The Food and Drug Administration has already ruled that no supplement sold without a prescription can contain more than 0.1 milligram of folic acid, 30 milligrams of PABA, and 0.15 milligrams of iodine, causing people to assume these nutrients to be highly toxic. Physicians have given with no sign of toxicity 150 milligrams of folic acid daily to children and 450 milligrams to adults, or 1,500 to 4,500 times the amount now allowed. Folic-acid deficiencies have become prevalent, one study even showing that 45 per cent of hospitalized patients now suffer from a lack of this nutrient. Its restriction was designed to protect the few people who eat no animal foods supplying vitamin B12. A vitamin-B12 deficiency may go undetected unless a simultaneous deficiency of folic acid causes anemia. The restriction therefore says in effect: "Let everyone whose diet is not carefully selected develop anemia even if he takes supplements." Were 5 milligrams of folic acid added with vitamin B12 to supplements, vegetarians as well as most other persons could be protected, though some few require 20 milligrams of folic acid daily.

PABA was put on prescription only because it makes the now little used sulfanilamide ineffective, again depriving many people for a few. Such large quantities as 20,000 milligrams of PABA have been given daily in treating numerous diseases, often with excellent results, though this amount is needlessly high. Placing PABA on prescription has stopped both its sale and all research concerning its value, yet only 300 to 600 milligrams daily help to restore the natural color of hair, often clear up eczemas and loss of pigmentation, and frequently alleviate the intense agony of burns. It may prevent skin cancers caused by overexposure to sun and perhaps old-age changes in the skin, found to be almost identical to changes in the skin of young people who work out of doors. Certainly these problems are so worthy of further investigation that this vitamin should be sold without a prescription and perhaps 100 milligrams added to daily supplements.

Excessive iodine is toxic, yet doctors have given 2,400 milligrams daily to patients, including children, sometimes for as long as five years; and physicians consider 300 milligrams daily a small quantity, though it is 2,000 times the 0.15 milligram now allowed. Studies indicate that children should have 1 or 2 milligrams of iodine daily and adults 2 to 4 milligrams; that adequate iodine not only promotes the health of the thyroid glands but also hastens the excretion of radioactive iodine from fallout already fixed in the glands; and that Americans have been exposed to years of radioactive iodine without protection.

A ruling has been made that quantities of potassium of 100 milligrams or more cannot be sold without a prescription. Some physicians giving patients 200 times this amount daily for prolonged periods (20 tablets of 1000 milligrams each) induced severe sodium deficiencies, which in turn caused such intense stress that stomach ulcers and hemorrhages occurred; hence most people are now denied potassium supplements in moderate amounts over short periods when needed. A healthy individual can get enough potassium from eating generous amounts of fruits and vegetables, but an ill person usually cannot.

About The Author
David Crawford is the CEO and owner of a Male Enhancement Products company known as Male Enhancement Group which is dedicated to researching and comparing male enhancement products in order to determine which male enhancement product is safer and more effective than other products on the market. Copyright 2010 David Crawford of Male Enhancement Products This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.