To what extent are dietary supplements safe and do they really work?

The story of Jim McCants, a man who ultimately needed a liver transplant after consuming green tea capsules, raised new questions about dietary supplements.

What are their risks and health benefits? 19659002] When Jim McCants started taking green tea tablets, he thought they would have a beneficial effect on his health.

Instead, the compounds apparently caused severe liver damage and required an emergency transplant.

Experts believe that this type of experience, like that experienced by McCants, is "extremely unusual".

In the United Kingdom, supplements are subject to safety regulations and health claims.

Approved supplements sold in respected companies are almost always safe, provided the manufacturers' instructions are followed, affirm the

But we should not badume that dietary supplements do not have the potential to cause harm, states Dr. Wayne Carter, University of Nottingham, England.

If you take supplements in amounts greater than the recommended doses, there will be risks.

Although in many cases, the excess of a supplement can be excreted, its potential for toxicity, especially for the liver, is to eliminate the toxicity of the substances we consume.

"I think sometimes the idea that people are getting is" it's good for me, so if I take it more, it'll be even better, "Dr. Carter says.

] "This entails risks."

There is also the potential risk of taking longer, as the chapter proves, for the moment, but also an improvement in the quality of the material, an integral part of the legislation for the protection of the quality of health products, that a supplement may reinforce the effects of another, and in other cases it may contain one or more nutrients of the same type, which may eventually lead to excess levels

Some of us may be less able to metabolize certain substances effectively, which may also affect how they affect us.

"The aver The relative benefit of the consumption of a supplement is that it can be safe in a large population, but not in all "adds the expert.

But if these are the potential risks, what are the health benefits?

For Children

There are some supplements widely recognized by experts and likely to have beneficial effects on the general population.

The United Kingdom's Health Services of the United Kingdom recommend to women who are planning to have a baby and to those who are already pregnant to take an acid supplement Splurge up to 12 weeks pregnancy to avoid common birth defects in babies.

Vitamin D supplements are also recommended for infants, children 1-4 years of age, and pediatric children. The rest of the population is advised to consider consuming a vitamin D supplement.

The lack of vitamin D, which we mainly get from the sun, can cause deformities bone, such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a disorder called osteomalacia in adults.

Dr. Benjamin Jacobs, pediatric specialist at the Roya National Orthopedic Hospital, says, "100 years ago, most of London's children were stunted." This was virtually abolished with the practice of giving to children a vitamin supplement. "

A vitamin K injection is also usually given to infants during the first 24 hours of their life to prevent a rare but serious blood disorder.

Evolving Science

Dr. Jacobs says that supplements are also important for people with restricted diets or allergies.

Experts say vegans may need a vitamin B12 supplement because it is only found naturally in foods of animal origin

However, with many other supplements the evidence is less clear as to whether most people benefit from it.

Most NHS people do not need to take any other vitamin supplements and you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need, with the exception of the vitamin D, with a balanced diet.

Fish oil pills, a supplement related to a wide variety of purported benefits, from improving cardiovascular health to increased brain function, are not not conclusive either.