Vitamin D has a 'toxic' trait that you need to be aware of!

Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining your overall health. It’s necessary for the growth and development of your muscle cells and maintaining skeletal health. Vitamin D deficiency is extremely common and as per the National Institutes of Health in the USA, its deficiency affects around 1 billion people worldwide.

To combat the deficiency, many people use vitamin D supplements that are considered safe and non-toxic. However, toxicity is a possible outcome when consumed in large unhealthy doses. Vitamin D toxicity, also called hypervitaminosis D, is a rare but potentially serious condition that occurs when you have excessive amounts of vitamin D in your body.

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Let’s take a look at what happens when you consume more than 100 nanogram/ml of vitamin D on a regular basis, according to the National Institutes of Health in the USA.

Elevated blood calcium levels

Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium from the food you eat. In fact, this is one of its most important roles. However, if your vitamin D intake is excessive, your blood calcium may reach levels that can cause unpleasant and potentially dangerous symptoms.

Gastrointestinal symptoms

The main side effects of excessive vitamin D levels are related to excessive calcium in the blood. Nausea, excessive vomiting, constipation, diarrhea or poor appetite are signs of hypercalcemia or high blood calcium levels, that are caused by vitamin D overdose.

Altered neurological senses

The increased calcium levels due to excessive vitamin D intake can cause confusion, agitation, depression, and psychosis.

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