Guide to Alternative Medicine: Vitamins and Minerals

For those of you who are regular readers of my work you have read various pieces showing you the importance of vitamins and minerals. But, as with herbs if used inappropriately or to excess you can severely damage your body. This article was written to help people understand the importance of using alternative medicines in moderation the way they were intended. Yes, even vitamins and minerals are a form of alternative medicine. Why? It is actually very simple. By boosting up certain vitamins and minerals along with antioxidants you can successfully treat many medical conditions as you would with prescriptions. Alternative Medicine: Vitamins and Minerals
By using this type of alternative medicine you can prevent numerous illnesses and help your body heal others. But what happens if you take too much? Is there such thing as overdosing off these essential nutrients? The answer is yes and here's why.

• High doses of vitamin E can off set or interrupt other vitamins. For instance, Vitamin K promotes the body's ability of blood clotting. If vitamin E interferes with it, it can become disastrous for your health.
• Zinc can reduce the levels of copper in the body. This hurts the immune system, and the good cholesterol levels.
• Large amounts of calcium can decrease iron absorption.
• Iron supplements can be fatal for children.
• Too much B6 can eventually cause nerve damage with enough exposure.
• Too much vitamin A can increase brain pressure, liver damage, hair loss, bone damage and if taken too excess during pregnancy can cause birth defects.

Alternative Medicine: Moderation
It is important to use essential elements in moderation as you would with anything else. For instance, a hamburger is good but eating 10,000 in a year can kill you. Water is good, but drinking it too fast can cause the brain to swell and can kill you. The point of this is not to scare you or turn you off to alternative medicine or make you frightened to take nutritional supplements. I am merely trying to further your education with the hope that you will be careful when making your choices. A few vitamins and minerals that you need to stick with the standard proportions are as follows.

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin B6
• Zinc
• Selenium

Alternative Medicine: Conclusion
Alternative medicine has so many wonderful benefits, but as we learn, it can have its drawbacks too. We are all responsible for the choices we make whether it is good, bad or indifferent. The risks of developing any severe medical conditions while taking an alternative medicine route, like the ones listed above, is slim to none if it is used properly.