The excessive intake of dietary supplements might have negative health effects, including a greater risk of developing cancer, the John Tung Foundation said yesterday.
The foundation said a 2013 report by the Food Industry Research and Development Institute showed that Taiwanese spent as much as NT$109.5 billion (US$3.28 billion) on dietary supplements each year, 1.5 times the cost of building Taipei 101.
The foundation said that while ads tell women that they need iron supplements, a study conducted by the National Health Research Institutes in 2014, which examined blood samples from nearly 300,000 Taiwanese between 1997 and 2008, showed that only a small number of people actually have iron deficiency.
The study showed that 57.6 percent of women and 77.2 percent of men had blood iron levels of greater than 80 micrograms per deciliter, a normal level for adults, the foundation said, adding that other studies have found that the risk of developing cancer increases by 25 percent and 198 percent when blood iron levels exceed 120 micrograms per deciliter and 140 micrograms per deciliter respectively.
Foundation Department of Food and Nutrition director Hsu Hui-yu (許惠玉) cited a 2012 study conducted in Denmark that found the excessive intake of vitamins A and E, as well as beta-Carotene, is linked with a 2 percent to 3 percent rise in mortality rates, adding that a US study in the same year also showed that the excessive intake of beta-Carotene is associated with a 20 percent increase in the risk of developing lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
The majority of adults without special health conditions can obtain all daily nutritional requirements by eating a healthy and balanced diet, regular exposure to sunlight and regular exercise, as well as getting enough sleep, Hsu said.
If people want to increase their vitamin B and fiber intake, they can replace white rice with brown rice and eat more vegetables, she said, adding that nuts are rich in vitamin E, while vitamin D can be obtained from dairy products, black sesame and exposure to sunlight.
People should put more emphasis on maintaining a healthy and balanced diet rather than relying on dietary supplements for nutrition, the foundation said, adding that people should seek advice from a medical professional before taking any dietary supplement if they have lung or kidney disease, or cancer.
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