The natural-equals-harmless mindset ignores the body's limited capacity to process excess.
Key risks include fatigue from vitamin D overload and potentially irreversible nerve damage from high B6.
Lack of strict FDA regulation means supplement quality and labeling are often unreliable.
Safety requires professional guidance to fill specific nutrient gaps, not replace a balanced diet.
A booming $60 billion industry is built on a simple, powerful belief: that loading up on vitamins and supplements is a harmless path to better health. Fueled by this assumption, up to three in four Americans now routinely take at least one dietary supplement, seeking benefits from immune support to improved energy. Yet a chorus of medical experts is issuing an urgent warning that this "more is better" approach is dangerously flawed, revealing that overdoing key nutrients can trigger a host of debilitating side effects, from permanent nerve damage to heart rhythm disruptions.
The pervasive idea that supplements, derived from natural sources, cannot cause harm is a fundamental misconception. "People think of supplements in the same way they do fruit," said Dr. Robert J. Fontana, professor of medicine at University of Michigan Medical School. "They think, cranberries or grapes can’t make me sick, so if I consume more of them, I’ll get healthier." This mindset, experts warn, ignores the body's limited capacity to process and eliminate excess micronutrients, turning well-intentioned wellness routines into sources of illness....<<<Read More>>>...
