It’s important to get the recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals. Overdoing it can have negative consequences and lead to health problems such as liver damage, calcium deficiency, and more. So which vitamins are a risk of overdoing it with? What are the side effects of taking too many vitamins? Read below to know the side effects of taking too much of a certain vitamin.
Vitamin K
Vitamin K is important in forming proteins to help with blood clotting. However, overdoing it can cause issues with blood thinning. This makes bleeding disorders worse because your body won’t clot properly.
Keep in mind that there are no actual symptoms when one takes too much vitamin K since it doesn’t become toxic until around 10,000 mcg/day orally ingested. So you may not realize you are taking too much vitamin K, but if you have any signs of anemia or bruising more often than usual, that could be a sign to stop consuming as much vitamin K.
Vitamin B2
Riboflavin is also known as vitamin B2. It helps the body convert carbohydrates into energy, which is very important for the respiratory system to work properly. However, too much riboflavin can cause a skin reaction called “burning feet syndrome.” This happens when your feet are itching and red all the time. The pain can get worse at night, so do not take vitamin B2 before bedtime because you may end up spending the whole night scratching your feet. Other symptoms include fatigue, anemia, light sensitivity, dry eyes, stomatitis, dermatitis around hair follicles on the face or scalp.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is rare in food sources. Most people get their daily dose from sunlight. It helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus, establishing strong bones to prevent fractures later in life. However, too much vitamin D can cause hypercalcemia, which can lead to kidney stones or calcification of the kidneys.
Also, when your body has too much Vitamin D, it will be harder to get vitamin A since they are stored together in your liver. This causes an increased chance of congenital disabilities if you are pregnant because it will interfere with fetal development. Pregnant women should not take more than ten micrograms of vitamin D a day, and people should not take more than 4,000 IU/day.
Vitamin A
Beta-carotene is also called vitamin A. It helps the body develop and maintain healthy teeth and gums, skin, bones, and blood vessels. An excess intake can lead to dry eyes and an increased risk for infection and liver disease or congenital disabilities if you are pregnant.
Remember that beta-carotene found naturally in food like carrots and spinach does not cause any problems because it comes with Vitamin C to control the conversion process. It is hard to overdose on beta carotene because your body stops converting it once it reaches a certain point.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is important for wound healing and helps in collagen formation, which makes skin, tendons, ligaments, blood vessels, and scar tissue. An overdose of vitamin C will not harm you if it’s taken once in a while because there are no toxic effects when your body can’t absorb all of it. However, when your kidneys reach their limit of vitamin C absorption, they let go of all the excess into your urine, leading to kidney stones or gout when too much calcium builds up in the urinary tract.
Furthermore, excessive amounts of vitamin C can also affect your body’s ability to absorb iron from food sources. It will bind the non-heme iron found in plant sources and the vitamin C to form a complex called iron ascorbate, which won’t get absorbed by your intestines. This is why it’s important to avoid taking high doses of vitamin C while eating foods rich in iron, such as beans, nuts, seeds, dark leafy greens like spinach and kale, beef liver, and other organ meats.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E helps protect cells against damage that can lead to heart disease or cancer. However, people who take prescription blood thinners should not take vitamin E supplements. It will interfere with the drug’s function and cause bleeding problems because these thinners are taken to stop the formation of clots in your blood vessels.
People who have chronic diseases such as a history of heart attack or stroke, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus type 2, liver disease, HIV/AIDS, rheumatoid arthritis, or sickle cell anemia need to be careful with taking vitamin E as well. That is because it increases their risk for bleeding by interfering with platelet aggregation. This is why you need to talk to your doctor before taking vitamins or supplements.
Conclusion
Before taking any vitamin or supplement, make sure you discuss it with your doctor to avoid any potential problems. Remember that the food we eat contains many different vitamins and minerals that work together in our bodies. There’s no need to take more than what is recommended. So stay on the safe side by avoiding high doses of one single vitamin at a time!
