The consequences of Consuming Too Many Vitamins And Minerals
Written by Cari Nierenberg
4 min read
These days, everything from bottled water to orange juice appears to contain elevated levels of vitamins and minerals. That may seem like a way to help ensure you are getting the nutrients you need, especially if your diet is not great. However, consuming an excessive amount of vitamins and minerals can be harmful to your health.
Consuming too much vitamin C or zinc could lead to symptoms such as nausea, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. Consuming too much selenium could result in hair loss, gastrointestinal upset, fatigue, and mild nerve damage.
While most people are not consuming excessive levels, if you eat a fortified cereal for breakfast, grab an energy bar between meals, eat enriched pasta for dinner, and take a daily supplement, you could easily exceed the recommended daily intake of a variety of nutrients.
Here’s what you need to know to avoid overdoing it.
The unfortified foods you eat are probably not a cause for concern. “It’s pretty hard to overdo it from food alone,” says Johanna Dwyer, RD, a senior research scientist with the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements.
So, you will need to consider the supplements you are taking and any fortified foods or beverages.
“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,” Dwyer says.
“If you’re taking a supplement, stick to one that’s no more than the daily value,” Dwyer suggests. (Daily value is the amount of a vitamin or nutrient that a person should get for optimum health.)
Discuss any supplements you are taking, including vitamins and minerals, and the dosage with your doctor. This way, your doctor can help you keep your doses within a safe range.
“If you’re taking a basic multivitamin, there’s no need to fear taking too much,” says Andrew Shao, PhD, senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs for the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for the supplements industry.
“Most multivitamins have such a wide margin of safety that even when you’re combining them with fortified foods, it’s still not going to cause you to keel over,” Shao says.
“I have not seen someone off the street who was taking a toxic level of vitamin A or D — those are very unusual,” says David Katz, MD, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center in New Haven, CT, whose medical practice specializes in nutrition. “What I’m more likely to see is a person with a dosing level of supplements that’s higher than optimal.”
Scientists don’t yet know if routinely consuming slightly too much of a vitamin or mineral (as opposed to a megadose) is a problem, Katz says.
“There might be hints of concern,