10 vitamins and minerals you should never take — and why

1. Synthetic Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate or Retinyl Acetate)

You need vitamin A for your immune system, vision, skin, and mucous membranes, but synthetic vitamin A builds up in your liver and fat cells and can become toxic fast. This is especially dangerous for pregnant women (hello, risk for birth defects!), and it can also mess with your vitamin D and K2 levels, making bones weaker.

Watch out: Many creams and lotions use synthetic vitamin A too. If it’s exposed to the sun (UV light), it can actually increase your risk for skin cancer. The label giveaways are words like retinyl palmitate or retinyl acetate. For a safer source, eat more egg yolks, liver, and cod liver oil instead.

2. Synthetic Beta-Carotene

Don’t confuse beta-carotene with vitamin A. While veggies like carrots contain beta-carotene, the synthetic stuff is often made from coal or petroleum, and studies have shown it actually raised lung cancer risk in smokers! Naturally occurring beta-carotene can be protective, but the synthetic version may flip the cancer switch, especially in people with lung damage.

If you see beta-carotene on a label and it isn’t from a natural source, give it a hard pass.

3. Folic Acid (Synthetic Vitamin B9)

Folic acid is the cheap, synthetic version of vitamin B9 you’ll find added to many supplements and processed foods. About a third of people on the planet (maybe you!) have a gene variation (MTHFR) that prevents them from converting folic acid into its usable form, folate. The result? Folic acid builds up in the blood, increasing cancer risk and tanking your immunity.

TIP: Always look for folate (not folic acid) and load up on dark, leafy greens for natural vitamin B9.

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My 9-year-old daughter baked 300 Easter cookies for the homeless — the next morning, a stranger showed up at our door with a briefcase full of cash. My daughter, Ashley, has always had a heart too big for her chest. Since my wife died, we’ve barely been making ends meet. We spent everything we had trying to save her from cancer. But when Easter came this year, Ashley told me she’d been saving up her own money to buy ingredients. “For the homeless,” she said. Her mom used to be one of them. She was thrown out by her parents when they found out she was pregnant with Ashley. When I met her, she had nothing — but she had the brightest smile and the sharpest mind I had ever seen. I fell in love with her. I took her and Ashley in. And from that moment on, Ashley became my daughter in every way that matters. So when Ashley said she wanted to help people like her mom once was… I didn’t stop her. For three nights straight, after school and homework, she baked. Her little hands worked nonstop. She found her mom’s old cookie recipe. She rolled every piece of dough herself. She decorated every cookie. She made three hundred cookies. On Easter, she handed them out one by one. She looked people in the eyes. She wished them a Happy Easter. Some of them smiled. Some of them cried. I stood there thinking it was the proudest moment of my life. I thought that was the end of it. The next morning, I was washing a mountain of dishes when the doorbell rang. I opened the door. An older man stood there in a worn-out suit, holding a scratched aluminum briefcase. His eyes were locked on Ashley. Before I could ask anything, he set the case down and opened it. I froze. Stacks of hundred-dollar bills — more money than I had ever seen in my life. “I saw what your daughter did yesterday,” he said, his voice shaking. “I want to give all of this to her.” My heart skipped. Then he added: “But you have to agree to ONE CONDITION.” My chest tightened. “What condition?” I asked. He stepped closer. He lowered his voice. And what he asked for in return made my blood run cold.