Is Vitamin D Toxicity A Real Concern? Experts Explain

Here's what we know today: Unless you're ingesting mega, mega amounts of vitamin D, toxicity isn't really an issue (meaning it's time for brands and consumers to catch up).

A 2018 review stated: “In statements published over the past decade, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Endocrine Society concluded that acute vitamin D toxicity (VDT) was extremely rare in the literature it happens that serum 25 (OH) D concentrations must exceed 150 ng / ml and that other factors, such as calcium intake, can influence the risk of hypercalcemia and VDT. "

One important point here: the mention of 150 ng / ml. That's three times the healthy range clinicians typically recommend (50 ng / ml) for adequate vitamin D intake.

Meanwhile, another 2014 study found that taking a whopping 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily successfully increased levels of vitamin D throughout the body without participants getting anywhere near the levels associated with toxicity. So successful, not scary.

Let's also dispel the idea that fat-soluble vitamins are "dangerous" simply because they can be stored in the body. According to Ferira, this is simply wrong. "Just because vitamin D is naturally fat-soluble doesn't mean it's toxic in clinically useful doses like 5,000 IU," she says IU per day – yes, you read that right – in vulnerable populations like infants or people with medical Problems. "

Blanket statements about fat-soluble nutrients and toxicity just don't make sense. Ferira continues: “This kind of scare tactics is completely nuanced and an antiquated concept. Let's take another fat-soluble example as an example: Vitamin A. Yes, you can get hypervitaminosis A (also known as having too much vitamin A in your body) and turn orange if you eat a large amount of carrot smoothies every day for many weeks. The same goes for any massive input that is not the norm and well above what is required to be sufficient. "

The bottom line here: Getting too much vitamin D is very, very difficult – especially in a population where nearly half are clinically inadequate (and nearly a third are deficient) and 93% of US adults don't even make it 400 IU. getting vitamin D from our diet.