These are the supplements that send the most people to the emergency room

There are big promises on their label and people buy them without fear - because 'if it's natural, it probably can't hurt'.

But the reality on the ground is that supplements can also lead to unexpected visits to hospitals, and in some cases even more.

Walla!

health

08/12/2021

Wednesday, 08 December 2021, 12:08 Updated: 12:20

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On paper, one can understand why supplements have become one of the hottest trends of recent years.

We all know that vitamins, minerals and antioxidants are good for health - so why not take more of them to improve various aspects of our lives?

The very logical separation that is made between drugs and dietary supplements, helps the public understand that the supplements are not really meant to treat diseases and medical problems, but this separation can also be misleading.

Precisely because these are not drugs, people may think that natural supplements can not endanger them either, but experts in the field claim otherwise.

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To the full article

Dr. Susan Farrell is an expert in emergency medicine and toxicology at Harvard Medical School. Understand how many of the inpatients were injured as a result of using supplements.

23,000 visits to emergency rooms.

Nutritional Supplements (Photo: ShutterStock)

During this decade, no less than 23,000 visits to the emergency rooms surveyed resulted from the use of dietary supplements.

These are the four main supplements that have led to this unsympathetic result:

At the hospital emergency centers, many people have taken supplements that help with weight loss, with an average age of 32 and most of them women.

More than 10 percent of these cases have led to hospitalization, especially among women after age 65. Such supplements, designed to suppress appetite or alternatively "speed up" gastrointestinal activity, are responsible for more than a quarter of emergency room visits stemming from dietary supplements.

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2. Supplements to Improve Sexual Function

While many today still expect women to stick to a certain cut and "push" them to do dangerous things to lose weight, many men also believe that their "masculinity" is measured in their performance in the bedroom and therefore take supplements that promise to improve sexual desire, function and level The energies.

Many men (and also a certain percentage of women), come to the emergency room after consuming supplements that promise to improve their sex lives.

The main problem with such supplements, which many choose to purchase online because of shame or embarrassment, is that they are not adequately monitored, and are often infused with substances that are not approved by the FDA.

Some have active ingredients that are also found in medications and may conflict with other medications that are taken regularly.

People do crazy things in pursuit of the perfect body.

Man drinks after training (Photo: ShutterStock)

Therefore, the experts emphasize, if you are already thinking of taking such supplements, it is important to do so while receiving professional medical advice and also check in the FDA database whether the supplements are approved for use and what exactly they contain.

In pursuit of the perfect body, some people forget that the main goal of exercise is to improve health, and do quite a few things that actually do the opposite and are harmful to their body. According to Dr. Farrell, many studies show that steroids and supplements with substances that act like steroids significantly increase the risk of medical problems, especially in the liver. Some of these injuries can be irreversible and even endanger your life in the immediate and long term.

4. Energy-boosting supplements

There are many things we can do to intensify our energies naturally, but naturally, swallowing a pill that will do so effortlessly will always be much more tempting.

Dr. Farrell says that about 10 percent of emergency room visits as a result of using supplements are due to precisely this reason, emphasizing that such supplements are often unsupervised and contain substances that can cause very unwanted side effects.

If there is no deficiency - there is no reason to take vitamins.

Man taking supplements and pills (Photo: ShutterStock)

Such supplements can contain a long list of components, some of which appear on paper to be beneficial to our body and can not be harmful - such as vitamin B12, folic acid (B9) and niacin (B3).

These vitamins are indeed needed to maintain health and energy levels, but at too high rates, especially if taken without a deficiency, they can cause a number of medical problems, some of which can even be life-threatening.

It is important to understand that raising the energy level will be much more effective if you do it in a natural way, which benefits your body, instead of "forcing" it on it.

Many studies have found that a balanced diet, adequate exercise, reduction of mental stress and quality sleep at night greatly affect the energies throughout the day.

Periodic blood tests will also help to understand if you really have nutritional deficiencies - and treat them on a spot basis, instead of taking supplements that promise to improve your life - when in practice you have no real need for them.

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