Unprescribed nutrients may be toxic, say medical experts

Panaji: The easy availability of supplements, multivitamins, and nutraceuticals — along with the barrage of advertisements selling them — has resulted in some people making wrong choices while lapping up these products.

Consuming supplements and vitamins without talking to a doctor, experts warn, can cause undernourishment or a surge in the levels of nutrients. The experts said such outcomes can wreak havoc on people’s health.

“The protein powders and supplements that young gym regulars use are unregulated and not prescribed by doctors,” said Dr Rufino Monteiro, a cardio-diabetologist at Manipal Hospital. “As a natural consequence, their bodies will have excess amounts of protein, causing kidney or liver failure in future.”

The uncritical reliance on online information and the influencer culture plays a significant role in pushing these products, experts said.

“A flux of information online makes supplementation tempting to some people,” said Kedar Jirage, a Panaji pharmacist. “But supplements taken without factoring in the body’s requirement, which only doctors can determine, may raise toxicity levels.”

The overconsumption of Vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia and cardiac arrests, Jirage said.

Dr Ajit Mopkar, a Mapusa gynaecologist, said nutrients should be prescribed only when the body needs them. “Our guidelines mandate that we prescribe a nutrient or a supplement to pregnant women. We examine them, prepare a detailed dietary history, and prescribe nutrients they are missing,” Mopkar said.

He added that bona fide prescriptions are based on science, medical history, and dire requirements.

Youth are aware that a deficiency of vitamins can cause illnesses, experts said, but the tendency to pop the pill without doctors’ advice can be harmful.

“Peanuts are a good source of protein. But excess consumption will lead to fat accumulation. People are not consuming enough nutrition in their food as opposed to the calories they burn,” Mopkar said. “It is true that calorie content should be maintained. But that should be considered in the context of all the required micronutrients.”

Multivitamins are extremely dangerous when consumed without gauging a person’s needs, said Raj Vaidya, another Panaji pharmacist. He said some people tend to think that the more expensive a supplement is, the more reliable it will be.

The experts said that as long as the regulators allow companies to promote health supplements without oversight, the danger of excess nutrients will prevail.