Zinc is an inorganic trace mineral your body needs for growth, cellular metabolism and sexual development. Vitamins are organic compounds that play many vital roles in your body. Neither vitamins nor minerals provide you directly with energy; however, they interact with each other in initiating carbohydrate, lipid and protein metabolism. Dietitian Ellen Coleman recommends that you do not consume too much or too little of zinc and vitamins because you can develop diseases and other abnormalities in your body in either case. Consult your doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet or adding any supplements.
Types
Fat-soluble vitamins --- A, D, E and K --- dissolves in fat, and your body stores them in adipose (fat) tissues beneath your skin and around your organs. If you do not eat enough of certain fat-soluble vitamins in a day, your body releases stored vitamins into your bloodstream and transports them to cells that need them.
Water-soluble vitamins --- including C and all B-complex vitamins --- dissolve in water and act as coenzymes in your body, assisting enzymes to initiate chemical processes. Your body does not store these vitamins because your kidneys filter and excrete any excess water-soluble vitamins in urine.
Former Ohio State University nutrition professor Gordon Wardlaw explains that fat-soluble vitamin toxicity is more common than water-soluble vitamin toxicity because your body does not excrete fat-soluble vitamins easily. A buildup of fat-soluble vitamins leads to diseases and other health problems.
Calcification
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorous and maintain bone strength and structure. As Wardlaw explains in his book "Perspectives in Nutrition," excessive vitamin D intake causes calcification in your soft tissues, which collect calcium deposits. This causes your connective tissues, kidneys, blood vessels and muscles to harden. You should not consume more the 50 micrograms of vitamin D a day.
Hypervitaminosis A
Vitamin A plays a vital role maintaining normal vision, cell differentiation, DNA synthesis and the immune system. Too much vitamin A --- more than 8,000 micrograms a day --- causes liver damage, hair loss, birth defects and even coma. According to Oregon State University's Linus Pauling Institute, this condition is call hypervitaminosis A, a common disorder for people who take multi-vitamins that contain more than 1,000 percent of the daily recommended intake of vitamin A.
Coppy Deficiency
Zinc overdose --- more than two grams a day --- inhibits copper absorption, causing diarrhea, abdominal cramps, irritation, loss of appetite and headaches. Too much zinc also causes your body to absorb less copper, which causes copper deficiency. High levels of zinc stimulate your cells to produce metallothionein, which is a metal-binding protein. This protein readily binds with copper, preventing it from entering your bloodstream.
Prevention
Biologist George Mateljan, author of "World's Healthiest Foods," recommends that you eat a variety of foods in moderate portions. Do not eat too much from any one food group or of one kind of food, because these can contain a high concentration of a certain vitamin or mineral. For example, carrots are very high in vitamin A. Eating too many carrots will lead to hypervitaminosis A.
References
- "World's Healthiest Foods"; George Mateljan; 2006
- "Perspectives in Nutrition"; Gordon M. Wardlaw; 2002
- "Ultimate Sports Nutrition"; Ellen Coleman; 2004
- Oregon State University --- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamin A
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