How A lot Vitamin D Is Too A lot?

An excessive amount of vitamin D can result in toxicity, also referred to as vitamin D hypervitaminosis. The recognition of vitamin D supplementation has elevated lately. Since dietary supplements typically include concentrated doses of a vitamin, they might trigger your vitamin D ranges to develop into too excessive over time—particularly if you do not have a deficiency.

Vitamin D is on the market from the solar and some meals sources. Many individuals additionally get their vitamin D by supplementation.

It’s attainable to get an excessive amount of vitamin D over time. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that builds up in your system. Compared, water-soluble nutritional vitamins are excreted by urine when an excessive amount of is taken. When vitamin D buildup happens, it may possibly result in toxicity.

Under are the higher limits of vitamin D consumption. Taking lower than these quantities, until prescribed by a healthcare supplier, may help forestall toxicity.

Age
Higher Restrict

Infants 0 – 6 months
25 micrograms (mcg) or 1,000 worldwide items (IU)

Infants 7 – 12 months
38 mcg or 1,500 IU

Youngsters 1 – 3 years
63 mcg or 2,500 IU

Youngsters 4 – 8 years
75 mcg or 3,000 IU

Youngsters 9 – 18 years
100 mcg or 4,000 IU

Adults 19 and older
100 mcg or 4,000 IU

Pregnant/breastfeeding individuals
100 mcg or 4,000 IU

When you constantly take an excessive amount of vitamin D, you’ll be able to develop indicators of toxicity, equivalent to:

Nausea and vomiting
Constipation
Poor urge for food
Weak spot
Weight reduction
Confusion
Disorientation
Frequent urination
Unsteady gait
Dehydration

Though uncommon, vitamin D toxicity also can result in a buildup of calcium, or hypercalcemia. This may occasionally happen when taking very excessive doses of vitamin D dietary supplements. Hypercalcemia can result in severe points like kidney failure and irregular coronary heart rhythms. Signs of hypercalcemia might take weeks or months to seem.

About half of all individuals within the U.S. usually are not getting sufficient vitamin D, however this does not essentially imply it’s worthwhile to begin taking a complement. As a substitute, have your healthcare supplier do a blood take a look at to verify your ranges.

From there, your supplier can advise you on how a lot vitamin D to take. Ideally, you’re going to get your vitamin D from a mixture of the solar, meals that include vitamin D (like fatty fish, beef liver, fortified milks and juices, and egg yolks), and, if wanted, dietary supplements.

Listed here are the really useful each day intakes of vitamin D:

Age
Beneficial Quantity

0 to 12 months
10 mcg (400 IU)

Youngsters 1 – 13 years
15 mcg (600 IU)

Teenagers 14 – 18 years
15 mcg (600 IU)

Adults 19 – 70 years
15 mcg (600 IU)

Adults 71 and older
20 mcg (800 IU)

Pregnant/breastfeeding individuals
15 mcg (600 IU)

Thanks in your suggestions!

Well being.com makes use of solely high-quality sources, together with peer-reviewed research, to assist the information inside our articles. Learn our editorial course of to study extra about how we fact-check and hold our content material correct, dependable, and reliable.

Asif A, Farooq N. Vitamin D toxicity. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2023.

Khan S, Tariq MW, Akhtar M, Raza MTS, Manzoor M. The darkish aspect of the sunshine vitamin: A case of acute renal failure and hypercalcaemia from vitamin D overconsumption. Cureus. 2024;16(9):e70237. doi:10.7759/cureus.70237

Nationwide Institutes of Well being: Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements. Vitamin D.

Sadiq NM, Anastasopoulou C, Patel G, et al. Hypercalcemia. In: StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing; 2025.

Cui A, Xiao P, Ma Y, et al. Prevalence, pattern, and predictor analyses of vitamin D deficiency within the US inhabitants, 2001-2018. Entrance Nutr. 2022;9:965376. doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.965376