Vitamins - Consumers seem to be risk-conscious

Vitamin and mineral preparations are becoming increasingly popular. More and more people take it in supplemental and try to counteract an actual or feared nutrient deficit.

Many people swallow vitamin pills.

From a scientific point of view, in addition to the benefits of dietary supplements (NEMs), potential health risks should also be examined. The aim of a study was therefore to obtain detailed data on the consumption behavior, the reasons for the use as well as for the individual nutrient uptake from NEM and to evaluate these from a toxicological point of view.

The majority of respondents named health reasons for supplement consumption (78.8%). Eighty-six percent of respondents said they were aware of the instructions, and 93% were aware of the potential risks of over-delivery.

Magnesium was the most frequently supplemented nutrient in the study (59.2%), followed by calcium (37%), zinc (33.6%) and selenium (23%). Vitamin C (52.6%) was the most frequently consumed by vitamins, followed by vitamin E (45.3%).

It was found that the supplement intake was rarely associated with excessive intake of vitamins and minerals, with rare exceptions. The situation was different with magnesium: Here more than 22% exceeded the specific value for food supplements of 250 milligrams per day. More information can be found here.