Severe Aspect Results of Taking Too A lot Vitamin D

Vitamin D performs important roles in your physique, equivalent to serving to it take up calcium, selling bone well being, and regulating immune perform, irritation, and temper. However as with many issues in diet, extra isn’t all the time higher.

Taking an excessive amount of vitamin D within the type of dietary supplements could cause poisonous ranges of vitamin D to construct up in your physique, resulting in severe negative effects.

As high-dose vitamin D dietary supplements turn into extra well-liked, instances of vitamin D toxicity have turn into extra widespread and sometimes stem from individuals taking extraordinarily excessive doses of supplemental vitamin D for lengthy intervals.

Right here’s what occurs once you take an excessive amount of vitamin D, plus methods to remain secure when supplementing with this nutrient.

The medical time period for vitamin D toxicity is hypervitaminosis D. This situation happens when extreme vitamin D builds up within the physique, inflicting dangerously excessive calcium ranges (hypercalcemia).

Vitamin D toxicity is uncommon and is nearly all the time brought on by taking excessively excessive doses of dietary supplements, not from meals or solar publicity. The physique naturally regulates how a lot vitamin D it makes from the solar, and most meals sources don’t comprise sufficient vitamin D to turn into a problem, even when consumed in giant parts.

“There are uncommon genetic causes of vitamin D toxicity, however I’ve by no means seen a case of vitamin D toxicity linked to meals naturally wealthy in vitamin D. Vitamin D toxicity is nearly all the time from consuming too many vitamin D dietary supplements,” Neil Patel, MD, inner medication specialist with Windfall St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County, California, instructed Well being.

The Secure Higher Restrict

The Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH) has set a tolerable higher consumption degree (the best each day dose unlikely to trigger hostile results) for vitamin D at 4,000 IU (100 micrograms) per day.

Analysis reveals that vitamin D toxicity can happen with extended each day consumption above 10,000 IU, although the precise threshold can differ between people.

Vitamin D toxicity sometimes develops steadily, and signs can take months to develop. “Signs of vitamin D toxicity are normally pushed by hypercalcemia, or an excessive amount of calcium within the blood,” mentioned Barlow. “The primary indicators of an excessive amount of vitamin D typically appear like abdomen hassle, together with nausea, vomiting, and constipation.”

With time, signs like fatigue, dehydration, confusion, muscle weak spot, and bone ache can develop. Vitamin D toxicity can even result in kidney stones and even kidney injury.

A number of the commonest indicators of vitamin D toxicity:

Nausea and vomiting
Lack of urge for food
Constipation
Extreme thirst and frequent urination
Weak point or fatigue
Bone ache
Confusion or disorientation

Extreme issues can embrace:

Kidney injury or kidney stones
Irregular coronary heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
Bone ache and calcium deposits in gentle tissues
Extreme dehydration
In uncommon instances, loss of life

In case you’re taking high-dose vitamin D dietary supplements and expertise these signs, it’s crucial to hunt medical assist.

You will get vitamin D from meals, dietary supplements, or by daylight. Right here’s how every impacts your vitamin D ranges:

Daylight: Your physique makes vitamin D from the solar by absorbing UV rays, creating pre-vitamin D, then changing it into its lively kind. Your physique controls how a lot vitamin D it produces from daylight, so solar publicity received’t trigger toxicity.
Meals: The quantities discovered naturally in meals or added to meals are comparatively small and never sufficient to achieve dangerous ranges. Even vitamin D–wealthy meals like salmon or fortified cereals don’t comprise sufficient to trigger toxicity when eaten in regular quantities.
Dietary supplements: Each day use of very excessive doses of vitamin D can push blood ranges past what the physique can handle.

“Earlier than getting processed by the liver, extra vitamin D is saved in fats and liver reserves,” Ryan Sultan, MD, psychiatrist at Integrative Psychiatry, instructed Well being. “The method of breaking down vitamin D into its inactive parts is gradual, which is why taking in an excessive amount of vitamin D too shortly, equivalent to >10,000–40,000 IU per day for months, will be poisonous.”

Even then, Sultan famous that it’s extraordinarily troublesome to achieve poisonous ranges of vitamin D, even by supplementation. However it might occur if you happen to’re taking rather more than your physique wants for a very long time.

The excellent news is that vitamin D toxicity is uncommon and is normally brought on by supplementation mismanagement, equivalent to taking greater than the beneficial quantity for an extended time period. 

Luckily, vitamin D toxicity is preventable and begins with sensible complement habits. 

Right here’s keep secure:

Know your vitamin D degree: The one method to know in case your vitamin D ranges are excessive or low is to have your blood ranges checked. “In case you are taking a excessive dose of vitamin D, common blood exams are a easy method to monitor your ranges,” mentioned Barlow. Suggestions for optimum blood ranges of vitamin D differ, however normally fall between 40–70 ng/mL.
Follow the secure higher restrict: Although individuals with low vitamin D ranges generally want increased doses, most wholesome adults ought to hold supplemental vitamin D to 4,000 IU each day until directed in any other case by a healthcare supplier.
Examine your labels: Patel beneficial being cautious when taking a number of dietary supplements and noting how a lot vitamin D is in every. “It’s vital that sufferers know what dosage of vitamin D they’re getting from their multivitamin(s) or complement(s),” he mentioned.
Work with an expert: In case you want supplemental vitamin D, it’s greatest to work with a professional healthcare supplier and observe their suggestions for secure and applicable dosing.

Vitamin D is important for immunity, mind well being, sturdy bones, and total well-being, however taking in an excessive amount of from dietary supplements will be dangerous.

To remain secure, it’s greatest to observe your healthcare supplier’s steerage on dosing and verify your ranges earlier than beginning or adjusting a vitamin D complement.