They're supposed to improve your health. But it is possible to get too much of this good thing. Here's how to keep from taking a dangerous dosage. We're talking about multivitamins. They line shelves of every drug store and promise all the vitamins you need in a single pill. But as Healthcast reporter Janet Wu finds, they could give you a dangerous dosage.
These products could be putting people in danger. Tod Cooperman should know. He's the president of consumerlab.com, an independent group that tests dietary supplements. Consumerlab buys the products right off the shelf and looks at how they measure up. Recently they tested 27 multivitamins. Their results may be hard to swallow.
The most disturbing find was too much vitamin-A in one of the children's products. It had 7,000 international units of vitamin-A.
That has Susan Woodbary worried. This mother of three thought that giving her girls multivitamins helped keep them healthy.
But it could be when it comes to vitamins, you can get too much of a good thing.
There was also a problem with folic acid. Also known as folate, this B vitamin reduces the risk of certain birth defects. But one prenatal multivitamin tested by Consumerlab had only 75-percent of the folic acid it claimed.
Why is this happening? For one thing, even though multivitamins are regulated, the FDA doesn't test these products.
Also, it's perfectly legal for manufacturers to put in larger amounts of vitamins because they break down the longer they sit on the shelf.
Information on the label may tip you off to a problem. This popular children's multivitamin boasts 5000 IU of vitamin a, which Consumerlab says is too much.
To stay safe, experts say, check the expiration date and look for USP on the bottle. While it's not a guarantee, it means the manufacturer has followed guidelines set by the U.S. Pharmacopeia. But as always, educating yourself may be your best protection.
For more information on Multivitamin testing log on to www.consumerlab.com.
