Vitamin D Overdose
Are You Taking Vitamin D Overdose Unknowingly? What Are the Effects?
Most of us are quite familiar with Vitamin D and its vital requirement for different organs of the human body. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble pro-hormone that helps the body to assimilate and absorb the calcium and phosphorus present in the food by various parts of our body such as the kidneys, liver, bone and skin.
Vitamin D deficiency leads to many bodily disorders and also hampers the immune system. Therapeutic use of Vitamin D can rectify many deficiencies. Vitamin D is an important nutrient that aids in various medical conditions but the flip side here is the overdose of Vitamin D, which needs to be given a serious thought.
Toxicity or Vitamin D overdose
Nutrients are an integral part for a healthy living but an excess amount of the same lead to serious side effects. Vitamin D overdose can build up the toxins in the body as it is a fat-soluble and not a water-soluble compound, which could be easily eliminated from the system. Due to its composition it only gets stored in the body and is prone to build toxins in the body. However, the level of toxicity can change from person to person but an overdose of vitamin D can be anytime dangerous.
Symptoms and Health Hazards
One obtains natural vitamin D from the solar source and natural food supplements, which help in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus substance in the body and the recommended daily dosage of 400IU Vitamin D for infants and children up to 18 years is sufficient.
An overdose of vitamin D for pregnant women can prove to be dangerous to the foetus or lead to birth defects. Patients with the medical condition of Vitamin D deficiency are recommended large doses of the nutrient and if the dosage level crosses 75000IU in adults and 2000IU in the children for prolonged period, they may develop Hypervitaminosis D. The other symptoms that arise with Vitamin D overdose include hypocalcemia or hypercalcemia, weakness in the muscles, irregularity in the heartbeat and Proteinuria.
Another dangerous effect of Vitamin D overdose is fat metabolism and an increased level of plasma cholesterol among adults who are consuming heavy dose of the nutrient over a long period of time. Some of the common symptoms of Vitamin D overdose are nausea, high blood pressure, skin irritation, pain in the bones and diarrhoea.
How to deal with Vitamin D overdose?
If you suspect any overdose of vitamin D or notice any of the above-mentioned symptoms it is recommended to stop the usage of the nutrient not at once but gradually reduce the dosage because a sudden stop may lead to further complications. And in case of specific medical condition it is advisable to consume Vitamin D under medical supervision and take prescribed dose to avoid an overdose of the same. Natural sources of Vitamin D are a safer option than the tablets or the pills that are available in the market and also be aware of the dangerous repercussions of the vitamin D overdose. Last but not the least- precaution is always better than cure.
July 10th, 2009 at 1:16 am
I don’t know where you get your facts, but the latest research on Vitamin D says that 400 i.u.s a day is WAY TOO LOW. The average adult needs around 5000 i.u.s a day. A simple blood test (done at any Labcorp)called a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test can check for blood levels. The average person does not get the twenty to thirty minutes of skin exposure (without sunscreen) that the body needs to optimize D levels. People in the Northern states need more exposure to the sun than that. People with certain health conditions, like breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer (or people who are in a high-risk group for these) should be getting even more D than 5000 i.u.s. Check your facts, please, and only give us what the latest research says.