Comments on: A pill as big as a small town.

Question: A pill as big as a small town.

howiamdifferent — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:00:31 -0800

Is this multivitamin supplement safe?

Is it safe to take this multivitamin & multimineral supplement without a prescription? I am asking because the pill is suspiciously humongous, and the percentage of the contents relative to the daily recommended value is much, much more than 100% for most of the vitamins/minerals.

Can it, for example, affect the liver negatively? I am taking 1 pill per day, btw.

By: Octoparrot

Octoparrot — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 22:44:47 -0800

I'll repeat my link from another recent post, should I take a multivitamin.

The evidence for taking a multi-vitamin is still a bit shady. Why do you feel you need to take this supplement? If you eat a varied diet chances are you don't even need the additional supplementation and why would you need the high levels of the vitamin you are questioning?

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:11:06 -0800

Here are two other links (from that recent question) to science references that describe the vitamins and minerals in supplements in detail:

DRIs
Linus Pauling Institute

And a quote from another commenter in that thread:
"Vitamin A,D,E,K can be toxic in excess. .. Too much Niacin can be unpleasant."

By: nobleporpoise

nobleporpoise — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 01:36:48 -0800

Unless you're undergoing some special diet, or eat a lot of junk food and don't get your natural essentials...I'd recommend no. Vitamins are only good if you're eating close to no fruits and vegetables.

By: thread_makimaki

thread_makimaki — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 03:43:00 -0800

There was this study that came out recently.

By: docpops

docpops — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 20:20:01 -0800

seconding thread's link. Excess Vitamin A and E sound like big no-no's, now more than ever.