Vitamin D plays essential roles in your body, such as regulating immune function, inflammation, and mood. But taking too much vitamin D in the form of supplements can cause toxic levels of vitamin D to build up in your body, leading to serious side effects.<\/p>\n
Vitamin D toxicity typically develops gradually, and symptoms can take months to develop.\n<\/p>\n
Some of the most common signs of vitamin D toxicity are:\n<\/p>\n
Nausea and vomiting
Loss of appetite
Constipation
Excessive thirst and frequent urination
Weakness or fatigueBone pain
Confusion or disorientation<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first signs of too much vitamin D often look like stomach trouble, including nausea<\/a>, vomiting, and constipation,\u201d Benjamin Barlow, MD<\/a>, chief medical officer of American Family Care, told Health.\n<\/p>\n With time, symptoms can worsen.\n<\/p>\n Severe complications can include:\n<\/p>\n Kidney damage or kidney stones The medical term for vitamin D toxicity is hypervitaminosis D. This condition occurs when excessive vitamin D builds up in the body, causing dangerously high calcium levels<\/a> (hypercalcemia).\n<\/p>\n Vitamin D toxicity is rare and is almost always caused by taking excessively high doses of supplements, not from food or sun exposure<\/a>. The body naturally regulates how much vitamin D it makes from the sun, and most food sources don\u2019t contain enough vitamin D to become an issue, even if consumed in large portions.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere are rare genetic causes of vitamin D toxicity, but I have never seen a case of vitamin D toxicity linked to foods naturally rich in vitamin D. Vitamin D toxicity is almost always from consuming too many vitamin D supplements,\u201d Neil Patel, MD<\/a>, internal medicine specialist with Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Orange County, California, told Health.<\/p>\n The Safe Upper Limit <\/p>\n The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has set a tolerable upper intake level (the highest daily dose unlikely to cause adverse effects) for vitamin D at 4,000 IU (100 micrograms) per day.<\/p>\n Research shows that vitamin D toxicity can occur with prolonged daily intake above 10,000 IU, though the exact threshold can vary between individuals.\n<\/p>\n Vitamin D toxicity is preventable and starts with smart supplement habits.\u00a0Here\u2019s how to stay safe:\n<\/p>\n
Irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias)
Bone pain and calcium deposits in soft tissues
Severe dehydration
In rare cases, death<\/p>\n