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What are the dangers of an overdose of vitamins?
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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If you are too carried away by vitamins and take them constantly, do not forget about the possibility of overdose. What is fraught with this and is it possible to take vitamins longer than prescribed?
Vitamin overdose: harm or benefit?
If smokers, in order to reduce the harm from smoking, indulge in taking carotenoids for a long time, they may develop lung cancer. This means that overdoses of even the most useful substances are unacceptable.
If you take folic acid in large doses or for too long, you may experience skin irritation.
If you overdo it with vitamin E, you risk increasing your blood pressure and developing arterial hypertension.
In order not to harm your own health, it is very important to take vitamins in the doses recommended by your doctor and not longer than the period prescribed by him.
More about the dangers of overdoses
First, we need to clarify the question: is there such a thing as vitamin overdose? Many people believe that the more vitamins you take, the better for your body. In fact, this is absolutely not true. The body's reaction to vitamin overdose is called hypervitaminosis.
The consequences are dire: the internal systems and organs of a person refuse to work. And with an overdose of vitamins, the body cannot cope with their excess on its own. It can only remove some substances with decay products. The remaining excess doses of vitamins remain and they can be destructive.
Vitamin D and its excess
The nervous system is disrupted, kidney stones may form, bones become loose and fragile. This is what happens when there is an overdose of vitamin D due to its long-term use or increased doses.
Vitamin E and its excess
As a result of increased doses and prolonged use of this vitamin, the gastrointestinal tract may fail, the cardiovascular system may function poorly, the immune system may become weak and vulnerable to infections. The person does not feel his best: he is weak, his head is spinning, he cannot work for long.
Therefore, an excess of vitamin E should not be allowed under any circumstances.
Vitamin A and its excess
This situation threatens a state of increased fatigue, even nausea. The person is bothered by headaches, blood clotting is disrupted, blood pressure jumps, the skin and whites of the eyes may turn yellow.
This is especially dangerous for pregnant women, the elderly, and children. They should be especially careful when choosing a menu that may contain large doses of vitamin A. These are products such as carrots, sour cream, cream, liver - pork and beef, as well as parsley, egg yolk.
Vitamin C and its excess
If you overdo it with this vitamin and its long-term use, the following complications may arise. Of course, this vitamin can be excreted from the body with urine and sweat, but this is also dangerous. During this process, oxalic acid is formed in the body, and this is dangerous for the kidneys (stones and sand can form in them).
Since vitamin C increases blood clotting time, it can cause bleeding, which is especially dangerous for pregnant women.
Increased doses of vitamin C mean lower glucose absorption every day, which can cause the risk of developing pseudo-diabetes. And of course, an excess of vitamin C is a risk of developing anemia (the gradual destruction of red blood cells due to the action of acid).
Read more about vitamins and take the most useful, not harmful ones. And be healthy!