2024-03-26 06:16:38
New Delhi: It is said that excess of everything is bad as is the case with vitamins. Vitamins are beneficial for you but excess of even essential things can cause harm. In May last year, 89-year-old David Michener from Britain died of a vitamin D overdose. He had been taking over-the-counter vitamin D tablets for at least nine months. Michener’s vitamin D levels were too high and he developed hypercalcemia (too much calcium in the body), which can damage the heart and kidneys. The government is now taking steps to ensure that high-dose tablets like vitamin D are sold as medicines, so that they are not mis-traded and people do not overdose on them.too much of everything is bad
In 2022, something similar happened to a 55-year-old man from Agra. He started having frequent vomiting, loss of appetite and dizziness. He was taken to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) in Delhi for treatment. There it was revealed that he had consumed one week’s worth of Vitamin D medicine in just one month. According to Dr. Atul Goyal (Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine Department of SGRH), the levels of calcium and creatinine in his body had increased significantly. It took about a week for them to recover. This shows that taking not only vitamin D, but also minerals like iron, zinc and vitamins A, E and K in excess can be harmful. In Britain too, deaths due to overdose of Vitamin D were taken seriously and emphasis was laid on giving information about the correct dosage and precautions on the medicine packages.
Till now in India, there are no warnings given on vitamin and mineral tablets, which are called nutraceuticals. Like medicines, these are not regulated by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) but by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The question is, has the time come to bring these vitamin and mineral tablets under the drugs department?
Which vitamin is important?
Government is considering
A senior health ministry official, who is part of the government committee looking into the issue, told The Times of India that nutraceuticals containing vitamins and minerals in excess of prescribed quantities should be treated as medicines so that their quality is strictly controlled. Can be kept. He also said that misuse or excessive use of nutraceuticals can cause serious harm to health. Apart from this, consideration is also being given to controlling their prices like medicines. The committee recently held its first meeting.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) also updates the rules from time to time to ensure proper functioning of manufacturing and selling of nutraceuticals. The objective of the guidelines made by FSSAI in 2022 was to stop the wrong practice of selling nutraceuticals as ordinary food items. A senior FSSAI official, who declined to be named, said that any company can get a license to manufacture nutraceuticals only when we are confident that the product is following all the government rules. If any company exaggerates the benefits or the quality of the product is poor then FSSAI also takes action against them.
Take care of these things and you can be saved
If tablets containing vitamins and minerals are treated like medicines, then they can be controlled more strictly. If these are considered medicines then the companies making them will have to follow the same strict rules as the companies making medicines. Before bringing a new vitamin or mineral pill into the market, they will have to prove that it is safe and beneficial. Also, if they do not follow good manufacturing practices (GMP), then strict action can be taken against them. However, sources say that most of the vitamin and mineral tablets in India are manufactured by pharmaceutical companies, so it is rare that they do not follow the good practices of manufacturing medicines. In fact, the biggest problem is selling them in a wrong way, giving wrong information on the packaging and selling them at very high prices. There is a provision in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 to take strict action against all these.
Dr YK Gupta, who was a former professor and head of the department of pharmacology at AIIMS, says that nutraceuticals can be taken with food items to enhance nutrition and also for treatment. For example, small amounts of vitamin C are taken to provide essential nutrients to the body, while large amounts of vitamin C are used to treat scurvy (a disease that causes bleeding gums, loose teeth, etc.). is done. He also said that if a nutraceutical is being used for treatment then it should be considered a medicine and its manufacturing and sale should be regulated by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).
get tested, then take it
The market of vitamin and mineral tablets (nutraceuticals) in India was more than $ 4 billion in 2020 and it may cross $ 10 billion by 2026. Dr. Mohit Gupta, professor of cardiology at GB Pant Hospital, Delhi, says that most people take vitamin and mineral tablets to compensate for the deficiency in food. The problem arises when people start taking these pills on their own without getting tested or consulting a doctor. I always advise my patients to get tested to make sure they are not deficient in any vitamins or minerals before taking them.
Vitamin D, which proved fatal for Michener, is actually a prohormone that is important for maintaining healthy bones and calcium levels in the body. Some research suggests that vitamin D may reduce the risk of certain diseases and obesity-related problems. Also reduces. But due to less exposure to sunlight and exposure to sunlight, which helps in the formation of Vitamin D in the body, most of the people in India become Vitamin D deficient. To overcome this deficiency, Vitamin D tablets are taken.
Dr. Anoop Mishra, Chairman of Fortis C-Doc says that if Vitamin D deficiency is detected after getting the test done, then there is no harm in taking the pill as per the doctor’s advice. He also said that the problem occurs when too much vitamin D is injected. Vitamin B complex is also a nutrition that people misuse. Vitamin B complex contains several types of vitamin B, such as thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folic acid (B9) and Cobalamin (B12).
In the year 2021, renowned pharmacologists Dr. Protish Rana and Dr. Vandana Roy had given an important suggestion regarding vitamin and mineral tablets. He said nutritionists, pharmacologists and doctors should work together to create “fact-based guidelines” for vitamin and mineral tablets. He wrote in the Indian Journal of Medical Research that “These guidelines should be made keeping in mind the eating habits of the Indian people and also make it clear that if someone is already taking a balanced diet, then he should not take these pills.” Whether there is a need or not, the government’s decision to re-examine the rules of nutraceuticals is a positive step in this direction.