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.