Are Vitamins and Minerals Necessary?

​During the battle against diseases, our body's most crucial defense, the immune system, becomes particularly active in the winter months, leading to an increased use of vitamins and minerals. Altinbas University Department of Chest Diseases Chairman, Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya, sheds light on questions about vitamins and minerals.

 

Chairman of the Department of Chest Diseases, Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya, emphasizes that the immune system functions as an on-off system. He warns that excessive stimulation of the system with vitamins and minerals may lead to autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, sarcoidosis, thyroid, and psoriasis.

 

Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya, noting an increase in chest diseases as the weather gets colder, states, "Patients often inquire about which vitamins they can use. Proper dosage is crucial for doctor-recommended use. When the body encounters a virus or microbe, the immune system's on-switch activates to develop a counterattack to prevent the virus or microbes from harming the body. However, after adequately defending the body against the threat, the switch should turn off. Excessive stimulation, on the other hand, can lead to continued attacks, causing harm to healthy tissues."

 

According to Prof. Dr. Özkaya from Altinbas University Faculty of Medicine, especially during the pandemic, the excessive and unnecessary use of vitamins, minerals, and immune-boosting supplements played a role in the emergence of autoimmune diseases. Prof. Dr. Özkaya explains, "Autoimmune diseases arise when the immune system attacks its own tissues. Excessive use of vitamins and minerals contributes to this overstimulated immune system. Diseases such as rheumatic and connective tissue diseases, diabetes, sarcoidosis, thyroid, psoriasis, and vasculitis, which affect our blood vessels and can lead to fatal outcomes, result from this excessively stimulated immune system."

Prof. Dr. Özkaya points out that after the COVID-19 pandemic, many diseases are now emerging suddenly and unexpectedly, without typical symptoms, even at younger ages. He continues, "Weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, and other signs associated with cancer used to progress proportionally. Now, there are many cases detected accidentally at an earlier age, without apparent symptoms. Also, sudden deaths at a young age surprise us as healthcare professionals. The ethical and chronological structure of diseases has changed. Some attribute this to vaccines in the community, but it's essential to consider that citizens, especially those fearing COVID-19, have excessively used additional vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements they believed would strengthen their immune systems. These additional vitamins and minerals affect the shutdown button of our immune system. We observe that both the COVID-19 virus and the excessive use of additional dietary supplements have changed the course of diseases before the pandemic."

Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya emphasizes that a normal diet provides sufficient vitamins and minerals to maintain our immune system. He states, "Children who cannot get adequate nutrition, the rapidly increasing number of strict vegetarians in recent years, postmenopausal women, pregnant women under a doctor's recommendation, individuals with severe illnesses, and those with absorption and digestion problems in the intestines should use them. Otherwise, healthy and well-nourished individuals do not need additional vitamins and minerals."

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