The market for vitamins, minerals and supplements is huge, with many people convinced that taking them on a regular basis helps to boost their wellbeing through their immune system. Life is increasingly stressful and people often have so many demands on their time, they may feel like they can’t afford to get sick. Taking a daily dose of vitamins, minerals and other supplements can help to make them feel like they are doing all they can to help protect their wellness.
Unfortunately, the very things that you are hoping will make you healthier may actually end up damaging your health. Recent evidence has emerged that vitamins can be packed with hidden toxins, and this is something that you should really be aware of. We’ve tracked down the top 10 culprits that you should be on the lookout for.
- Maltodextrin: this is a food additive what is often used as a binding agent. It comes from starch, which seems harmless, but most maltodextrin actually comes from genetically modified corn.
- Ascorbic acid: this is often present in vitamin C. Once again, much of this can be sourced back to genetically modified corn. With no knowledge of the possible side effects of this, it might be wise to avoid it.
- Hexane: this is present in both multivitamins and in gasoline – a worrying connection I’m sure you’ll agree! The use of this product, which extracts protein from soy and rice, is discouraged due to its toxicity.
- High levels of aluminum: aluminum is toxic and can lead to all kinds of unpleasant side effects. Watch out for it in your vitamins and supplements.
- Arsenic and lead: Some vitamins and supplements have been found to contain these highly toxic substances.
- Inorganic materials: watch out for this practice in cheaper vitamins. Alternative sources of vitamins are used which end up being totally useless to the human body.
- Acrylamides: in the process of creating vitamins, these chemicals can be formed, and unfortunately they increase your chance of developing cancer of the kidneys by around 59 percent.
- MSGs: this can be disguised as yeast extract. Look out for this, as MSG can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms in some people, such as headache and heart palpitations.
- Fluoride: green tea is a supplement that often contains fluoride. In healthy doses, this is beneficial, but if you ingest too much this can cause fluorosis, which discolours the teeth.
- Carrageenan: this is considered beneficial, in general, but there have been recent links showing that it may be linked to a high risk of developing colon cancer.