People Are Unknowingly Overdosing On This Vitamin

According to some new findings, too much Vitamin-D may be a very bad thing.

Vitamin D has often been the vitamin that doctors say we need more of. Usually people produce it naturally after being in the sun, but for many people, their bodies still don’t have enough of it and opt to take supplements.

Britain’s leading testing laboratory has said that hundreds of people in the UK are regularly taking toxic overdoses of the vitamin in supplements they had bought online.

NHS lab said that pills containing up to 2,250 times the recommended dose of vitamin D are putting people at risk of heart and kidney problems. The lab says it sees two to three overdose cases every week.

A deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to depression and fatigue while absorbing too much of it can lead to high blood pressure and nausea as it can cause the body to absorb a dangerous amount of calcium.

Dr Jonathan Berg, who runs City Assays lab, told The Times: “We do a lot of vitamin D tests for the public, some of whom are taking huge amounts of vitamin D from the internet.

“We’re phoning people two or three times a week saying, ‘Your vitamin D is way higher than it should be. We suggest you come off whatever you’re taking and see your GP.’ We’ve picked up hundreds of people who are overdosing themselves on vitamin D.”

The fear of not getting enough vitamin D has led people to buying supplements online, some in liquid form that can contain up to 22,500 micrograms of the vitamin. Taking this regularly is not good for the body.

Average daily recommended amounts from the Food and Nutrition Board (a national group of experts) for different ages are listed below in International Units (IU):

Life Stage Recommended Amount
Birth to 12 months 400 IU
Children 1–13 years 600 IU
Teens 14–18 years 600 IU
Adults 19–70 years 600 IU
Adults 71 years and older 800 IU
Pregnant and breastfeeding women 600 IU