Throughout our lives the demand for certain nutrients can increase or decrease. This fluctuation is dependent upon our age, our health status, our activity levels, and our access to the foods our bodies need. While this series will focus on specific nutrient needs at each stage in life, a balanced and varied diet will adequately provide for the majority of our nutrient needs. There are circumstances and situations that can alter that availability and thus require extra attention; but it is important to highlight how nutrients on an individual and isolated basis are not magic. There is no single nutrient that will fix all of our problems or make us "run better" (like the expensive oil my dealer is always insisting my car needs). Instead, think of nutrients more like Lego pieces; in order to make something cool, you need a whole set.
Although this series will primarily focus on deficiencies, it's just as important to discuss overconsumption. When it comes to nutrients, it's not always, "the more the merrier". Nutrient toxicity can occur just as easily as nutrient deficiencies; however, toxicity most often occurs not through the foods we eat, but with supplementation. You've probably heard of individuals who acquired an orange tint to their skin after consuming large amounts of carrots. This is no myth, it is surprisingly a real condition. It's known as carotonemia and it's caused by a beta-carotene over-accumulation.
Beta-carotene is largely found in the red & orange veggie subgroup, which as you can imagine includes foods that are orange (carrots, apricots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, oranges, mangoes, cantaloupe, etc.).
But this condition is so rare! As an example, you'd have to consume something like ten large carrots every day, for multiple weeks, while consuming very few other foods. The condition is actually reflective of food restriction and/or food binging behaviors with an unintended consequence of nutrient toxicity. It's important to mention the behaviors as a cause because consuming enough food for a nutrient toxicity to occur takes a lot of effort. A lot of effort. While toxicity from supplementation can stem from a minor calculation error and cause serious health problems.
Supplements
So, let's address the use of supplements now as instances will be mentioned in the series. Dietary supplements are embedded in our day to day; and unfortunately the wellness industry and diet culture literally thrive off of the lack of regulation. Consistency of labeling between countries is nonexistent. Minimal research surrounds actual efficacy. There are no federal guidelines to ensure "purity, quality, safety and composition of supplements" (Thompson, 2014). And, there is near impossibility for any reliable form of consumer protection quality control to exist amidst an industry that is growing at such a rapid and rampant rate.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines a dietary supplement as any product containing a dietary ingredient that is consumed (by mouth) and is intended to supplement the diet - and includes vitamins, minerals, herbs and other substances like extracts, concentrates, amino acids, enzymes, botanicals, tissues from animal organs or glands, etc.
Side note, did you know dietary supplements don't need FDA approval before marketing takes place? What about how in order to be removed from the market, the FDA must first be able to prove the product is unsafe? These two ideas alone mean a whole lot of unchecked products are out there and regularly consumed under the guise of health.
So, why do so many of us take dietary supplements? Perhaps we know that our diets are not balanced and varied enough to provide adequate nutrient intake. Maybe we've been advised to do so by a health care provider (or someone working on the periphery). It's possible we're attending to our bodies as we experience a specific disease state. And then, there's goal related supplement use: to be bigger or stronger, to lose weight, or to enhance or otherwise alter our appearance.
So really, the question becomes, "should we use supplements?".
To answer this question it needs to be said again that supplements are not intended to be a replacement for whole foods; and generally, a combination of many foods will likely provide ample opportunity for the vitamins and minerals our bodies need. And, when considering dietary supplementation, we should all keep in mind that they do not offer the same kinds of diversity our bodies require when it comes to overall health.
Now, if supplementation is suggested/prescribed - it is important to:
choose supplements bearing the USP symbol on the label. This symbol identifies that US Pharmacopoeia standards for drugs (purity, strength, quality, packaging, labeling, and storage) have been followed.
select supplements that contain no more than 100% of the recommended levels for each nutrient.
not assume "natural" means safe.
consider a separate criteria for supplements sold exclusively online. Does the site rely on testimonials? Does the site offer published peer-reviewed articles from science journals? Who owns the site? What is the purpose of the site? Does the site include recognized experts with relevant health-related credentials? Is the product advertised solely on social media (#ad)?
Having said all of that - (if appropriately used) dietary supplements can be both necessary and beneficial; and as the series progresses, we will discuss those opportunities.
Stages of Life
Our lives can be separated into numerous stages, most often dictated by our growth, maturity, and reproductive ability. Moving forward, the series will focus on specialized nutrient needs based on the following life stages:
Pregnancy
Infancy
Toddler
Pre-school/School-Aged Children
Adolescent
Young Adult
Adult
Older Adult
Within each stage we will look at the common causes underlying nutrient deficiencies, address how those deficiencies impact the body, observe instances where increased nutrient needs are required due to growth and development, acknowledge when and how decreased nutrient absorption increases need, see how nutrient interactions impede and/or improve absorption, and generally look at what is happening in the body to understand the big picture.
Watch Companion Video Here!
Other Nutrition Through The Ages Posts
Nutrition Through The Ages: Special Edition - Lactation *Guest Author*
Nutrition Through The Ages: Special Edition - Child-Directed Marketing *Guest Author*
Nutrition Through The Ages: Special Edition - School Nutrition 101 *Guest Author*
Nutrition Through The Ages: Special Edition - Disordered Eating and Eating Disorders
Nutrition Through The Ages: Special Edition - Orthorexia (Clean Eating)
Nutrition Through The Ages: Special Edition - Drug/Nutrient Interactions *Guest Author*
References
“Can Eating Too Many Carrots Turn Your Skin Orange?” Cleveland Clinic, 12 June 2019, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-eating-too-many-carrots-turn-your-skin-orange/
Dwyer, Johanna, et al. “Dietary Supplements: Regulatory Challenges and Research Resources.” Nutrients, vol. 10, no. 1, Jan. 2018, p. 41. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10010041.
Life Stages | MyPlate. https://www.myplate.gov/life-stages
Navarro, Victor J., et al. “Liver Injury from Herbals and Dietary Supplements in the U.S. Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network: HEPATOLOGY, Vol. XX, No. X, 2014 NAVARRO ET AL.” Hepatology, vol. 60, no. 4, Oct. 2014, pp. 1399–408. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.27317.
Navarro, Victor J., et al. “Liver Injury from Herbal and Dietary Supplements.” Hepatology, vol. 65, no. 1, Jan. 2017, pp. 363–73. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.1002/hep.28813.
Nutrition, Center for Food Safety and Applied. “Dietary Supplements.” FDA, 18 Feb. 2022, https://www.fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements.
Thompson, Janice, et al. The Science of Nutrition. Third edition, Pearson, 2014.
“What’s the Difference Between a Legume, Bean, and Pulse?” Patricia Bannan, MS, RDN, 29 Dec. 2021, https://www.patriciabannan.com/blog/nutrition/whats-the-difference-between-a-legume-bean-and-pulse/.
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