Vitamin and mineral incompatibility: truth or myth?

Author: Lera Truhanova - trainer and nutritionist.
2016-10-26

Everyone has heard that adequate intake of vitamins and minerals regulates the normal functioning of all vital processes and ensures human health. Currently, there are many methods to determine which specific elements (and there are always several) a particular organism needs – from external signs like the structure and color of skin in various areas of the body, the condition of hair/nails, the appearance of mucous membranes (etc.) to psychosomatic aspects, and of course, blood tests. We are all individual (I will never tire of repeating this), so recommending a single vitamin-mineral complex universally to everyone is somewhat reckless.

It is important to understand that our primary need for vitamins and minerals should be "covered" by nutrition, as organic compounds are absorbed most effectively. Synthetic vitamins (including single-component supplements like ascorbic acid, or zinc preparations, and multivitamins / vitamin-mineral complexes that combine all elements in one tablet) are merely an addition to the diet.

Now, you have organized your nutrition: there are both vegetables and fruits, bran and fiber for better absorption and digestion, sufficient protein sources, and no issues with fats. So, how can you further supplement yourself? For example, you have determined which micronutrients you are lacking – in what form should you buy and how to take them? It seems simple enough: go to the pharmacy, choose a vitamin-mineral complex or a couple of single-component supplements, take them, and be healthy.

But we constantly hear: "If you take calcium – take it with Vitamin D, otherwise it won’t be absorbed!" "Take iron supplements separately from calcium! And don't drink milk during intake! And don't eat cottage cheese! It won’t be absorbed!" And then: phosphorus separately from magnesium, zinc should not be combined with folic acid, B12 should not be taken with ascorbic acid... and many other assertions about the antagonism of vitamins and minerals, which are scientifically proven and force us to schedule their intake almost by the hour. But is this really necessary? Is the desire to enrich our bodies with micro- and macronutrients so misguided that we are doomed to avitaminosis and mineral depletion? Pff, what nonsense.

There are two sides to the principle of incompatibility and antagonism of vitamins and minerals. The first is the issue of chemical interaction between components. For example, iron catalyzes oxidation processes and shortens the "lifespan" of vitamins; ascorbic acid indeed reduces the effectiveness of Vitamin B12 by 30% and restores B1. There are plenty of such examples, and it seems that these facts suggest the advantage of separate vitamins compared to multivitamin complexes to avoid interactions. However, it is worth noting that studies are conducted nowhere but in a test tube – where substances are deliberately "collided" to observe the reaction.

Let’s touch upon the manufacturers of poly-element complexes – if production occurs on quality equipment and "at the helm" are sensible people, then the prospect of losing valuable properties of the vitamins is minimized because they are initially isolated in solid solutions, eliminating any possibility of moisture entry (sealing, silica gel), and only then mixed in powdered form and pressed into tablets.

And here, in fact, comes the second side of the coin... These substances will meet in an accessible form already inside the human body! And not just once. So, will nothing really be absorbed?

In this section, I want to address V.B. Spirichev – the head of the laboratory of vitamins and minerals at the Nutrition Institute of the RAMS. Here is his response to the question about the biological antagonism of vitamins:

“It’s absurd. Vitamins are not hormones. A vitamin works as part of a particular enzyme and participates in a specific reaction. If, say, one vitamin is involved in the breakdown of lipids while another is involved in their synthesis, the introduction of both vitamins into the body will not cause any harm. They cannot interfere with each other, as the body decides for itself which reaction it needs. Vitamins are tools; they do not work independently; they facilitate biochemical reactions. The initiation and intensity of these reactions are regulated by the body. An analogy can be made with a symphony orchestra: vitamins act under the conductor's direction. Currently, there are no proper experiments proving that separate vitamin administration is more effective. There have been studies in which iron and ascorbic acid were given—together and separately. Yes, part of the iron in the body interacts with ascorbic acid, but serious long-term experiments on how this interaction affects humans have not been conducted. In addition, one of ascorbic acid's functions is to maintain iron in a ferrous state by oxidizing (ferric iron is not absorbed).”

In general, briefly... this whole story with three tablets of the Alphabet complex and similar products is nothing more than a clever marketing move. The tales of nuclear wars between antagonistic micronutrients in the gastrointestinal tract (whoever wins is absorbed) lack scientific justification. Therefore, your task is much simpler: determine which elements your body is lacking, choose a multivitamin complex, and take it while remembering that this is merely a supplement to a balanced diet.

I would like to add a lot more about fermentation and receptors to this topic, but I will refrain, hoping that the material presented is sufficient to understand the essence of the issue.

To obtain an individual nutrition program with a diet that maximally meets your body's needs for micro and macronutrients, contact me on VK – a collection of articles on the theory of rational nutrition is included!