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When we had unlimited access to information, we began to believe in everything – after all, nonsense is not advised on the Internet. You can believe in unverified information as much as you like, but only as long as it does not concern your health. We have collected five of the most popular myths about foods and vitamins and debunked them. 

Vitamins cause allergies

There is no allergy to the vitamin itself. An allergic reaction can develop to fillers, dyes and flavours in the preparations. Another option is an overdose. But vitamins in any case should not be prescribed to yourself. Overdosing is similar to gambling responsibly on Ivi Bet – you should not exceed the amount of money you are using for entertainment. 

If you decide to improve your health with vitamins, first consult a specialist – only a doctor will tell you what and how much you should take and will help you choose the right complex that will not contain allergens. Otherwise, vitamins are substances related to the body. And to say that you have a rash because of them, for example, is like saying that you are allergic to your own cells.

If you drink vitamins, then separately

One of the most popular misconceptions teaches that some vitamins are incompatible with each other. For example, the iron necessary for metabolic processes negates the effect of vitamin B12 (good for digestion and nerves) and zinc (needed for muscle growth and recovery), and zinc, in turn, kills the effect of vitamin B9 (responsible for maintaining the nervous system and preserving DNA). There are so many such “harmful” combinations that you need a thick barn notebook to write them down.

The myth about the mandatory separate intake of vitamins is broken by numerous studies. Experts do not tire of proving that different organic compounds do not affect the absorption of each other in any way, provided that they are used in daily doses. Yes, indeed, individual macro- and microelements enter into competitive absorption, but manufacturers of multivitamin complexes take this moment into account when developing recipes. So you can safely drink, for example, calcium along with iron, and not think that it will prevent it from being absorbed.

Food is better than capsules

Many people really believe that taking vitamins is the last thing when they can be obtained from products. But it’s not all that simple.

First, this rule does not always work. Products grown in modern conditions with the use of inorganic fertilizers usually contain much fewer vitamins than expected. With long-term storage during the winter, they lose them even more. Secondly, products often do not contain many of the necessary vitamins, and in case of illness or stress, their consumption increases.

Heat treatment kills

This statement is only half true. If you switched to a raw food diet because someone told you that it is so useful, quickly return to your usual diet and choose the right foods. Some vitamins do volatilize during heat treatment. For example, if you boil carrots, vitamin C will “erode” from them. But it cannot be called a rich source of this vitamin anyway – you will have to eat two kilograms of raw carrots to get your daily allowance. Studies have shown that while some substances evaporate during cooking, others, on the contrary, are released. From the same boiled carrots, beta-carotene is better absorbed.

If you constantly drink vitamins, addiction develops

In this issue, we return to the relationship between vitamins and our bodies. For us, these are natural substances. Some of them can be synthesized by the intestinal microflora, but in any case, micronutrients will be successfully integrated into the metabolism, and all the “excess” (in the case of water-soluble vitamins) will be processed and excreted by the kidneys. Yes, fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E) that come in large quantities can accumulate and lead to intoxication, but such dosages exist only in drugs that are prescribed by doctors for certain problems, for example, skin problems and are controlled during treatment.