Supplements Guide: Side Effects & Best Multivitamins

Vitamins and supplements like melatonin and fish oil offer health benefits but can cause side effects if misused. Learn about the impact of saw palmetto on blood pressure and find the best multivitamins for young women and adults over 50.

beautiful yellow flowers blooming Hypericum

Herbs to Stay Away From on Zoloft

Dietary supplements and herbs provide alternative treatments to several disorders, and can complement conventional medical techniques. However, the active ingredients in some herbs can interact with specific pharmaceuticals, increasing or decreasing the drugs' efficacy and potentially leading to side effects.

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Echinacea flower

Does Echinacea Thin Your Blood?

Your body responds to injury by controlling the thickness and thinness of your blood. Thickening your blood to form clots prevents severe bleeding after injury, but abnormal blood thickness can cause spontaneous clot formation, causing heart attack or stroke.

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Bread and Butter

What Helps Absorb Vitamin D?

Vitamin D -- an essential nutrient found in dairy products, fatty fish and fortified cereals -- plays a role in your health. It helps maintain strong bones and teeth, supports nerve and muscle function and interacts with your parathyroid gland to help maintain your body's hormone balance.

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Man and woman holding hands

Vitamins for Shaking Hands

The muscles in your hands receive inputs from motor neurons, nerves that stimulate muscle contraction. Damage to these motor nerves can cause abnormal nerve signalling to your hand muscles, leading to uncontrolled hand movement or shaking hands.

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Fish oil capsules for healthy

Does Fish Oil Help Increase Collagen and Elastin?

Your tissues rely on structural proteins to help support your cells and maintain the structure of the tissues. Collagen and elastin are two such structural proteins, found in several tissues throughout your body.

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The Health Benefits of Semolina

A coarsely ground grain made from wheat, semolina makes regular appearances in pastas, couscous and bread, as well as in breakfast cereals, such as Cream of Wheat. Like other wheat grains, semolina contains gluten, which makes it unsafe for those suffering from celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity.

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medicine

Loss of Smell & Vitamin Deficiency

Your sense of smell, called olfaction, plays a role in your health and your quality of life. Olfaction can alert you to the presence of dangerous and toxic material nearby to help you avoid disease, or can allow you to enjoy the flavors in the foods you eat.

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Stack of different pills

Will Taking Too Much Magnesium Cause a Zinc Deficiency?

Once they enter your body, vitamins and minerals in the foods and supplements you consume can interact with each other, and these interactions can alter the absorption of these nutrients in your digestive tract. One such interaction occurs between magnesium and zinc. Too much magnesium does not cause a zinc deficiency.

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Woman hand

Can a Vitamin Deficiency Cause Cracked Skin on the Hands?

Cracked skin on your hands can prove uncomfortable and painful, and it detracts from the appearance of your hands. In addition, chronically cracked skin can pose a health risk, offering an entry point for bacteria, viruses or fungi to go into your body.

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Close-up of EKG results

Vitamin Deficiencies & Racing Heart

Your heart beats several thousand times each day, and these heart muscle contractions help to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout your body.

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Can Vitamin D Cause Stomach Cramps?

The hormone vitamin D aids in the maintenance of several tissues: it maintains strong bones, helps maintain your body's electrolyte balance and aids in nerve function. Abnormally high or low levels of vitamin D can affect your health, leading to a number of side effects.

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Pills scattered on a calendar page

Vitamin B Complex Taken With Calcium, Magnesium and Zinc

While it's always best to get your nutrients from food, vitamin supplements, taken under the supervision of a doctor, can fill in any gaps. B-complex vitamin supplements and calcium, zinc and magnesium supplements each have several health benefits that make them worthwhile additions to your routine.

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Multivitamin poured from brown bottle isolated

Vitamins and Supplements That Make Your Skin Tingle

Your skin contains a rich supply of blood vessels that nourish your skin, as well as sensory nerve endings that support your sense of touch. Constriction or dilation of these blood vessels can affect your nerves; dilated blood vessels can activate warmth-sensing nerves, while constriction can lead to a cold sensation.

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Spaghetti, High Angle View

What Are the Health Benefits of Pasta?

Thanks to its affordability and versatility in the kitchen, pasta makes up a staple in the average American diet. In fact, the average American consumes 20 pounds of it annually, according to North Dakota State University.

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capsules

How Do Vitamin K & Aspirin React to Each Other?

Aspirin, also called acetylsalicylic acid, has a number of potential therapeutic effects. The drug can manage inflammation, help to control pain, and also has implications in managing some types of cardiovascular disease.

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Red capsules on a spoon

What Are the Benefits of Liquid Magnesium?

The essential mineral magnesium plays numerous roles in your health. Supplementing with magnesium helps compensate for not getting enough magnesium in your diet, potentially staving off a deficiency.

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