Daily Vitamins - Good or Bad?

If you're taking a daily vitamin you need to listen up because you just might be getting too much of a good thing.

Turns out that most of us who take daily vitamins and supplements are probably taking too much, and in some cases that too much could be affecting your health.

Two new studies looked at how we use vitamins and supplements and how that affects us. One study, looking at over 8,000 men and women found that those taking added supplements also tended to eat better than most people. That means they were less likely to need the added vitamins and supplements they were taking.

And this is important because a second study found that some of these vitamins and minerals might be causing more harm than good. Researchers looked at nearly 40,000 women over the age of 60 starting back in 1986. They followed them for 19 years and found that those taking a vitamin b6, folic acid, iron, magnesium, zinc, copper or a multivitamin also had a higher risk of dying during the study time frame.

Although they can directly blame these vitamins and supplements on the early deaths, they do point out that our diets are for the most part already rich in these vitamins and supplements, so taking more in the form of a pill can give us a bigger dose than our bodies can handle. But some things did seem to help keep us healthy, mainly calcium and vitamin d. But otherwise experts recommend checking with your doctor first to see if you really need to add anything to your normal daily diet to begin with.