What is Overnutrition?

Overnutrition is an unhealthy condition in which one or more nutrients such as vitamins or minerals is oversupplied in the body. It also refers to an intake of calories beyond what the body needs for energy requirements. Basically, overnutrition is somewhat of a fancy word for the health condition that results from taking in too many calories and/or getting more of a nutrient than is needed for normal growth, development, and metabolism.

The Signs and Symptoms of Overnutrition

If an individual's intake of calories is excessive over a period of time, obesity results. Yes, obesity is considered one of the many results of overnutrition even when an obese person is deficient in one or more nutrients. Other signs and symptoms of this unfavorable health condition depend on the specific nutrient/s that are oversupplied to the body. For example, taking nutritional supplements can easily lead to vitamin poisoning and iron poisoning, especially if the supplement contains the mineral iron. Synthetic nutritional supplements generally should be avoided unless for some reason taking them are the only means of correcting a severe deficiency.

An oversupply of vitamin A can lead to hair loss. Too much vitamin B6 can cause problems with the nervous system. Difficulty walking, tingling sensations in the hands and numbness in the feet are some of the symptoms that might be experienced before more serious health problems develop. Toxic levels of vitamin E interfere with the body's ability to clot blood.

Many cases of vitamin poisoning occur when a person takes multi-vitamin, multi-mineral supplements plus extra amounts of another nutrient. People convinced that taking B vitamins to help them deal with stress might make the mistake of taking excessive amounts of synthetic nutrients that eventually lead to vitamin poisoning. The same might happen among people who are convinced that they need iron supplements to prevent or keep anemia at bay. Iron poisoning is a real risk among such a group. While completely all natural nutritional supplements are sometimes medically necessary, reliance on pills, liquids, and powders for nutrition generally is a bad idea. Man was made to get all of his nutrition from organically grown heirloom foods, not substances produced in a laboratory.

How to Avoid Overnutrition

Overnutrition that results in obesity can be controlled simply by exercising control in one's diet. This is true whether there's the need to eat less or the need to switch to eating wholesome foods. Whole foods are almost always much lower in calories and higher in nutrients. When there's a genuine need to increase one's intake of nutrients, usually it is much better to include natural foods high in the specific nutrient/s needed rather than resort to taking nutritional supplements. For example, blackstrap molasses continues to make a huge comeback as an all natural source of vitamins and minerals, including iron. Iron poisoning from taking blackstrap molasses is virtually unknown. Vitamin poisoning from ingesting all natural foods is also virtually unknown. Kelp, which is available as a powder or as granules is another all natural way of including minerals in the diet. Some people find kelp repulsive due to its fishy smell; but, the powder can always be put into gelatin capsules and taken with a meal. These are just a few of the healthy alternatives to taking nutritional supplements that can be adopted to avoid overnutrition.

Source:

Back to Eden by Jethro Kloss(book)
The Merck Manual of Medical Information - Second Home Edition (book)