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Isn’t Vitamin D Toxic?

Vitamin D has been in the media a lot lately with claims that it can help everything from multiple sclerosis to osteoporosis. Yet, there are still those who believe vitamin D is toxic.

Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that has a very important role in regulating body levels of calcium and phosphorus and in mineralization of bone.

While vitamin D toxicity is possible, it is rare. Vitamin D supplements have eliminated many health concerns like rickets, but they have also made artificially induced vitamin D toxicity possible.

Large doses of vitamin D are toxic and symptoms include weakness, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst and weight loss. Limit your intake of vitamin D to less than 2,000 IU per day from both diet and supplements:

“While vitamin D can be toxic in high doses, concerns about toxicity appear to be way overdone, and yet those in charge of such things continue to cling to the old ways. (Virtually all cases of D toxicity in the literature are either industrial accidents, such as the massive overfortification of milk, overdoses upon the failure to follow directions on supplement bottles, or in one case the use of vitamin D concentrate as cooking oil.)” (From Mangan’s Miscellany)

Don’t let the very rare, toxicity of vitamin D scare you off from this important supplement. With research showing that those of us in cloudy or cool climes not getting enough vitamin D from sun exposure, it is important to consider supplementation. Clinical research has connected vitamin D importance to prevention of:

Type 1 diabetes

Heart Disease

Osteoporosis

Cancer-1

“Vitamin D from food and dietary supplements offers the same benefits - without the danger of UV exposure - as vitamin D obtained from the sun. Vitamin D cannot be used by the body until it is processed by the liver and the kidneys. The usable form of vitamin D created by this process is the same - regardless of how it enters the body.” (From eMaxHealth)

To benefit from vitamin D, be sure you are obtaining enough through sun exposure and diet. If you aren’t, pick up a vitamin D supplement from your local health store or click here to purchase from Physician’s Preference.

1. Holick M. Vitamin D: important in the prevention of cancers, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.2004;V79:3:362-371.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2006 at 11:07 am and is filed under Health & Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.