Excess Vitamins and Minerals in Food can harm Children and Pregnant Women’s Health

Find out more in EWG’s latest investigative report: How Much is Too Much?

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Getting sufficient amounts of key nutrients is important for a healthy diet, but many Americans don’t realize that consuming excessive amounts of some nutrients can be harmful.

We need enough of vitamins and minerals in food for good health, but consuming too much can be harmful – especially to young children, the elderly and pregnant women.

Manufacturers have been using nutrient fortification as a marketing tool to appeal to parents who want healthier foods for their families. Up to half of young children get too much vitamin A, niacin and zinc.

The Environmental Working Group studied 1,556 breakfast cereals and 1,025 snack bars and found that many contained substantially higher amounts of those three nutrients – vitamin A, niacin and zinc – than is considered safe by the Institute of Medicine.

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