VITAMINTESTING.COM: Test Your Vitamin Levels

              

Doing Your Own Research is Smart

Researching the drugs and vitamins you’re on to see what drug interactions, deficiencies and excesses are likely is key to being prepared and getting the tests that should be done.  Likewise, researching any health conditions you have will also yield information on what vitamin/mineral deficiencies are likely.  And researching the best possible professionals to see, ones that are likely to order this type of testing, ensures you’ll get the best possible care.  This research process and free, online sources of information can be found on our Step-By-Step Research Process Page.  Since this research is part of our Get Tested process, you may want to read that section prior to this research section.

           

  

What the Research and Statistics Show is Not Good

Its amazing that we as Americans spend nearly $25 billion annually on products that they have no evidence is contributing to their individual health.  Yet most of us believe that vitamin supplementation is beneficial, and rightly so.  Certainly, there are a number of studies that have concluded the same thing. 

But in fact, vitamin supplementation can be downright dangerous. The FDA reports over 2 million serious adverse drug reactions annually, some of them due to vitamin-drug interactions.  Resulting in over 100,000 deaths each year, adverse drug reactions is now one of our nation’s top 5 or 6 causes of death.   Over 80% of Americans take at least one prescription drug and almost 20% take them with at least 1 herbal product, a high-dose vitamin or both.  The FDA is so concerned that they’re considering both regulating the manufacture of vitamin supplements and requiring several to be dispensed by prescription only.

 

Vitamins and Prescription Drugs Sometimes Don’t Mix

A well-publicized example of an adverse vitamin-drug interaction is St. John’s Wort, a popular supplement used to treat depression.  Combining St. John’s Wort with certain drugs to treat heart disease, depression, seizures, HIV, certain cancers or oral contraceptives reduces their effectiveness.  Another example is Coumadin, a prescription medicine that thins the blood.  When combined with ginkgo bilboa (an herbal supplement), aspirin or vitamin E (each can also thin the blood), there is a greater potential for internal bleeding and post-surgical complications.

A less-publicized fact is that a number of prescription drugs deplete the body of specific vitamins (you’ll be able to check out the drugs and vitamins you take to see what interactions there are by using our step-by-step research process).  On the other hand, we may be getting overdoses of other vitamins by taking too much of them, by taking them with food that already has been fortified with similar vitamins and minerals or by taking vitamins that contain higher dosages than are shown on their labels.  Due to a lack of government regulation of the manufacture of supplements and laws which don’t forbid adding more contents than are published, content “overloading” happens more than you think!  In fact, it provides manufacturers, who are required by law to have the minimum amounts included in their packages, a margin of legal safety.  To ensure the vitamins you take contain what’s printed on the label, check the sources listed on our Potency Tests Page.

        

Lack of Research Means Your Doctor is Not Likely to Test You

So given all of these perils, why don’t doctors help us avoid these negative effects?  And why don’t they test our vitamin levels and ensure we aren’t depleted due to prescription drug use, vitamin-drug interactions, our use of alcohol or tobacco, our dietary insufficiencies or our health conditions? 

Well, most MDs will tell you that there is no conclusive medical evidence that a number of vitamin deficiencies cause health problems and for that reason, testing vitamin levels is “medically unnecessary” and “esoteric”.  Furthermore, many will say that even if you were tested and there were deficiencies, there’s no ”conclusive medical evidence” that correcting these deficiencies will improve your health.  What they may not say is that your health insurance company will often not pay for these tests and will possibly penalize the doctor for ordering ”medically unnecessary” tests or procedures.

So why is there “no conclusive medical evidence” that vitamins are good for our health?  Some reasons include:

• The lack of credible, large-scale and well-funded research published in respected medical journals.  Vitamin companies, because they don’t have patent protection and thus, large profits and market shares, simply cannot and do not fund such large studies.  While our government (e.g. agencies such as the National Institutes for Health) does sponsor and conduct studies on supplements and supplement safety, these studies are often limited in funding and scope.
• Huge issues in conducting studies.  Since the manufacture of vitamins is unregulated, many contain either less than or greater than the published amount of ingredients.  Thus, it is nearly impossible to accurately measure what amounts of vitamins people in the studies are actually consuming, leading to study results that lack credibility.     

Most of us know, as do many doctors, that specific vitamins are useful in treating specific medical conditions.  And there are numerous studies that show just that.  However, given a lack of well-funded and credible research that proves that vitamin deficiencies or excesses can be harmful, your doctor is unlikely to inquire about or test your vitamin supplementation.   In fact, many doctors will outright refuse to order vitamin tests, even if you provide them with evidence from the manufacturers of the prescription drugs you take that shows the drugs cause specific vitamin deficiencies or interactions.  The bottom line is that if you want to get tested in order to ensure your body has proper nutritional balance, you’ll need to see an alternative medicine, holistic health, integrative medicine or other type of medical professional (see Finding a Provider Page).

         

Getting Tested Requires Some Homework and Initiative

So, we really don’t know if taking supplements is hurting or helping us or doing both at the same time!  That’s the purpose of getting tested for vitamin and mineral balance.  And key to getting tested is being prepared to see your healthcare professional and doing some research using our step-by-step research process. 

We’re committed to helping you with the information and resources you need to explore alternative treatments for your current health conditions, achieve nutritional balance and be as healthy as possible!!!