Benefits and Side Effects of Vitamins & Minerals

Vitamins and minerals make up essential parts of your diet -- your cells generally can't make them on their own, so your body relies on getting them from food or dietary supplements to prevent a deficiency. Each vitamin and mineral has its own set of physiological functions in your body, but vitamins and minerals also work in combination to offer a few general health benefits. If you overdose on vitamins and minerals, however, you might develop harmful side effects.



Support for Metabolism
Vitamins and minerals work together to support the cellular metabolism -- the billions of chemical reactions your cells perform each day to function. Several B-complex vitamins, as well as the essential mineral manganese, help you break down food, which provides the energy needed to fuel these reactions. Several minerals, including iron and copper, also help your cells produce the energy they need. Other vitamins and minerals -- including vitamins C and E, as well as manganese and selenium -- support your metabolism by acting as antioxidants. They neutralize chemicals, called free radicals, that get produced as a side effect of your cellular metabolism, preventing them from damaging your cells.

Promoting Tissue Strength
Vitamins and minerals also offer health benefits because of their ability to maintain tissue strength. Calcium, vitamin D and vitamin C all contribute to the health of your bones. In addition, several vitamins and minerals -- including copper, manganese and vitamin C -- help you make collagen, a protein that offers structural support and holds your tissues together. Vitamin A also supports the health of your mucous membranes and skin. This not only keeps these tissues strong but helps keep pathogens out of your system so they can't infect your internal organs.

Risk of Liver and Brain Damage
Watch out for side effects when consuming certain vitamins -- vitamins A, B-3, B-6, C, D, E and K can cause adverse reactions if you consume too much, while vitamins B-1, B-2, B-5, B-9, biotin and B-12 are generally safe -- or when taking mineral supplements. You might develop a range of side effects, including neurological symptoms or liver damage. Vitamin A, for example, is stored in your liver, and too much vitamin A can cause it to accumulate to toxic levels. Vitamin A toxicity also causes a buildup of fluid in your skull, resulting in brain damage. Even one very large dose of iron can damage your liver and negatively affect your brain and spinal cord, and copper can also cause liver damage. Too much manganese causes neurological problems, leading to symptoms that mimic those of Parkinson's disease.

Other Side Effects
Consume too many vitamins and minerals, and you also risk a range of other side effects. An overdose of calcium, for example, causes digestive upset and excessive thirst, while too much selenium can cause skin rashes and hair loss. Too much vitamin A damages your skin, while vitamin D toxicity puts you at risk of bone loss. Too much sodium also has a range of adverse side effects -- it increases the risk of kidney stones, bone loss, cardiovascular disease and gastric cancer.