Some Manganese Supplements May Exceed Safe Intake Levels – (02-15-01)



Some Manganese Supplements May Exceed Safe Intake Levels

When it comes to vitamins and minerals, most have a wide range of effective and safe doses. Manganese is one of the minerals that does not and can cause problems at high enough levels. High levels have been linked to Parkinson’s like symptoms. Aslo, a few years back a research article was released that strongly tied hair manganese levels and persons incarcerated for violent behavior ( Entrez-PubMed http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/411197). Of an interesting note–infant formulas have much higher levels of manganese than breast milk.

(article) ConsumerLab.com issued an alert on Monday that that some glucosamine and chondroitin products, used for osteoarthritis, exceed newly established upper intake levels for manganese. According to the Institute of Medicine’s newly-released guidelines, the tolerable upper intake level (UL) for manganese in adults is 11 milligrams per day. Neurologic adverse effects, similar to symptoms caused by Parkinson’s disease, have been observed in individuals who have consumed high amounts of manganese, and iron absorption by the gut may be inhibited.Two products evaluated in ConsumerLab.com’s Glucosamine and Chondroitin Product Review last year claim to contain, respectively, 25 mg and 30 mg of manganese per suggested daily serving. These amounts far exceed the recommended UL of 11 mg per day, which includes all dietary and supplement intake. One of these products had already failed ConsumerLab.com’s initial testing for not having its claimed amount of chondroitin. The other product initially passed the review, but has now been removed from ConsumerLab.com’s list of Quality Approved Products in light of the new recommendations. Manganese is an essential nutrient involved in bone formation and in protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism. Nuts, legumes, tea, and whole grains are rich sources of manganese. The recommended adequate intake of manganese for adults is approximately 2 milligrams per day, which is similar to the intake levels from typical American diets.

 

James Bogash

For more than a decade, Dr. Bogash has stayed current with the medical literature as it relates to physiology, disease prevention and disease management. He uses his knowledge to educate patients, the community and cyberspace on the best way to avoid and / or manage chronic diseases using lifestyle and targeted supplementation.







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Category: Vitamins and Supplements 101
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