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Some two-thirds of Americans<\/a> don\u2019t get enough bone-strengthening vitamin D<\/a>. That\u2019s especially true during the cold and dark winter months when people are deprived of the vitamin D provided by the sun\u2019s warming rays. <\/p>\n Vitamin D deficiency can lead to osteomalacia<\/a>, a rare bone disorder that causes bone pain and muscle weakness. But taking too much vitamin D can also be a major problem, resulting in similar symptoms, and sometimes a rare and toxic blood condition.<\/p>\n Hypercalcemia is caused by higher-than-normal levels of the bone-strengthening mineral calcium in the blood that can lead to kidney failure, an abnormal heartbeat and even coma.<\/p>\n \u201cHypercalcemia can cause upset stomach and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination,\u201d the Mayo Clinic explains<\/a>. \u201cIt also can lead to bone pain and kidney troubles such as kidney stones.\u201d<\/p>\n Fatigue, bone pain, nausea, constipation, depression, forgetfulness, a decrease in appetite, muscle aches and cramping and more frequent thirst are common symptoms of hypercalcemia.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Snow and rain falls as people visit a dark and stormy New York City\u2019s Times Square in January 2024. Many people take vitamin D supplements during the cold and dark winter months, but taking too much can cause serious health issues (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Severe cases may require hospitalization, according to the Cleveland Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some doctors may prescribe steroids that work to reduce calcium levels. Checking blood calcium levels using blood tests can tell doctors if you have hypercalcemia.<\/p>\n A mild reading would be 10.5 to 11.9 milligrams of calcium per deciliter, while levels between 14 and 16 milligrams of calcium per deciliter would signal a medical emergency.<\/p>\n Hypercalcemia impacts 1-2 percent of the general population, according to the Cleveland Clinic, but it can affect anyone, at any age. <\/p>\n Not all cases can be prevented but people should avoid excess calcium pills. No one should take more than 4,000 international units of vitamin D per day, the Cleveland Clinic advises. This standardized unit of measurement is used for vitamins that can be dissolved in fats or oils, such as vitamins A and D.<\/p>\n Vitamin D pills sold online contain between 1,000 and 5,000 international units and are not approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration<\/a>.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n The majority of Americans don\u2019t get enough bone-strengthening vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency can also come with dangerous health consequences, including a bone disorder (Getty Images\/iStock)<\/p>\n Before seventy, most people only need 600 international units a day to get enough vitamin D.<\/p>\n Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Salmon and other fatty fish<\/a> are the exception, with 3.5 ounces of wild caught salmon providing between 600 and 1,000 units, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine<\/a>. Egg yolks have around 20 international units and shiitake mushrooms contain 100 international units per 3.5 ounces.<\/p>\n Some milk, orange juice, yogurt, butter, cheese and breakfast cereal have vitamin D that\u2019s been added in. People should check their labels.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not likely to get vitamin D toxicity from eating foods with vitamin D, according to the Mayo Clinic.<\/p>\n \u201cExperts also don’t think you can get vitamin D toxicity from sun exposure. The skin makes vitamin D in response to the sun’s rays. But the body controls the amount of vitamin D made this way,\u201d the clinic says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer lifeLive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371706,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,137,532],"class_list":{"0":"post-371705","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-nutrition"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371705\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Snow](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1766697973_846_GettyImages-1905673406.jpeg\")
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