Flatulence, or gas, is quite normal. The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse estimates that people pass gas 14 times a day, emitting roughly one to four pints of vapor consisting of carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and sometimes, methane. Vitamin supplements can make you feel gassy under certain circumstances. Taking too much vitamins C and E are known to lead to flatulence, and multivitamins with minerals can have gastrointestinal side effects, as well.
Hypervitaminosis
The reason the Institute of Medicine has developed recommended intakes for vitamins and minerals is because taking too much can have mild to potentially dangerous side effects. In 2003, the “British Medical Journal” published a report indicating that certain vitamins, when taken in excess, can cause digestive symptoms. High doses of vitamin C, for example, can cause stomach pain, diarrhea and gas, according to a 2006 NPR interview with Dr. Marvin Lipman, an endocrinologist and chief medical adviser to Consumer Reports. Also, Drugs.com reports that excess vitamin E can lead to flatulence and nausea.
Multivitamins
If you’re taking a multivitamin every day and are also uncommonly flatulent, the minerals in your daily supplement may be to blame. Minerals that can cause digestive symptoms, including gas, are calcium and selenium. A 2011 study published in the “Journal of Clinical Oncology” said a nutritional pharmaceutical with vitamin E, selenium and soy caused flatulence in 27 percent of patients. While the study authors did not indicate which ingredient was to blame for the digestive side effect, individually, vitamin E and selenium have been linked to the gastrointestinal symptom.
Preventing Gas
Taking the recommended daily allowance, or RDA, of vitamins and minerals, or getting the correct amount through your diet, is one way to prevent gas associated with supplement intake. The Office of Dietary Supplements, ODS, can tell you what the appropriate vitamin and mineral RDA is for your age, gender and special needs. For instance, healthy men should get 90 mg of vitamin C daily while women need 75 mg and pregnant women need 85 mg. The ODS recommends that smokers take an additional 35 mg of vitamin C each day. Vitamin E intake for healthy males and females is the same at 15 mg per day, and 15 mg to 19 mg for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Considerations
Another reason it’s important to get proper vitamin supplementation – or proper intake through dietary sources – is that some vitamins can help fend off gastrointestinal disorders that can lead to flatulence. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to Crohn’s disease, according to a 2010 study from the Research Institute of at McGill University Health Centre in Canada. Symptoms of Crohn’s include abdominal pain, cramping and gas. A multivitamin that combines magnesium with calcium, known as calcium citrate, can help relive constipation.
References
- National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse; Gas In the Digestive Tract; January 2008
- British Medical Journal; Food Watchdog Warns Against High Doses of Vitamins and Minerals; May 2003; Zosia Kmietowicz
- Drugs.com: Vitamin E
- NPR; The Vitamin C Myth; Patti Neighmond; February 2006
- Australian Prescriber; Calcium Supplementation: The Bare Bones; John D. Wark; December 2003
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin C
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin E
- “Journal of Clinical Oncology”; Progression From High-Grade Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia to Cancer; Neil Fleshner; May 2011
- ScienceDaily: Vitamin D Supplements Could Fight Crohn’s Disease; January 2010
- MayoClinic.com: Crohn’s Disease; April 2011
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