Vitamins are essential nutrients that keep the body healthy, but it is possible to have too much of a good thing. Taking an excessive amount of any vitamin can cause serious health problems, a condition generally referred to as hypervitaminosis, or vitamin toxicity. And it is easy to move towards vitamin toxicity through overuse of supplement medication or too much of certain diet.
Misusing vitamin supplements can be very dangerous while the right amounts are important to maintain a healthy brain, bones, skin, and blood. And while vitamins are important, many vitamins are not produced by the body and must be obtained through food or vitamin supplements. They include Vitamins A, B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6, B7 (biotin), B9 (folate, folic acid), B12 (cobalamin), C (ascorbic acid), D (calciferol), E (alpha-tocopherol), K (phylloquinone, menadione) and they are categorized as fat- soluble or water-soluble vitamins.
What determines the danger of overdosing is whether a vitamin is fat- or water-soluble. Water-soluble vitamins are used by the body as they are digested and are not usually absorbed in any body tissues for a long period of time and all essential vitamins are water-soluble except for vitamins A, D, E and K. These four are fat-soluble, meaning the body can keep them stored within fat deposits for long-term use.
Due to the way vitamins are absorbed and used by the body, some vitamins pose a lower risk of a onetime toxic dose. They only cause health problems when taken in high doses continuously for many days or in very extreme doses, usually from misuse of supplements. Fat-soluble vitamins are taken up by the body quickly and can pose immediate health risks when taken in moderate-to-extreme doses.
Vitamin A toxicity commonly affects the skin, causing reddening, irritation, and patchy peeling. Chronic, excessive supplement use may lead to more severe symptoms, including pressure changes in the skull (intracranial hypertension), vision changes, nausea, dizziness, bone pain, migraine, coma and death.
Most of the B vitamins are important for metabolism. It’s linked to skin, hair, brain, and muscle health and with the exception of vitamins B3 and B6, the likelihood of significant vitamin toxicity with their overuse is low.
Vitamin B1 is not known to be toxic in high doses; B2 has not been shown to be toxic in high doses. If you’re pregnant, avoid taking too much vitamin B3 since it can cause birth defects. B3should not be taken if you have gout as it can increase uric acid levels. And when used in combination with statins, there is a higher risk of myopathy, diseases affecting the muscles controlling voluntary body movements, and rhabdomyolysis, a serious medical condition occurring when damaged muscle tissue releases chemicals into the blood. B3 may also worsen peptic ulcer disease.
Vitamin B5 has not been shown to be toxic in high doses, but in extreme doses may cause diarrhea. Taking too much Vitamin B6 may cause loss of coordination, skin lesions, and disrupted digestion. Vitamin C is not normally considered toxic, but large doses of 2,000 mg per day can affect digestion, causing diarrhea, cramps, and nausea.
Taking excessive vitamin D supplements daily puts you at risk of kidney stones, nausea, recurrent vomiting, constipation, excessive thirst, excessive urination, confusion and weight loss as well as cancer, heart problems and an increased risk of bone fractures.
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