Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

How harmful are vitamin pills?

47 views
Skip to first unread message

Steven Wm. Fowkes

unread,
Jan 11, 1995, 2:26:51 PM1/11/95
to

In article <3enjsc$q...@nippur.irb.hr>,
Vlatko Broz (vb...@public.srce.hr) asks:

>How harmful is taking vitamins/minerals in pills or tablets in the long
>run? For example taking a few vitamin pills every day for 2-3 years? Does
>it make any difference if one swallows several different vitamin pills (C,
>E, B, P) at the same time? What happens in our stomach after we swallow a
>vitamin pill? What's the difference between empty/full stomach when taking
>these pills?

You may find the following article of interest.

Smart Life SIG: Tablets vs Capsules vs Powders?
Smart Supplements, by Steven Wm. Fowkes*

At a recent meeting of the Smart Life SIG, I noticed that the
question that seemed to generate the most widespread interest was
not on neuroendocrine mechanisms of aging nor techniques for
scavenging free radicals, but what is the best form of vitamin C
and how you tell if a supplement is well made. Behind the glitz
and glamor of high tech is simple engineering. This article will
review the basics of supplements.

Tablets, Capsules or Powders?

Supplements come in many forms. Powders are generally the lowest
cost per milligram, but they are often inconvenient to use.
Tablets are cheap to manufacture, but they don't always dissolve
when they should. Capsules are substantially more expensive, but
at least they dissolve reliably. But what about timed-release
tablets which aren't supposed to dissolve?

Tablets are made with high-pressure presses which compress a
powdered mixture into a solid tablet. If they don't compress the
mixture enough, the tablets crumble. If they use too much
pressure, the tablets resemble rocks more than vitamins.
Manufacturers and retailers prefer hard tablets because they
resist chipping and cracking during shipping and are thus more
attractive (acceptable) to consumers. Unfortunately for
consumers, such rock-hard tablets pose potentially serious health
risks.

Testing Your Tablets

For people using tablets, there are two basic issues:
*acidity/alkalinity* (pH) and *dissolving time*. A well-made
tablet should dissolve or disintegrate in 15 minutes or less when
placed in a glass of water (or vinegar, if you want to
approximate stomach conditions more exactly). If it still looks
solid after 15 minutes, poke it with a knife or fork. If it
crumbles easily with light pressure, great. If not, it might be a
problem. You will need to investigate the acidity/alkalinity (pH)
of the tablet. If it doesn't disintegrate rapidly *and* it is
acidic, it can burn holes in your stomach, and maybe your
intestine, and it might disturb the normally alkaline pH of the
small intestine causing malabsorption of certain nutrients.

For tablets that don't disintegrate rapidly (which would include
timed-release tablets), break the tablet in half and taste it for
tartness (or test it with pH papers). If it is tart (acidic), it
is a cheap product--made with too much tabletting pressure and/or
from inexpensive acidic ingredients (like ascorbic acid). Such
problem tablets (timed-release or not) should either be crushed
before ingestion or tossed in the garbage.

The Bargain Tablet

Acidic tablets which do not dissolve rapidly are dangerous
because they survive digestion in the acidic stomach and remain
intact to release acid in the normally-alkaline intestine.
Intestinal pH disturbances can cause malabsorption of various
vitamins and minerals, and intestinal ulcers. Cheap vitamin C
tablets made from inexpensive ascorbic acid are one of the more
common occurrences of this kind of product. Don't be misled by
the apparent "bargain." Your health is worth far more than the
pennies you might save.

Storing Supplements

Generally, vitamins and other nutrients are sensitive to
environmental factors like heat, light, and humidity.
Consequently, it is best not to put your supplements on the car
dashboard or the kitchen windowsill. Equally important is
protecting your supplements from moisture. This means that you
should not put your *daily-use* bottles of vitamins in the
refrigerator. Each time you open cold vitamins, condensation will
add excessive moisture to the contents, thereby shortening their
shelf life. This condensation reaction is what causes iced drinks
to form water drops on the outside of the glass. The colder your
vitamins are and the higher the relative humidity of the air, the
more water condenses on your vitamins and the faster they loose
potency (and become toxic).

Long-term storage of vitamins in the refrigerator (or freezer) is
OK if you 1) seal the bottles in a heavy-duty plastic bag, and 2)
allow them to return to room temperature before transferring
vitamins to your daily-use bottle. The air-tight plastic bag
prevents small amounts of moist air in the refrigerator or
freezer from leaking in and out of the bottle in response to
daily fluctuations in atmospheric pressure caused by weather.

Vitamin C

The best form of vitamin C depends upon a lot of factors. In
powder form, *ascorbic acid* is the least expensive, but it is
also highly acidic (tart) and can corrode tooth enamel if it
comes in direct contact. *Tablets* made from ascorbic acid are
highly acidic and can cause stomach and intestinal ulcers.
Ascorbic acid salts (called mineral ascorbates) are *acid
neutralized* and don't have these acid problems. They are more
expensive, but serve to provide nutritional minerals which might
be advantageous. *Sodium ascorbate* tastes salty, and its sodium
content may be a problem for people with high blood pressure
(essential hypertension). *Calcium ascorbate* is a bit more
expensive, but it is fully neutralized and a good source of
calcium. *Magnesium ascorbate* is also excellent, but it is not
made in industrial quantities.

Does It Taste Good?

For people who use crystalline vitamin C dissolved in water, the
taste becomes the primary issue. Pure ascorbic acid is too tart
(acidic) for most people's tastes. It can be partially
neutralized by adding a portion of calcium ascorbate, magnesium
oxide, milk of magnesia (magnesium hydroxide), sodium ascorbate,
or sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). The more you add, the less
tart the result.

When you add alkaline substances like milk of magnesia or sodium
bicarbonate to acidic ascorbic acid, a chemical reaction occurs.
The milky-colored magnesium hydroxide reacts to form magnesium
ascorbate and the solution turns from white to clear. The sodium
bicarbonate reacts to form sodium ascorbate and the solution
fizzes from the carbon dioxide gas which is released.

An ascorbate mixture to be added to citrus juice will probably
taste best if it is more tart, to apple juice or plain water less
so, and to coffee almost neutral. To be added to creamed coffee
or milk, it will have to be slightly alkaline to avoid curdling
the milk products. By controlling the amounts of the various
types of ascorbates, any taste can be accommodated.

Lifestyle Issues

Part of the issue with choosing the ideal form(s) of vitamin C
for your personal use is compliance. In other words, will you
take it regularly? Some people just can't be bothered with mixing
up vitamin C drinks several times per day. Others will not drink
mixtures which are too tart or too alkaline. Some people object
to burping or intestinal gas from carbonates used in effervescent
vitamin C products. Some people will use chewable vitamin C which
is pleasantly flavored and sweetened with several parts of sugar.

Because vitamin C, vitamin B, and other water-soluble nutrients
have a short half-life in the bloodstream (4-5 hours), they
should be taken fairy regularly, say three to four times per day
for optimum effect. Very large doses of vitamin C (four or more
grams daily) are better taken 6-12 times per day. This means
fitting your vitamins into your daily routines. Put your vitamin
bottles on the breakfast and dinner tables. If you take coffee
breaks, consider adding your C to your coffee. If you pack a
lunch, put your supplements in your lunch bag. If you go out to
lunch regularly, carry a bottle of vitamins in a cool place in
your car (under the seat, not in the glove compartment). Vitamins
can be carried in a purse, small bottle, plastic film canister,
or small heavy-duty plastic bag. Small zip-seal plastic bags
offer a low profile for breast pockets or jackets. Sometimes, it
is easier to pack up an entire week's supply of vitamin packets
at one time.

Vitamin C with Meals

When you take large doses of vitamin C with meals, it is best to
take acidic vitamin C. Alkaline forms of vitamin C neutralize
the stomach's hydrochloric acid (HCl) and diminish digestive
power in people who do not product enough HCl (e.g., middle aged
and elderly individuals). The bulking action of food slows down
and extends the absorption of vitamin C, thus stabilizing blood
vitamin levels longer. Alkaline vitamin C should only be taken in
large doses 1-3 hours after eating (1 hour after a snack, up to 3
hours for a *big* meal). Between-meals vitamin C can be acidic,
neutral or alkaline.

A word of caution: vitamin C is easily oxidized in aqueous
solution, especially if the water has traces of iron or copper in
it. Iron and copper are single-electron redox catalysts which
oxidize vitamin C (ascorbate) into dehydroascorbate (DHA) which
can be toxic. Tap water is almost always delivered in iron or
copper pipes, and even fruit juices and spring waters naturally
contain traces of copper and iron. If you want maximum stability,
use only distilled water (or carbon-and-reverse-osmosis treated
water). If you mix your C into juice, drink it quickly (within an
hour). Don't leave it sitting around for hours, even in the
refrigerator.

Vitamin C's stability in solution is also temperature dependent.
If you add vitamin C to hot chocolate, tea or coffee, make sure
you drink it straightaway. After several hours, much (if not
most) of the vitamin C has been oxidized to DHA.

It is very important to keep your vitamin C dry during storage.
Dampness catalyzes the oxidation of C into DHA, and so you
shouldn't put your daily-use bottles of vitamin C in the
refrigerator. Air-tight plastic-sealed vitamin C can be stored
in the refrigerator or freezer for years, but be sure to allow it
to warm to room temperature before opening the plastic or bottle.

With these simple guidelines, you can avoid the pitfalls of
poorly made supplements and ensure that the supplements you take
are maximally assimilated for enhanced health.

*The previous article appeared in the February, 1992 issue of
_Smart_Drug_News_ [2(1):1], copyright (c) 1993 by CERI. This file
may be freely distributed in electronic format if maintained in
its entirety.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Steven Wm. Fowkes (fow...@ceri.win.net) voice: 415-321-CERI
Cognitive Enhancement Research Institute fax: 415-323-3864
PO Box 4029, Menlo Park, CA 94026 USA alt: 415-321-6670
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Randy Gellens

unread,
Jan 18, 1995, 10:31:23 PM1/18/95
to
>And for that matter, I don't think I've
>seen a non-ascorbic acid vitamin C tablet either!

Try mineral ascorbates. They don't have the acidity of regular ascorbic acid.
Personally, I am quite pleased with Alacer Corp's Super Gram and other multi-
mineral ascorbate products, but I've seen other mineral ascorbates in the
stores.
--
|Randall Gellens | randy@mv-oc unisys com|
|Opinions are personal; facts are suspect; I speak only for myself|

0 new messages