Are Vitamins and Minerals Necessary?

In order to strengthen our immune system, which is our most important shield in our body's fight against diseases, our use of vitamins and minerals increases, especially in winter. Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya, Head of the Department of Chest Diseases at Altınbaş University, explained what is curious about vitamins and minerals.

Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya, Head of the Department of Chest Diseases, stated that the immune system is an on and off system and warned that if the system is overstimulated with vitamins and minerals, it can lead to autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, sarcoidosis, thyroid and psoriasis.

Stating that they have observed an increase in chest diseases due to the cooling of the weather, Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya said, "Patients mostly ask which vitamins they can use. Physician's advice is important for correct dosage. When the body encounters a virus or microbe, the immune system's on switch is activated and develops a counter-attack to prevent specific or non-specific viruses or microbes from making the body sick. Only after protecting the body from danger with sufficient warning should the switch be turned off. However, if it is overstimulated, it continues to attack and starts to damage healthy tissues."

According to Prof. Dr. Özkaya from Altınbaş University Faculty of Medicine, the pandemic and excessive and unnecessary use of vitamins, minerals and immune-boosting food supplements were effective in the emergence of autoimmune diseases. Prof. Dr. Özkaya said, "Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system attacks its own tissues. This is caused by overused vitamins and minerals. Many diseases such as as rheumatic and connective tissue diseases, diabetes, sarcoidosis, thyroid, psoriasis, vasculitis, which involve our vessels and can result in death, are the result of this overstimulated immune system."

Prof. Dr. Özkaya pointed out that many diseases, especially after the COVID 19 outbreak, started to emerge suddenly and at unexpected ages without any symptoms and signs beyond the usual, and continued his words as follows:

"In cancer diseases, which are directly proportional to findings such as fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss and smoking, there are now many cases that are detected incidentally at an earlier age, without signs and symptoms. Likewise, sudden deaths at young ages also surprise us physicians. The ethical and chronological structure of diseases has changed. The public thinks that these are caused by vaccines, but it is also necessary to keep this in mind. Citizens, especially those who feared the COVID 19 pandemic and getting sick, overused additional vitamins, minerals and food supplements that they thought strengthened the immune system. These additional vitamins and minerals affect the shutdown button of our immune system. We observe that both the COVID 19 virus and excessive and unnecessary use of additional food supplements have changed the course of pre-pandemic diseases."

Prof. Dr. Şevket Özkaya emphasized that vitamins and minerals that will sustain our immune system are taken with a normal diet and said, "Young children who cannot eat enough, strict vegetarians, whose number has increased rapidly in recent years, postmenopausal women and pregnant women with the recommendation of their doctor, those with severe diseases, patients with intestinal absorption and digestion problems should use them. Other than that, healthy and adequately nourished citizens do not need to take additional vitamins and minerals."