Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Check out this answer from Consensus:
Vitamin D is essential for maintaining bone health and may offer additional health benefits. However, excessive intake can lead to risks such as hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria. While doses up to 10,000 IU per day may be safe for most individuals, it is crucial to monitor calcium levels and consult healthcare providers before taking high doses of vitamin D supplements. More research is needed to establish the optimal dosage for various health outcomes and to ensure the safety of long-term high-dose supplementation.
Vitamin D is essential for maintaining healthy bones and supporting the immune system. However, there is ongoing debate about the optimal dosage and the potential risks of excessive intake. This article explores the current understanding of vitamin D supplementation, its benefits, and the risks associated with high doses.
Recommended Intake of Vitamin D
The recommended daily intake of vitamin D varies by age and health status. According to the US Institute of Medicine (IOM), adults should consume 15 micrograms (600 IU) per day, with older adults requiring up to 20 micrograms (800 IU) per day to maintain bone health1. In contrast, the UK has no specific daily intake recommendation for adults aged 19-64, although pregnant women are advised to take 10 micrograms (400 IU) per day1.
Benefits of Vitamin D
Vitamin D is well-known for its role in bone health, but emerging evidence suggests it may also be beneficial for other health conditions. Hypovitaminosis D, or vitamin D deficiency, has been linked to various non-bone-related health issues, including multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and certain infections1. There is also mechanistic evidence showing that activated vitamin D can have protective effects against these diseases1. However, more randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are needed to establish causality and determine the optimal dosage for these benefits1.
Risks of Excessive Vitamin D Intake
While vitamin D is crucial for health, excessive intake can lead to toxicity. The IOM has set the tolerable upper intake level (UL) for vitamin D at 50 micrograms (2000 IU) per day, which is considered safe for the general population2. However, some studies suggest that higher doses, up to 250 micrograms (10,000 IU) per day, may also be safe for most individuals2.
Hypercalcemia and Hypercalciuria
One of the primary risks of excessive vitamin D intake is hypercalcemia, a condition characterized by elevated calcium levels in the blood. This can lead to various symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, weakness, and kidney problems. A study found that long-term high-dose vitamin D supplementation did not significantly increase the risk of total adverse events or kidney stones but did show a trend towards increased hypercalcemia3. Another study reported that mild hypercalcemia occurred in a small percentage of participants taking high doses of vitamin D, but the condition was transient and resolved on its own4.
Hypercalciuria, or elevated calcium levels in the urine, is another potential risk. It was found to be more common with higher doses of vitamin D, although it did not lead to significant adverse events in the study participants4.
Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Daniel McFarland has answered Near Certain
An expert from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Psychiatry, Oncology
Yes! It is a fat soluble vitamin which can be remembered by K-A-D-E: those are the fat soluble vitamins which if taken too excess become stored in fat and cause toxicity-the most famous example is with Vitamin A. Water soluble vitamins are pee’d out so you can’t take too much of those (vitamin C, riboflavin…)
Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Vanessa Meyer has answered Near Certain
An expert from The University of the Witwatersrand in Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Immunogenetics
Yes, you can obtain too much vitamin D through oral supplementation and your diet. If you are unsure about your vitamin D status, consult your healthcare provider and establish your status via a laboratory test.
Interestingly, natural synthesis of vitamin D through brief exposure to the sun, will not result in too much vitamin D production. This is because your body will naturally counteract excessive production. Thus, a couple of minutes (~5-10 min depending on skin type) in the sun is the best option for maintaining a healthy vitamin D status for people who have no medical need to supplement. However, too much sun-exposure do pose other risks, so be sure not to overdo it.
Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Claire Hastie has answered Near Certain
An expert from University of Glasgow in Public Health, Cardiovascular Disease, Data Science
Yes. Taking too much vitamin D can result in vitamin D toxicity. It is important to follow clinical guidelines on supplementation. The NHS recommends that all adults and children over four years take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day during autumn and winter, and furthermore that people at risk of deficiency (e.g. those who have darker skin or are not often outdoors) do so all year. This also applies, of course, to people who have been shielding indoors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6158375/
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/
Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Reinhold Vieth has answered Near Certain
An expert from University of Toronto in Nutrition, Vitamins
YES BUT… can you think of anything at all that will not hurt you if you take too much of it? Consider water, calories, salt, iron, other vitamins, sunshine, proteins or fats. Too much of anything that actually does something in the body will be harmful if taken in excess. If something is absolutely safe, then it is probably not good for anything.
Full exposure of an adult’s skin surface to summer sunshine can generate the equivalent of 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day. And there is no evidence that that sunshine has ever caused harm, other than burning the skin, and increasing risk of skin cancer. Bear that in mind, a daily oral intake of vitamin D3 up to 4,000 IU per day has not been shown as harmful. Inhabitants of Sub-Saharan Africa who live a traditional lifestyle, have average blood test results for vitamin D nutrition (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D) averaging over 40 ng/mL (or over 100 nmol/L), which match the values obtained with the long-term daily intake of 4,000 IU by mouth.
Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Karin Amrein has answered Near Certain
An expert from Medical University of Graz, Austria in Vitamins, Medicine
Yes, definitely, especially when using medications from companies without proper quality control. Sometimes, manufacturing errors lead to massively overdosed products. We know that prolonged daily dosing > 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 can lead to intoxication.
Rarely, underlying vitamin D hypersensitivitiy (i.e. mutations in the vitamin D metabolizing enzymes) can lead to endogenous vitamin D intoxication with low doses or even without vitamin D supplements.
Can you take too much Vitamin D?
Nipith Charoenngam has answered Near Certain
An expert from Mahidol University in Medicine
Taking up to 10,000 IUs per day of vitamin D is completely safe. Too much vitamin D above this dose may lead to serious health consequences as it causes increased blood calcium and phosphate and increased urine calcium. Signs and symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include increased urination, nausea, vomiting, kidney stone, constipation, confusion and calcification of soft tissues.