Vitamin Supplements

If a woman of child-bearing age who is trying to conceive is eating a healthy diet, there is then no need for her to take vitamin supplement apart from folic acid. Taking folic acid before pregnancy can reduce the risk of having baby suffering defects in the nervous system such as spina bifida. Current medical advice is that all women of child-bearing age who is trying to conceive should take a supplement that provides 400mcg folic acid per day. This is in addition to a dietary intake of folic acid of around 200mcg per day. Rich dietary sources of folic acid include fortified breakfast cereals, bread, green leafy vegetables, oranges, peas and lentils.

There are possible risks from taking excessive amounts of vitamins from supplements especially taking 'mega-vitamins' - extremely high doses which are supposed to have specific health benefits but which can be very dangerous. Most risky are the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E), while taking very large amounts of water-soluble vitamins rarely causes toxic effects because these vitamins are simply washed out in the urine. However, adverse reactions to Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) have been reported.

Specific risks for Vitamin A overdose include nausea, headache, appetite loss, skin changes and irregular periods. In extreme cases there may be liver damage. Vitamin A is also toxic to the baby. It can cause abnormalities in the unborn child if taken by a pregnant woman in high doses.

Excessive amounts of Vitamin D can cause thirst, muscle weakness, stomach upsets, kidney stones.

High doses of Vitamin E can cause stomach upsets and abdominal pain, and disruption of absorption of other fat soluble vitamins into the body.

Overdoses of vitamin B6 can cause nerve damage and high doses of vitamin C, more than 1 gram a day, can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea and kidney stones.