For many people, a daily dose of vitamins and minerals has become part of their everyday routine. Especially in winter we ingest massive quantities of vitamin D because we think it boosts our immune system. But is that accurate and is that daily vitamin pill as innocent as it appears? We asked professor Sarah De Saeger (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences). She specialises in food safety and a wholesome diet.
In short
- We take vitamins en masse but that isn’t always necessary
- A wholesome and varied diet is more important
- With some vitamins it can even be dangerous to take too much
First of all, what is a vitamin exactly?
Sarah De Saeger: “Vitamins are essential nutrients that our body doesn’t produce or in insufficient quantities but that are nevertheless essential to our survival. We get them from our diet or our body produces them, albeit in limited quantities. They are extremely important to our basic health but don’t expect them to work miracles. They won’t boost your immune system or cure diseases.”
Vitamins and supplements have become part and parcel of our daily routine: a good thing?
“Normally, if you’re healthy, you don’t need nutritional supplements because you get what you need from your diet. Of course, the condition is that you eat a healthy and varied diet. Your body naturally absorbs vitamins from food better than from a supplement.”
So do we need extra vitamins?
“It varies from person to person. There are several vitamins most of us would do well to supplement. Vitamin D, for example, which our body produces through sunlight. In winter the sun goes into hiding, causing half the population to suffer from vitamin D deficiency. Going outside when the sun shines can stimulate production but that’s not enough for everyone. People with dark skin produce less vitamin D. Babies, young children, pregnant women and the elderly also produce too little vitamin D. A deficiency is not without danger: it can impact bone formation in children and result in rickets or bone deformities.”
What vitamins should you take and what do you have to watch for?
“As such there’s no harm in taking supplements but it’s best to do so as a one-month course. Taking vitamins day in and day out is useless. If we take too many water-soluble vitamins those are simply excreted in urine. This goes for vitamins C and B. But some vitamins - A, D, E and K - accumulate in the body and over time this can lead to excessive levels.”
Do those accumulating vitamins pose a risk?
“For vitamins the same rule applies as for all other nutrients, even water: starting from a certain dose they become toxic. We advise pregnant women against vitamin A - good for your eyesight - because excessive doses can have serious consequences for the foetus and may result in abnormalities. That is why it is advisable to check the vitamin concentration in your supplement. For a short course a higher concentration may be a good idea but not if you want to take it for longer periods.”
If I buy vitamins: how do I know if they’re safe?
“Fortunately this is strictly regulated in the EU. The concentrations, often expressed in a percentage of the reference intake, are stated on the packaging. But many people go for products from non-EU countries because they are cheaper and there those strict regulations do not always apply. This means the buyer doesn’t always know what is in them and whether they are safe. That is why it is best to ask your pharmacist for advice when buying vitamins.”
A lot of inaccurate info about vitamins circulates online, how can we counter that?
“The sheer volume of dis- and misinformation makes this extremely difficult. As a regulatory authority, it’s impossible to keep track of everything. I think it would be a good idea for schools to pay more attention to education about nutrition. But adults are also quick to accept false claims, something I noticed while contributing to a VRT item on proteins and what was circulating on TikTok. The item generated lots of angry reactions from people who believed the influencers. The success of such claims is not that surprising. People who are ill or have a health issue want to find a solution. It’s in our nature.”
Are people too quick to think that a pill will solve everything?
“Definitely. Taking vitamin pills is easier than adjusting your diet but everything starts with a healthy and varied diet. If you want to have enough vitamin B in your system then eat plenty of wholemeal products. You’ll get better results than by taking a pill and continuing to eat sandwiches or doughnuts (laughs).”
Professor Sarah De Saeger (Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences) teaches future pharmacists about nutrition and nutritional supplements. She frequently travels to China for work and always discovers new flavours there. This diversity of flavours is what Sarah adores about the Asian kitchen which, in general, is much healthier than our western food.
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