Can You Overdose On Vitamins?

[Julieanne]

Jillian Kubala
January 20 2020

Taking vitamins is part of the daily routine of millions of people worldwide.
Though directions for safe dosing are listed on most supplement bottles, it’s common practice to take more than what’s recommended.
Consumers are bombarded with health information telling them that taking high doses of certain vitamins can benefit their health in many ways. However, taking too much of some nutrients can be dangerous.


Read more: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition...se-on-vitamins

[grulla]

When discussing vitamins, I always like to hear the distinction of minimal lifestyle doses VS remedial doses.

[Islander]

Articles like this can be helpful but some of the dosages and upper limits in their chart are laughable. The RDA for vitamin C is barely enough to prevent scurvy, for instance, and the UL for vitamin D is significantly lower than recommended by experts. The "toxic" effect of an overdose of vitamin C is diarrhea, a pretty clear indication that you need to cut back. They omitted any mention of Benfotiamine, the fat soluble form of vitamin B-1. And just FTR, a bite or two of polar bear liver contains enough vitamin A to be fatal to a human being… Just in case you ever have the opportunity. (You can never be too careful)!

[Mr. Wizard]

"Overdose" is a relative term. A woman taking 3 grams of vitamin C each day may be fine, but a man predisposed to kidney stones would be ill advised to take this much since excess vit. C is excreted as oxalate. Vitamin supplementation is very individualized, and a number of variables should be considered before supplementing, like overall diet, health conditions, pharmaceutical medications being taken, age, and type of vitamins. Fat soluble vits. (A, E, D, & K) are stored in the liver, while water soluble vits., like C and B complex, are not stored and soon excreted by the kidneys. So, it's easier to "overdose" on fat soluble vits. than water soluble.

[Maurya]

In addition, many seeming overdoses could be traced to an imbalance among various different nutrients which must be maintained within a reasonable balance, rather than to an actual excess of any one of them. Many articles in our Hawkes Health forum refer to these balances.

[Pattypans]

Mr. Wiz, are men more prone than women to kidney stones?

[Mr. Wizard]

Yes, Pattypans...men are slightly more prone to develop kidney stones than women. And, men and women--generally--form different types of stones. Men tend to develop calcium oxalate stones, while women tend more toward calcium phosphate stones. The research on the cause of stones is "variable," but it appears that stones are largely driven by diet. For example, some of the research concludes that men "generally" have poorer diets than women, loaded with salt and protein and lack of fluid. The lack of fluid allows the salt and waste products from breakdown of protein to concentrate and crystallize into stones. Women, on the other hand, tend to drink more fluids, and have a higher quality diet, with less salt. Other research shows that certain genes are at play too. Again, the exact cause is unclear and probably differs from person to person, but a diet high in protein, oxalates, salt, and lacking ample fluids increases one's chances.