| it's funny how the things
you'd never expect could kill you, in fact, can. this monday, i picked
up some multivitamins from the local drugstore in hopes that they would
spark some sort of energy or memory enhancement. this morning, i
took one of the large ovular pills. the vitamins smelled like a mixture
of oat bran and sharp cheese, not necessarily pleasing to the olfactory
senses. after swallowing, i looked at the labels and nutritional
information (is the united states the only country with something so absurd
as a 'recommended daily allowance' of anything?) and noticed the multiple
warning labels on the back of the bottle. WARNING: in case of accidental
overdose, contact a physician immediatley. WARNING: overingestion
of iron is fatal. these large warnings adorned a good fourth of the
back label of vitamins. i suppose like anything else, too much of
something can offset the internal balance and just cause all function to
cease. one of these vitamin pills contains 100 percent of the recommended
daily allowance of iodine, a known poison in large quantities. i
suppose if you took enough of these vitamins, the iodine concentration
in your bloodstream would increase, until it reaches that ever-so-ill-defined
fatal level.
another thing about these vitamins occurred later. how do we know that in fact, these are the recommended daily allowances of certain minerals and vitamins a through z? did some federal scientist experiment on humans, noting their endurance and performance at multiple activities while increasing certain levels of vitamin B12? the most likely answer is no, nothing so absurd would occur. so, the question remains: how are these the guidelines which the federal health team of the federal government has set? in searching for answers, we are presented only with more questions. it's an infernal infinite function, one that i wish would end, even if just for me. |