Word: selenium
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...month. All told, we spend $1.7 billion a year on those pills and capsules--most commonly vitamin C, which originally attracted attention as a supposed cold remedy. But interest in these supplements has been fanned in recent years by hints that antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and selenium soak up free radicals, those by-products of metabolism that can damage cells and have been implicated in a wide variety of diseases, from cancer and cardiovascular disease to Alzheimer's, as well as in aging...
...diseases. But the report goes even further. "Extremely large doses [of antioxidants]," it says, "may lead to health problems." Megadoses of vitamin E, for instance, can put you at greater risk of bleeding, while too much vitamin C causes diarrhea and may interfere with cancer treatments. Take too much selenium, and you can lose hair and even fingernails...