causes uncomfortable feelings in your legs when you’re at rest and trying to sleep. It can cause insomnia because as you’re trying to fall into a slumber, your legs are still feeling like they need to get up and walk or move around.

Some people who suffer from this have reported that they experience involuntary movements with their legs when they’re at rest or an annoying tingling sensation that drives them to give up on getting rest, so they get up and move around to make it go away.

Why Iron Is Important for Your Health

The restlessness they feel usually can only subside when they move their legs around to wear them out. Although the exact cause of restless leg syndrome isn’t known, those who suffer say that an increase in iron helped alleviate the problem.

Anemia is another condition that’s caused by an iron deficiency. Anemia is when iron levels are low for an extended period without relief, which makes red blood cell production ineffective. This disorder causes chronic fatigue and weakness for the person suffering from it.

It can also cause dyspnea, which is shortness of breath. The low iron levels cause oxygen not to flow freely, therefore sapping you of energy. You can also experience heart palpitations and increased sweat production, and it can even lead to heart failure if left untreated!

Pica is an odd disorder seen in people with a low iron count. Pica is a term used for those who crave unusual items that are considered not edible. Low iron causes your body to want iron. Sometimes, this can result in people eating paper, buttons, and chalk – and in some cases – soil!

Pica can result in other hazardous conditions that may result from eating unhealthy items. Eating soil, for example, can cause a person to contract bacteria or microscopic worms. This behavior can sometimes be treated simply by consuming extra iron.

Why Iron Is Important for Your Health

Low iron can cause excessive bleeding in menstruating women or women who shouldn’t be menstruating at that time. The blood is thinned to the point that blood clotting becomes a little more complicated, and you could essentially lose other nutrients that your body needs.

If you think you’re low on iron, have your doctor run a simple blood test to find out if you’re anemic. You don’t want to take too much iron – just enough to get your levels back to a normal, healthy state. If you need to take it or want to stock up on it, we love THIS brand on Amazon.

More of the Best Supplements for Immune System Strength

Selenium is a mineral that’s been shown in studies to help boost the immune system and prevent disease.

Vitamin D is something your body naturally produces when it’s exposed to sunlight. But if you’re stuck indoors during a pandemic, you’ll likely need a supplement. Vitamin D supplements can be added to your storage to keep your immune system healthy and help you to fight illness.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps your body fight stress. It is especially helpful in increasing your body’s ability to produce antibodies when it comes into contact with a virus.

More of the Best Supplements for Immune System Strength

Zinc is a mineral that’s been found to help boost your immune system. Zinc is one you only need to begin taking if you feel that you’re becoming ill. It can help your body produce more white blood cells and shorten infection time.

Both vitamin B2 and vitamin B6 are known for improving the immune system’s ability to fight infection. Most vitamin B supplements contain both of these and additional forms of the vitamin as well.

Echinacea is an herbal formula that is a natural antiviral and antibiotic. Having this on hand is useful at the first sign that you’re ill. You don’t want to use this to prevent illness.

Much of your immunity lies within your gut through beneficial bacteria. Unfortunately, the antibacterial products and medications that are common can also cause you to have reduced resistance. Taking a daily probiotic can help you have a more robust immune system to fight off infections naturally.

Garlic is also a natural antibiotic and antiviral that helps to reduce inflammation in your body. Eating fresh garlic is the best, but you can store herbal supplements contain garlic in your emergency supplies.

You may get most of what you need by taking a multivitamin daily. Vitamins can help make up for any nutrition you’re missing from your daily diet. This is especially important if you primarily depend on canned foods for your meals in times of duress.

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