"overdosing" on vitamin pills

[duffer]

Is it possible to take in too much of a vitamin? What I mean is, between the B’s, C, K, A, E, etc. can it be unhealthy to have too much of any of them? I always have heard that the body will slough off uneeded quantaties, but some can’t be expelled and will ruin your weekend.

I know some minerals and the like will be bad news in excess, but I’m wondering about vitamins, specifically.

[Sublight]

IANAD.

Vitamin C is pretty hard to OD on, as it’s water-soluble and can be expelled through urination. It’s possible I suppose, but takes some work. Vitamin A, on the other hand, is fat-soluble and can be stored for quite some time, so taking an excess amount over an extended period of time can eventually mess you up.

[Lynn_Bodoni]

Yes, particularly the fat-soluble vitamins. In addition, Vitamin K is (IIRC) linked to how your blood clots, or doesn’t clot. People taking blood clotting or thinning medicines are advised to consult with a physician about taking Vitamin K.

[Mangetout]

@Sublight

IANAD.
Vitamin C is pretty hard to OD on, as it’s water-soluble and can be expelled through urination. It’s possible I suppose, but takes some work.

You’re right, it would be very hard to overdose on Vitamin C (probably practically impossible from natural food sources), but truly massive doses of Vitamin C supplements can cause kidney damage or failure. My school biology teacher told me that large doses (but below dangerous levels) of Vitamin C would cause skin problems, but I can’t verify that.

[ultrafilter]

Too much vitamin A will kill you.

[Squink]

@ultrafilter

Too much vitamin A will kill you.

An excellent reason to avoid Polar bear liver:

Polar bears are the classic example: as a pure carnivore that feeds on other carnivores (seals), they accumulate extremely large amounts of Vitamin A in their livers. It was known by the native peoples of the arctic that the livers should not be eaten, but Arctic explorers have suffered vitamin A poisoning from eating the bear livers (and there has been at least one example of similar poisoning of Antarctic explorers eating huskie dog livers)

Bioaccumulation

[glilly]

Multivitamins that contain iron can be damaging in large doses.

[tremorviolet]

@duffer

Is it possible to take in too much of a vitamin? What I mean is, between the B’s, C, K, A, E, etc. can it be unhealthy to have too much of any of them?

Definitely. Here’s a rundown of the various vitamins and problems associated with excess consumption. More isn’t always better.

[duffer]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Great link, tremorviolet

[DrDeth]

One more thing. They are starting to add Vit B6 into a lot of things, including several drinks & melatonin pills. Over a long time, very high dosages of B6 can cause slow nerve damage.