Taken by millions of Brits and Americans in the quest to achieve optimal health, vitamins and supplements are a multi-billion pound industry.
However, experts warn that taking certain combinations of them can be dangerous.
The potential harms of mixing popular vitamin pills range from deficiencies to potentially uncontrolled bleeding and even organ damage.
The riskiest combination comes with taking red yeast rice extract and niacin, which is said to help lower cholesterol.
Todd Sontag, a family medicine specialist at Orlando Health Physician Associates in Florida, warned that both products together could cause liver damage.
What’s more, Sontag explained, the supposed heart health benefits of taking supplements are not based on convincing evidence.
“Doubling up does not increase benefits and can be harmful to the liver,” he told the wellness website. The Healthy Ones.
This risk increases if other cholesterol-lowering substances, such as statins, are added to the mix.
The vitamin industry is estimated to be worth billions in the UK and US, which people take in the hope of improving their health.
Cases have been described where doctors have found patients suffering severe liver damage from taking red yeast rice extract supplements. documented previously.
Another combination of supplements to be careful with are omega-3 fish oil pills and ginkgo supplements.
The former is a nutrient well known for improving heart health, while the former is said to help prevent dementia, although the NHS says the evidence on this is limited.
However, in combination, they can increase blood flow to a potentially dangerous level, meaning serious injuries could lead to extreme blood loss.
For this reason, Dr. Tod Cooperman, president of a New York-based company that tests health and nutrition products, recommends spacing out omega-3s and ginkgo by at least two hours, rather than taking them at the same time.
A common risk of taking different vitamins or supplements at the same time is that they counteract each other, which could lead to a possible vitamin or mineral deficiency.
An example is taking magnesium and calcium supplements at the same time.
Magnesium helps the body convert the food we eat into energy, while calcium intake is crucial for bone health.
While substances found in vitamins and supplements can have a number of health benefits, experts warn that some combinations may be ineffective or even dangerous.
But if both supplements are taken at the same time, the body only partially absorbs a part of each and the rest is expelled through the urine.
To maximize intake, experts recommend waiting two hours between taking each supplement to stop this competition.
A similar interaction also occurs with potassium, a key mineral for good heart health, and calcium, as well as zinc and copper.
The former helps produce new cells, process food and heal wounds.
However, the NHS warns that too much zinc can interfere with the absorption of copper, a mineral we need to make blood cells and support bone health.
If we do not consume enough copper we can suffer anemia and weakened bones, warns the health service. Again, experts recommend spacing supplement doses by two hours to reduce this risk.
A large number of vitamins that are absorbed with fat during digestion, known medically as fat-soluble vitamins, should also not be taken together.
The NHS says that most people should get all the nutrients they need from a varied and balanced diet.
This includes vitamins A, D, E and K and if you need to take supplements of these, be sure to space them out a couple of hours during the day to maximize absorption.
Those who enjoy a beer should also avoid taking iron supplements at the same time, experts say.
Iron is a crucial nutrient in the production of red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body.
However, if taken along with a cup of black or green tea, iron supplements can bind to tannins, plant compounds found in tea, rather than being absorbed by the body.
This interaction only occurs if both tea and iron supplements are taken directly together.
It’s also a good idea to be careful when combining sleep-promoting substances, such as melatonin, and herbal supplements such as valerian, ashwagandha, kava, and St. John’s wort.
While on their own they should be harmless, a combination could cause unexpected drowsiness that could be dangerous.
Although it is not technically a combination of supplements, experts also want to highlight the dangers of taking some health supplements with certain medications.
The most important are St. John’s wort and antidepressants.
Both can increase levels of serotonin, a feel-good hormone, in the body to dangerous levels leading to a condition called serotonin syndrome.
This can cause confusion, agitation, twitching, sweating, chills and diarrhea, but in severe cases it can lead to potentially dangerous seizures and irregular heartbeats.
Finally, iron supplements can interfere with some antibiotics, a class of medications used to treat infections, preventing them from working.
Those prescribed these drugs should be careful about taking them together, experts said.
The NHS says that most people should get all the nutrients they need from a varied and balanced diet.