Vitamin D Overdose “Toxicity”, Causes, Symptoms And Side Effects! 

Vitamin D toxicity, also called hypervitaminosis D, is a rare but potentially serious condition that occurs when you have excessive amounts of vitamin D in your body. Vitamin D toxicity is usually caused by megadoses of vitamin D supplements, not by diet or sun exposure. That’s because your body regulates the amount of vitamin D produced by sun exposure, and even fortified foods don’t contain large amounts of vitamin D. toxicity

Vitamin D,

plays an important role in protecting your bones and your body requires them to absorb calcium. Children need vitamin D to build strong bones, and adults need it to keep their bones strong and healthy. If you don’t get enough vitamin D, you may lose bone, have lower bone density, and more likely to break bones as you age.

1. What is Vitamin D and What Does it Do?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, food, and supplements are biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation. The:

• First occurs in the liver and converts vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], also known as calcidiol.
• Second occurs primarily in the kidney and forms the physiologically active 1,25-dihydroxy vitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], also known as calcitriol.

 

Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. Many genes encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are modulated in part by vitamin D. Many cells have vitamin D receptors, and some convert 25 (OH)D to 1,25 (OH)2D.

2. How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

The amount of  Vitamin D you need every day depends on your age and sex.

MEN And WOMEN:

• Underage 50 (400 – 800) international units (IU) daily.
• Age 50 and older – (800 -1,000) IU daily.

 

Different organizations recommend different daily intakes. Here are the recommendations from some organizations in the United States:

Recommended daily intakes from various organizations:

	Vitamin D Council	Endocrine Society	Food and Nutrition Board
Infants	1,000 IU/day	400-1,000 IU/day	400 IU/day
Children	1,000 IU/day per 25lbs of body weight	600-1,000 IU/day	600 IU/day
Adults	5,000 IU/day	1,500-2,000 IU/day	600 IU/day, 800 IU/day for seniors

3. Sources of Vitamin D:

Some people need more vitamin D. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the safe upper limit of vitamin D is 4,000 IU per day for most adults. Toxicity  

There are three ways to get vitamin D:

• Sunlight.
• Food.
• Supplements.

 

I. Sunlight: XXX

• Your skin makes vitamin D from the ultra-violet light (UVB rays) in sunlight.
• Your body is able to store the vitamin and use it later.
• The amount of vitamin D your skin makes depends on the time of day, season, latitude, skin pigmentation, and other factors.
• Depending on where you live, vitamin D production may decrease or be completely absent during the winter.

Because of concerns about skin cancer,

many people stay out of the sun, cover up with clothing and use either sunscreen or sunblock to protect their skin. The use of sunscreen or sunblock is probably the most important factor that limits the ability of the skin to make vitamin D.

Even an SPF (sun protection factor) of 8 reduces the production of vitamin D by 95 percent. Because of the cancer risk from the sun, most people need to get vitamin D from other sources, including eating foods rich in vitamin D and taking vitamin D supplements.

How many minutes of sunshine would you need during a summer day around noon?

There are a number of factors that affect how much vitamin D your body produces when your skin is exposed to sunlight.  These include the time of year and time of day, where you live in the world, and the type of skin you have. Toxicity Toxicity

The amount of vitamin D you get from exposing your bare skin to the sun depends on:

• The time of day – your skin produces more vitamin D if you expose it during the middle of the day.
• Where you live – the closer to the equator you live, the easier it is for you to produce vitamin D from sunlight all year round.
• The color of your skin – pale skin makes vitamin D more quickly than darker skin.
• The amount of skin you expose – the more skin you expose the more vitamin D your body will produce.

The time of year and time of day,

When the sun’s rays enter the Earth’s atmosphere at too much of an angle, the atmosphere blocks the UVB part of the rays, so your skin can’t produce vitamin D. This happens during the early and later parts of the day and during most of the day during the winter season.

The closer to midday you expose your skin,

the better this angle and the more vitamin D is produced. A good rule of thumb is if your shadow is longer than you are tall, you’re not making much vitamin D. In winter, you’ll notice that your shadow is longer than you for most of the day, while in summer, your shadow is much shorter for a good part of the middle of the day.

II. Food: 

Vitamin D is naturally available in only a few foods, including fatty fish like wild-caught mackerel, salmon, and tuna. Vitamin D is also added to milk and to some brands of other dairy products, orange juice, soymilk, and cereals. Check the food label to see if vitamin D has been added to a particular product. One eight-ounce serving of milk usually has 25% of the daily value (DV) of vitamin D.

The DV is based on a total daily intake of 400 IU of vitamin D. So, a serving of milk with 25% of the DV of vitamin D contains 100 IU of the vitamin. It is very difficult to get all the vitamin D you need from food alone. Most people need to take vitamin D supplements to get enough of the nutrient needed for bone health.  Toxicity

III. Supplements:

If you aren’t getting enough vitamin D from sunlight and food, consider taking a supplement. But, before adding a vitamin D supplement, check to see if any of the other supplements, multivitamins or medications you take contain vitamin D. Many calcium supplements also contain vitamin D.

There are two types of vitamin D supplements: 

• They are vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Both types are good for bone health.
• Vitamin D supplements can be taken with or without food.
• While your body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium, you do not need to take vitamin D at the same time as a calcium supplement.
• If you need help choosing a vitamin D supplement, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist to recommend one.

4. How Much Vitamin D Should You Supplement? 

To figure out how much vitamin D you need from a supplement, subtract the total amount of vitamin D you get each day from the recommended total daily amount for your age.

For example:

a 55-year-old woman who gets 400 IU of vitamin D from her calcium supplement should take between 400 and 600 additional IU of vitamin D to meet the 800 – 1,000 IU recommended for her age.

VITAMIN D DOSE RECOMMENDATIONS 

AGE		DOSAGE
Below 5		35 Units per pound per day
Age 5-10		2500 Units
Adults		5000 Units
Pregnant Women		5000 Units
Warning: There’s no way to know if the above recommendations are correct. The ONLY WAY to know to test your blood. you might need a significantly higher amount than what is recommended above. Ideally, your blood level of 25 OH  D should be 50 – 60 ng/ml.

5. Vitamin D Deficiency Are You at Risk?

Vitamin D deficiency occurs when you are not getting the recommended level of vitamin D over time. Certain people are at higher risk for vitamin D deficiency, including:

People,

•  Who spend little time in the sun or those who regularly cover up when outdoors.
• Living in nursing homes or other institutions or who are homebound.
• With certain medical conditions such as Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
• Taking medicines that affect vitamin D levels such as certain anti-seizure medicines.
• With very dark skin.
• Obese or very overweight people.
• and Older adults with certain risk factors.

 

6. Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency:

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include:

• Getting sick or infected more often.
• Fatigue.
• Painful bones and back.
• Depressed mood.
• Impaired wound healing.
• Hair loss.
• Muscle pain.
• obesity.
• diabetes.
• hypertension.
• depression.
• fibromyalgia.
• chronic fatigue syndrome.
• osteoporosis.
• neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.

 

7.  What are The Symptoms of “Toxicity”?

You have to understand that the toxic levels of vitamin D in the blood cannot be reached through long sunlight exposure or consumption of foods rich in vitamin D. This can happen if there is an abuse of D supplements. When we get vitamin D from the sunlight, our body takes the amount it really needs. This means that when an optimal amount of vitamin D is produced the production stops disregarding the exposure to sunlight afterward.

On the other side, when we get vitamin D from food, the levels of vitamin D are too low to cause an overdose. As we said, the only method to experience D overdose is to take huge amounts of vitamin D supplements.

Excessive amounts of vitamin D in the body can cause calcium levels in the blood to rise. This can lead to a condition called hypercalcemia (too much calcium in your blood). So let’s see what are the signs and symptoms of overdose.

Symptoms include: 

• Fatigue.
• Loss of appetite.
• Weight loss.
• Excessive thirst.
• Excessive urination.
• Dehydration.
• Constipation.
• Irritability, nervousness.
• Ringing in the ear (tinnitus).
• Muscle weakness.
• Nausea, vomiting.
• Dizziness.
• Confusion, disorientation.
• High blood pressure.
• Heart arrhythmias.

Long-term complications of untreated Toxicity include:

• kidney stones.
• kidney damage.
• kidney failure.
• excess bone loss.
• calcification (hardening) or arteries and soft tissues.

8. Causes of Vitamin D Overdose? 

A. Sun Exposure, Foods, and Supplements:

• Vitamin D overdose happens most often when someone gets plenty of sun exposure.
• Enjoy foods that contain high amounts of Vitamin D.
• and exceeds the recommended dosage with Vitamin D supplements.

 

If you’re taking a quality multivitamin and getting enough sunshine,

• You may not need to take additional vitamins at all.
• Doubling up on supplements of any kind may lead to problems, particularly with vitamins that are stored in the body.
• In healthy adults, taking more than 40,000 IU of Vitamin D can cause toxicity after several months.

B. Fat-Soluble Vitamins:

Vitamin D is one of the fat-soluble vitamins, along with Vitamin A, E, and K. This means it will dissolve in fat but not water. Once your body absorbs Vitamin D, it stores it in your liver and your fatty tissues. Fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in your body for up to six months.

C. Taking liquid Vitamin D supplements:

Although there’s no established threshold for Vitamin D overdose, the upper intake level is generally agreed to be about 4,000 IU per day for most people, from pre-teens to adults. If you’re taking liquid Vitamin D supplements, be sure the dropper is clearly marked so you can get the proper dosage and avoid unwanted Vitamin D side effects.

Vitamin D overdose, 

Causes something called hypercalcemia, or too much calcium in the blood, If hypercalcemia is not treated, it results in excess deposits of calcium in soft tissues and organs such as the kidneys, liver, stomach, lungs, and heart, causing pain and even organ damage.

Taking excessive amounts of Vitamin D can result in side effects commonly beginning with a loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting.

These are often followed by itching, weakness, insomnia, nervousness, general depression, excessive urination, excessive thirst, and in extreme cases, renal failure. Other symptoms of Vitamin D overdose include abnormal bone growth, diarrhea, irritability, weight loss, and severe depression.

Conclusion:

If you have been experiencing vitamin D toxicity, the first logical step would be to stop taking vitamin D supplements. After that you should consult your doctor and depending on the symptoms, he will advise the next steps. In order to avoid vitamin D overdose you should take care when taking vitamin supplements, and you shouldn’t take them on your own.

Their use is recommended if you cannot get enough Sun because of work or some other factors. So, in order to be safe and avoid vitamin D deficiency or overdose, you should test the levels of vitamin D in your blood from time to time. In this way, you will do everything to maintain your levels of vitamin D, and it will help you to stay clear from the risk of some specific diseases connected with vitamin D deficiency or overdose.

Vitamin D will help you improve your immune system and also help you overcome typical bacterial infections such as cold, and equally important viruses, which might be common throughout the winter months.

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Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment for any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”

Sources:

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