# Most dangerous/permanent vitamin/mineral overdoses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322 "2014-11-11T10:12:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![squish7](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squish7/32/104_2.png) [@squish7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squish7)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/1 "2014-11-11T10:12:40Z")
I take a [multivitamin powder](http://www.gnc.com/GNC-Mega-Men-Maximum-Nutrition-Milk-Chocolate/product.jsp?productId=11107346) that cures me right up when I take a lot of it, but there’s so much in it I’m scared to take multiple doses a day. I feel like if I took 8 servings I’d be cured of all my problems. Should I be worried long-term that it may cause damage? ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/2 "2014-11-11T10:56:25Z")
Linky no worky, maybe try again. Without knowing it’s contents it’s pretty hard for anyone to offer real advice, I should think. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/3 "2014-11-11T13:17:29Z")
> [@squish7](#): > > I take a [multivitamin powder](http://www.gnc.com/GNC-Mega-Men-Maximum-Nutrition-Milk-Chocolate/product.jsp?productId=11107346) that cures me right up when I take a lot of it, but there’s so much in it I’m scared to take multiple doses a day. I feel like if I took 8 servings I’d be cured of all my problems. Should I be worried long-term that it may cause damage? Unless there’s a specific defiicieny needing supplementation extra vitamins aren’t “curing you up” and some of them can have negative effects if you are receiving too much. If you do have a specific deficiency the best way to deal with it wouldn’t be a broad multivitamin. This WebMd [article](http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/effects-of-taking-too-many-vitamins) points at some possible issues with exceeding recommended dosages and has a fun quote from Johanna Dwyer, RD, a senior research scientist with the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements. > [@](#): > > Most people don’t realize there’s no real advantage to taking more than the recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals, and they don’t recognize there may be disadvantages, ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/4 "2014-11-11T17:01:17Z")
The fat-soluble vitamins, A, D, E, and K) will accumulate in the body. The water soluble vitamins, B and C, excrete out, giving you very overpriced urine. Too much Vitamin A can cause the [bones to lose calcium](http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Bone_Health/Nutrition/vitamin_a.asp#c), among many other effects. Too much Vitamin D has a similar effect, and may also screw up your thyroid. Looking at the ingredient list, I think you’d probably be just as well off with the basic furit and vegetable blend and no added vitamins. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/5 "2014-11-11T17:03:35Z")
I went fishing with a Samoan and he at an entire sharks liver raw. He ended up in the hopital from some kind of vitamin poisoning, I think Vitamin A but not sure. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/6 "2014-11-11T17:13:55Z")
> [@squish7](#): > > I take a [multivitamin powder](http://www.gnc.com/GNC-Mega-Men-Maximum-Nutrition-Milk-Chocolate/product.jsp?productId=11107346) that cures me right up when I take a lot of it, but there’s so much in it I’m scared to take multiple doses a day. I feel like if I took 8 servings I’d be cured of all my problems. Should I be worried long-term that it may cause damage? A dose of that daily seems mostly safe. Perhaps too much Vit D, but not dangerous. Eight doses would be quite dangerous. Daily doses over 200mg of B6 can cause nerve damage. You would certainly get way too much Vitamin D. > **[Vitamin D toxicity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypervitaminosis_D)** > > Vitamin D toxicity, or hypervitaminosis D, is the toxic state of an excess of vitamin D. The normal range for blood concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in adults is 20 to 50 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Blood levels necessary to cause adverse effects in adults are thought to be greater than about 150 ng/mL, leading the Endocrine Society to suggest an upper limit for safety of 100 ng/mL. > An excess of vitamin D causes abnormally high blood concentrations of calcium, which can cause overc... > **[Vitamin B6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6)** > > Vitamin B6 is one of the B vitamins, and is an essential nutrient for humans. The term essential nutrient refers to a group of six chemically similar compounds, i.e., "vitamers", which can be interconverted in biological systems. Its active form, pyridoxal 5′-phosphate, serves as a coenzyme in more than 140 enzyme reactions in amino acid, glucose, and lipid metabolism. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/7 "2014-11-11T18:04:45Z")
Since you mentioned minerals as well, see for instance [Iron Poisoning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_poisoning). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/8 "2014-11-11T18:09:40Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Since you mentioned minerals as well, see for instance [Iron Poisoning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_poisoning). That powder doesnt have any significant amount of Iron. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/9 "2014-11-11T18:15:39Z")
More than two doses per day would be an unsafe amount of selenium. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/10 "2014-11-11T18:18:39Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > More than two doses per day would be an unsafe amount of selenium. Good point. Maybe twice that, on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/11 "2014-11-11T18:23:36Z")
Radium. > **[Radithor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radithor)** > > Radithor was a patent medicine that is a well-known example of radioactive quackery and specifically of excessively broad and pseudoscientific application of the principle of radiation hormesis. It consisted of triple distilled water containing at a minimum 1 microcurie (37 kBq) each of the radium 226 and 228 isotopes. > The time of Radithor and radioactive elixirs ended in 1932, with the premature death of one of its most fervent users Eben Byers, an American industrialist. This history led to th... ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/12 "2014-11-11T18:38:03Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > . . . Too much Vitamin D . . . may also screw up your thyroid. I’ve not heard of that. Can you elaborate. (I’m simply curious, not attacking). ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/13 "2014-11-11T19:06:52Z")
Speaking of vitamin D and the thyroid, there are some potential (confounding) linkages. First, many (or most) people taking vitamin D are also taking calcium. Turns out that calcium is a VERY effective agent when it comes to interfering with any thyroxine (Synthroid, Eltroxin, et al) taken by mouth. So, if someone is taking thyroxine supplements and they are also taking calcium around the same time, much of the thyroxine will be bound up by the calcium. The net result is they absorb less of the thyroxine and can, and often do, become hypothyroid again. Considering that something like five to ten percent of women over age 65 take thyroxine, and an even greater percentage use calcium, what I’ve described is a very common drug interaction. Now you know (if you didn’t before). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/14 "2014-11-11T23:46:39Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I went fishing with a Samoan and he at an entire sharks liver raw. He ended up in the hopital from some kind of vitamin poisoning, I think Vitamin A but not sure. There are numerous stories about all the Arctic explorers who died, as did their dogs, from vitamin A poisoning because they didn’t know that polar bear liver is highly toxic. Even a “serving sized” piece has enough vitamin A to make a person very sick, and you can bet these people weren’t eating a 3-ounce piece at a time, either. The Inuit knew this, and always discarded the liver. They would starve before eating it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/15 "2014-11-11T23:49:28Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > Speaking of vitamin D and the thyroid, there are some potential (confounding) linkages. > > First, many (or most) people taking vitamin D are also taking calcium. Turns out that calcium is a VERY effective agent when it comes to interfering with any thyroxine (Synthroid, Eltroxin, et al) taken by mouth. So, if someone is taking thyroxine supplements and they are also taking calcium around the same time, much of the thyroxine will be bound up by the calcium. The net result is they absorb less of the thyroxine and can, and often do, become hypothyroid again. > > Considering that something like five to ten percent of women over age 65 take thyroxine, and an even greater percentage use calcium, what I’ve described is a very common drug interaction. Now you know (if you didn’t before). The calcium can bind with the thyroxine and impair its absorption. It’s OK to take calcium or eat calcium-rich foods more than 2 hours before or after taking thyroxine. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/16 "2014-11-12T00:20:49Z")
Asbestos and uranium are both minerals. Small amounts of either will harm you. Arsenic is a deadly mineral as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/17 "2014-11-12T00:41:18Z")
I have found that most people who supplement with vitamins under the belief that it is somehow curative of illness or beneficial in some way aside from treating a vitamin/mineral deficiency do not like to be told that what they are doing is not really valid. “Well, all I know is after I started taking my multivitamin, I have never gotten sick or had the flu or felt pain in my knees.” “So you can’t tell me that it’s not working.” Some version of this is how they usually meet any sort of clear headed reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/18 "2014-11-12T03:13:08Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I’ve not heard of that. Can you elaborate. > > (I’m simply curious, not attacking). My apologies. [Parathyroid, actually.](http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/further-topics/parathyroid-glands-and-vitamin-d/) This comes straight from something called the Vitamin D Council, and I’m guessing if they say too much Vitamin D can be bad for you, it may be\* really\* bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/19 "2014-11-12T03:22:36Z")
I’ve heard about the polar bear liver / vitamin A thing, but why polar bears specifically? Their sheer size? The fat-rich diet which would …mumble … somethingsomething … A is a fat-soluble vitamin, so … uhh … Slight hijack of the topic, I realize, but does anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322/20 "2014-11-12T11:59:11Z")
> [@squish7](#): > > I take a [multivitamin powder](http://www.gnc.com/GNC-Mega-Men-Maximum-Nutrition-Milk-Chocolate/product.jsp?productId=11107346) that cures me right up when I take a lot of it, but there’s so much in it I’m scared to take multiple doses a day. I feel like if I took 8 servings I’d be cured of all my problems. Should I be worried long-term that it may cause damage? Iron toxicity may cause you GI upset that puts you right back into a dehydrated malnutrition malnourished state. But you can probably tolerate 8 servings. Depends on your body, and the strength of iron in the preperation. You will probably feel like vomitting up 8 serves on an empty stomach, but with food it will be tolerated. High levels of Vitamin A in the long term has been linked to cancer, it seems to feed the tumors. Ironically a short pulse of higher vitamin A levels has been linked to better immunity for a short time, and lack of vitamins leads to reduced immunity. Other than the vitamin A effect, its a waste as its just going to go down the toilet unless you are lacking in it. Sheldon Cooper’s little speech means that food is generally better as it will release more slowly into the blood stream… rather than the pills which are absorbed all at once and cleaned out of the blood by the kidneys. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-dangerous-permanent-vitamin-mineral-overdoses/704322.md?page=2)