Charged Magazine

Day: January 17, 2020

  • Health Shot: Vitamin Overdose

    Health Shot: Vitamin Overdose

    Too much of a good thing is even better? Right? Wrong. Turns out with vitamins, this is not the case. The Vitamin market is a $23.3 Billion industry, and we are increasingly turning to these convenient capsules for a quick fix. The effect of vitamins is a U curve – too little has negative effects, but so does too much. A moderate amount has the best effects on the body – but this can be hard to achieve with vitamin supplements. Vitamins usually have 1-10x the recommended daily allowance in their pills, and people take these without question. With public opinion largely being that vitamins are a revolution, I want to shed some light on how overdosing on some of the most popular supplements can have detrimental effects.

    Vitamin D

    Vitamin D manages calcium in your blood, bones and gut and helps cells all over your body to communicate properly. Since the rise of sedentary lifestyles, many have been turning to Vitamin D supplements over being outside in the sun. Large overdoses of vitamin D (100x the daily allowance for many months) can cause calcium buildup in the blood, called Hypercalcemia This buildup can result in persistent nausea and frequent vomiting. Additionally, the calcium buildup in the blood can cause kidney damage when the calcium binds with phosphate and forms crystals in tissues. In a case series conducted in Kashmir, India, researchers found that the Vitamin D prescribed by physicians to treat deficiencies was far exceeded the required daily amount, and pushed patients to hyperclacemia. In their conclusions, the researchers cautioned against taking a seemingly innocuous vitamin in large doses.

    Vitamin A

    Vitamin A is important for eye heath and helps prevent eye diseases like Age-related macular degeneration. However, Acute Vitamin A toxicity can occur when a single excessively high dose and chronic toxicity when 10x the recommended daily amount is taken over a long period. Side effects can include headaches, vision disturbances, joint pain, and skin irritation. Worse, toxicity can impact fetal health and even cause birth defects of the  eye, skull, lungs, and heart. The national institutes of health warns pregnant women about taking high dose Vitamin A supplements.

    Vitamin E

    Vitamin E is important to important to vision, reproduction, and the health of your blood, brain and skin. In a clinical trial called SELECT (Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial), 35,000 men 50 years and older took Vitamin E  and Selenium supplements for 5.5 years and then were observed for 1.5 years following. Men tho took Vitamin E supplements alone had a 17% increased risk of prostate cancer compared to men on the placebo pill. Men taking vitamin E and selenium both also had an increased risk of prostate cancer, but in lower amounts. After analyzing the results, the SELECT team concluded that the vitamin dose (400IU/day) given was far too high based on the U shaped curve. The recommendation from the SELECT team was that men should not take vitamin supplements for cancer prevention.

    The Takeaway

    As the negative repercussions of vitamin overdoses continue to come to light, researchers are starting to question the practice of prescribing vitamins to those with deficiencies in high doses. As consumers of vitamins, we have the responsibility to ensure that we are getting our vitamins in reasonable quantities through vitamins or sticking to natural sources. Next time you decide to pop a pill, you might want to flip the bottle around and get a better look at what you’re having!

     

    Sources:

    Nicastro, H. L., & Dunn, B. K. (n.d.). CHAPTER 25. The Selenium and Vitamin E Cancer Prevention Trial (SELECT): Prevention of Prostate Cancer Using Selenium and/or Vitamin E in the SELECT Cancer Prevention Trial. Food and Nutritional Components in Focus Selenium,428-457. Retrieved from https://epi.grants.cancer.gov/Consortia/members/select.html.

    Office of Dietary Supplements – Vitamin A. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminA-HealthProfessional/

    Penniston, K. L., & Tanumihardjo, S. A. (n.d.). Vitamin A in dietary supplements and fortified foods: Too much of a good thing? Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12963949.

    Trend Insights: Vitamins & Supplements. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.fona.com/trend-insights-vitamins-supplements/.

     

     

     

  • Psychedelics

    Psychedelics

    Introduction:

    Microdosing is the use of micro amounts of psychedelic substances on a consistent basis (Anderson). Psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin (street names acid and shrooms), are “powerful psychoactive substances that alter perception and mood and affect numerous cognitive processes” (Nichols 266). Recent studies have shown that full-doses of these substances used for psychotherapy decreased depression and anxiety in cancer patients (Johnstad). The theory behind microdosing is that small amounts of psychedelics can help increase creativity and problem-solving abilities (Johnstad).

    Psychedelics have been used for centuries sometimes as part of cultural rituals. After the discovery of serotonin in the brain, researchers believed that the effects of psychedelics were linked to serotonin. After studies were completed on rats, it turns out they were somewhat correct. Researchers, now, believe that psychedelics are agonists or partial agonists meaning they combine with receptors in the brain to achieve the psychological effects (Kenakin; Nichols). The brain receptor that’s affected is serotonin 5-hydroxtryptamine 2A (Nichols).

    Studies:

    Due to legal restrictions, psychedelic studies are limited. There are several self-reported studies from the US where people voluntarily reported how they feel when they microdose, and there was a singular study published in 2018 from the Netherlands that explored microdosing in a scientific setting.

    In one of the self-reported studies, Microdosing psychedelics: personality, mental health, and creativity differences in microdosers, microdosers showed significantly lower scores on “dysfunctional attitudes. . .  and negative emotionality” meaning they reacted more positively to life experiences (Anderson, et al. 731). Microdosers also had significantly higher wisdom, open-mindedness, and creativity scores which agrees with the theories stating that microdosing makes people more creative and better at problem solving (Anderson, et al.).

    Another self-reported study, Powerful substances in tiny amounts: An interview study of psychedelic microdosing, looked extensively at 21 microdosers. These microdosers reported “improved mood, cognition, and creativity” (Johnstad), but some reported that they quit the practice due to cons outweighing the pros. Some people had issues with preforming tasks like driving or work, and others had issues like accidental overdosing (meaning that they experienced hallucinations and other aspects caused by a full dose of a psychedelic). Mushrooms, in particular, have varying amounts of psilocybin, so it’s hard to ingest an accurate amount when microdosing (Johnstad).

    The study titled Exploring the effect of microdosing psychedelics on creativity in an open-label natural setting is the only study that tries to quantify the effects of microdosing on cognitive abilities. Before microdosing, participants completed three different tasks meant to test their convergent, divergent, and fluid thinking. The participants then consumed a small amount of psychedelics and performed the tasks again. The researchers concluded that convergent and divergent thinking where enhanced by the psychedelics while fluid intelligence remained the same. This was an extremely preliminary study with no placebo group, but the results suggest a need for further testing in this subject matter (Prochazkova).

    Conclusion:

    Although research has been done into microdosing, it’s hard to make a finite conclusion about its quantitative effects. There are possible pros to microdosing, but there are also negatives including accidental tripping and cost.

     

    Sources:

    Anderson, Thomas, et al. “Microdosing Psychedelics: Personality, Mental Health, and Creativity Differences in Microdosers.” Psychopharmechology, vol. 236, no. 2, 2019, pp. 731–740., doi:10.31234/osf.io/gk4jd.

    Johnstad, Petter G. “Powerful Substances in Tiny Amounts.” Nordic Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, vol. 35, no. 1, 15 Feb. 2018, pp. 39–51., doi:10.1177/1455072517753339.

    Kenakin, Terry P. “Agonist.” Agonist – an Overview, Science Direct, 2009, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/agonist.

    Nichols, David E. “Psychedelics.” Pharmacological Reviews, vol. 68, no. 2, Apr. 2016, pp. 264–355., doi:10.1515/9781400878697-012.

    Prochazkova, Luisa, et al. “Exploring the Effect of Microdosing Psychedelics on Creativity in an Open-Label Natural Setting.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 235, no. 12, 2018, pp. 3401–3413., doi:10.1007/s00213-018-5049-7.