Can You Take Too Many Vitamins?

can you take too many vitamins

Can you take too many vitamins to the point that it becomes harmful? We’ve got the details on this subject.

If you have wondered “can you take too many vitamins at once?” To find out if there is a dose that could be harmful for you, you may want to stick around to learn the truth behind the myth, plus learn what dosage is actually helpful for your particular case.

One of the most common questions patients ask to their doctors is how many vitamins can you take a day, and if they can combine them with any other medication they may be taking. Truth is, as cliche as it sounds, in the case of vitamins less is actually more.

Because we live in times where staying healthy and being fit is all the hype, many of us use multi-vitamin supplements to support our diets, the way we exercise and even as a form of alternative medicine, one to be considered more natural and less harmful.

While many of these natural supplements are actually helpful in doing that, when wondering can you take too many vitamins, the answer is actually yes, there is such a thing as taking too much or a larger dose than necessary.

How many vitamins can you take a day will always depend on your needs. This is why it is important to start taking your supplements after you have a thorough consultation with your doctor or specialist.

Even in the case of kids, the matter of “can you eat too many gummy vitamins?” becomes a serious matter if you exceed the dosage. This is because we are already consuming a significant amount of vitamins and minerals through our food.

Our desire to be healthy and to keep our health in check, has made us pay more attention to what we put in our bodies, thus affecting how we eat. In many cases, we’ve increased our amount of protein, started our days with a green smoothie, or doubled the dose of fruits and veggies during our day.

All these are good and natural ways to obtain the amount of vitamins we need for our daily performance. Taking supplements is considered necessary whenever there is a deficiency or we are having trouble absorbing a particular type of vitamin.

Taking a basic multivitamin supplement on a daily basis, for example, is something that will not necessary cause any damage or be in any way harmful. Taking that multivitamin in addition to a serving of fortified cereal, enriched pasta or a power bar throughout the day can easily put you over the recommended dose for a healthy adult.

For this reason, doctors and specialists recommend sticking to the advised dosage, in order to maintain healthy levels of these components and avoid any complications that may arise from the excess.

For example, certain situations that you may find when there is an excess of certain vitamins in your body, include:

  • Vitamin A: dizziness, headaches and nausea; in very extreme cases this could lead to coma and even death;
  • Vitamin D: nausea, vomiting, constipation, kidney damage;
  • Vitamin B: nerve damage, irregular patches on skin, sensitivity to light;
  • Niacin: increase on sugar blood levels, peptic ulcers, liver damage;
  • Selenium: hair loss, gastrointestinal irregularities, nerve damage.

These are just some of the outcomes when someone decides to take abnormal dosages of vitamins.

In the case of kids who wonder “can you eat too many gummy vitamins?” parents should be aware that, in addition to having lower amounts of vitamins and minerals than their “chalky” counterparts, these sweet supplements contain a high amount of sugar, preservatives and artificial coloring.

Another risk of excess of vitamins resides on the fact that the majority of them are not water-soluble; meaning that our bodies do not flush out the extra amounts when we sweat or through the urine.

Paying a visit to your doctor to get a thorough exam should be the first step before you start a supplement. Knowing what you really need and sticking to the recommend dose will ensure that you avoid any plausible risk that may come from taking too many vitamins.

Sources:

https://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/effects-of-taking-too-many-vitamins#1

https://www.medicaldaily.com/vitamin-overdose-taking-too-many-vitamins-can-be-bad-your-health-how-many-would-it-315426

https://www.health.com/nutrition/too-many-vitamins

https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/consuming-many-vitamins-3408.html

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