"Have a drink, it won't be superfluous": Dispelling 10 myths about vitamins
Real beriberi is rare nowadays., and most vitamins can be obtained in sufficient quantities from food. However, it may seem that everything is not so simple with food - for example, you can hear that vitamins are lost during freezing, and some antivitamins can also destroy them. Is it true that pregnant women need vitamin complexes? If we take vitamins, is it not better in the form of injections? We understand these and other common misconceptions about vitamins.
Vitamins are only in fresh vegetables and fruits.
Fresh fruits are really rich in vitamins, but in some boiled or frozen vegetables and fruits, vitamins and other beneficial compounds may be more. For example, studies have shown that people who preferred raw tomatoes received a lot of vitamin C and A, but received less lycopene (along with vitamin A, it belongs to the group of carotenoids and is a strong antioxidant) - it is only in heat-treated tomatoes (or tomato sauce ). Heat benefits the availability of vitamins A, D, E and K.
According to research results, the ideal option for cooking carrots, zucchini and broccoli - steamed, a little less favorable for vitamins, cooking, and closes the rating of frying. Warming up in the microwave saves vitamins better than warming up on the stove. Freezing also does not harm vitamins - and the level of vitamin C in frozen foods may be higher than in fresh ones. We talked about the best methods of cooking vegetables; Recall that the key to obtaining all the necessary substances - a variety of diet.
Vitamin D is produced enough if you are in the sun
Taking multivitamins, if you eat a variety of foods, is usually meaningless, but vitamin D is an exception to this rule. As a rule, in not the sunniest season, we get not enough ultraviolet light to produce it - and in the sun we protect the skin, not allowing the rays to penetrate it. This is the right strategy, because to prevent melanoma or another type of skin cancer is more important than to ensure the production of natural vitamin D - but then you need to take it separately.
According to various sources, an adult needs to take 600, 1000 or even more international units (IU) of vitamin D per day, but the dosage needs to be clarified with the doctor after a blood test. The main food sources of this substance are salmon, herring, mackerel, fresh tuna, red meat, liver, egg yolk and milk (especially fat).
Because of antivitamins, vitamins are not absorbed.
Antivitamins are compounds close to vitamins in chemical structure, but with opposite effects. Antivitamins are included instead of vitamins in metabolic reactions and inhibit or disrupt their normal course. On the Internet you can find information that cucumbers contain ascorbinase, which destroys vitamin C - therefore tomatoes in a salad with cucumbers lose their beneficial properties. In fact, ascorbinase is found in many vegetables and fruits, and it is activated when the integrity of fruits is violated - so it’s better to eat sliced vegetables quickly. On the other hand, in the same tomatoes, vitamin C is quite small, and even with its loss, many other beneficial substances remain. In general, judging by the sluggish discussion of antivitamins in the scientific environment, the problem of their existence is not so critical, and the best advice that will help reduce their negative impact is to eat more fruits and vegetables. Stable intake of vitamins compensates for the action of their antagonists.
Some antivitamins (no longer from products, but in pure form) are used for medicinal purposes. Thus, vitamin K plays a role in blood clotting - and for those who, on the contrary, need to thin the blood, a whole group of drugs are used - vitamin K antagonists. contained in the products is not sufficient to neutralize the action of these vitamins.
To drink vitamins will never be superfluous
First, you need to understand that vitamins can be sold both as medicines and as dietary supplements - in the latter case, the control over production and release is much weaker, which means that there can be anything in the packaging, and in undeclared quantities - and it can be less or more than the daily norm.
Secondly, if we discard the uncertainty that the contents of the bottle correspond to the inscriptions on the label, it is worth remembering that an excess of vitamins will not double the benefit - on the contrary, it may be toxic. This is especially true of fat-soluble vitamins A, K, E and D. It is difficult to call taking vitamins a good method for preventing cardiovascular diseases or cancer; for example, vitamin B9 can both help prevent colorectal cancer and other tumors, and in a paradoxical way provoke their growth.
Pregnant women just need to take vitamins.
The only vitamin that is recommended for women planning pregnancy is B9 (folic acid). It is proven to reduce the risk of developing disorders of the child’s nervous system. Ideally, you should take B9 before pregnancy: it is recommended to start three months before the planned conception and continue until the end of the first trimester of pregnancy. The recommended dosage is 400-800 mcg of folic acid per day.
This is especially important for those who are on a low carbohydrate diet or cannot eat gluten. It is not recommended to get involved in multivitamins "just in case" during pregnancy: in some cases this leads to an accelerated and disproportionate growth of the fetus, which can at least complicate the process of childbirth.
Injections are more effective than tablets
Injections allow you to enter drugs that are destroyed or poorly absorbed in the digestive tract. To date, pharmacologists have ensured that the active substance is released where necessary - for example, if the vitamin can break down in the stomach, then it is available in capsules that are resistant to the effects of gastric juice, and begins to be released only in the small intestine. If earlier with a deficiency of vitamin B12 it was necessary to make painful injections, now it is proved that it is no less effective in tablets.
If you take pills, then separate
The fact that vitamins can "compete" with each other, heard, probably, all. According to the manufacturer of one of the vitamin complexes, iron and zinc, zinc and B9, calcium and iron, iron and B12, and others are incompatible. However, apparently, this competition does not have a tangible effect and does not deprive the body of half of the important compounds for it. So, in a small test on real people (and not in the laboratory in vitro) it was found that zinc and vitamin B9 did not affect the absorption of each other. Other studies do not confirm the negative effect of calcium on iron absorption.
In any case, manufacturers who fit vitamins in one tablet take into account incompatibility issues and use microgranulation technology - when different compounds are enclosed in microgranules and are released under certain conditions only.
Vitamins make nails and hair more beautiful
If the nails are broken, and the hair falls out, then the first thing to do is try to identify the cause - it is not always covered by a deficiency of vitamins. For example, hair loss may be associated with a lack of protein and iron in the diet (at risk - vegetarians), deficiency of zinc and fatty acids. It is also recommended to be examined for endocrine and autoimmune diseases.
It is important to understand that an excess of selenium, vitamin A and vitamin E may even contribute to hair loss, so an independent intake of vitamin supplements may worsen the situation. As for nails - people with a balanced diet, no additives to improve their condition are not shown. In addition, nutritional supplements for skin, hair, and nails are often indistinguishable in composition from regular multivitamins — and the labels on the label are designed to promote sales.
Taking vitamins compensates for the harm of smoking
Smoking adversely affects our vitamin reserves, especially vitamin C - but the logical conclusion that smokers need to drink more vitamins causes controversy. On the one hand, there is evidence that taking vitamin C slightly improves the situation. On the other hand, beta-carotene (the precursor of vitamin A) from food helps to prevent lung cancer, but its additional use, on the contrary, increases the risk of this disease in smokers. Taking vitamins can lead to another negative effect: it seems to a person that the harm of smoking is neutralized, and he begins to smoke even more.
Natural vitamins are better than synthetic ones.
If no deficiencies are detected, it is best to get vitamins from food - but the chemical formulas of these substances themselves do not change depending on their origin. Studies have confirmed that, for example, food-derived and synthesized vitamin C is assimilated equally. If the doctor revealed a lack of a vitamin, when choosing a drug, it is better to pay attention to its registration as a medicine, not the dietary supplement and the manufacturer's reputation, and not to the word "natural".
Photo: brozova - stock.adobe.com (1, 2, 3)
