is hypercalcemia a serious risk factor from too much milk

Factual Questions
1

I know a guy who drinks upwards of a gallon of milk a day. that alone provides about 5 grams of calcium (the RDA is 1 gram a day) and he might have other calcium sources aside from the milk.

Would the kidneys excrete whatever excess calcium he intakes or could they not handle that much extra calcium? How did people survive 100’s of years ago when dairy was a much bigger source of food.

What early warning signs of hypercalcemia should he look for? The symptoms provided by medical sites (lethargy, headache, N&V, etc). are very common. are there hypercalciema specific symptoms he should be aware of?

2

It’s very difficult to take in too much calcium. Drinking a gallon of milk a day is not a reason to fear becoming hypercalcemic.

Here is a list of signs and symptoms with links to other info.

3

Well, he should be OK with respect to vitamin D toxicity. Fortified milk contains 400 USP units per quart, while it takes 100,000 IU vitamin D per day over the course of several months to cause problems in adults.
All that calcium could interfere with his getting enough magnesium though. Why is he drinking so much milk?

4

To a very large extent, one can ingest calcium without fear of hypercalcemia. On the other hand, if there’s a lot of vitamin D being taken in simultaneously, there is a risk.

Usually, you don’t have too worry about excessive vitamin D from drinking milk. However, the quality control for addition of vitamin D to dairy products is eneven and there have been instances of hypercalcemia as a result of the intake of what seemed to be run-of-the-mill, store bought milk.

5

By the way, in case you’re thinking of the so-called “Milk Akali Syndrome”, not only is it RARE, but it requires the simultaneous ingestion of milk (calcium) and and absorbable alkali. Milk alone won’t do it.