VITAMIN C

Perhaps no vitamin illustrates the need for caution better than that celebrity of supplements, vitamin C. Without enough C your muscles and ligaments would lose their stretch, like old rubber bands. You’d be plagued by bleeding gums, fatigue, and wounds that wouldn’t heal. Linus Pauling believed that C’s benefits extend to warding off heart attacks and strokes, and bolstering the immune system against colds, flu, and even cancer.

No wonder many people take huge doses. Yet several studies suggest the vitamin may have a Jekyll-and-Hyde character: At 500 milligrams daily – a dose higher than the RDA but lower than the amount frequently taken to beat back colds – it may cause the kind of genetic damage that can lead to cancer. Until all the facts are in, it’s wise to rely on your diet for C; if you want to supplement, take no more than 500 mg daily.

Beyond that, people with a tendency to develop kidney stones can increase their risk; too much C can also promote diarrhea. In fact studies show that in certain instances where people have complained of food poisoning, too much vitamin C was the culprits. Clearly people are just not aware how potent these vitamin supplements are.

Also, taking extra vitamin C does not seem to be as useful to protecting smokers’ lungs as it was made out to be.