A question was asked last week, ‘Can Cod Liver Oil could cause extreme vitamin D toxicity?’
Cod liver oil has a long chronicled history of providing a wide and deep range of fat soluble nutrients important for human and animal health including the commonly discussed vitamins A and D.
Below are four articles that discuss extreme vitamin D toxicity. The articles discuss severe heart and kidney troubles and outline levels of the consumption required to bring these symptoms forward.
It would be very difficult to cause vitamin D toxicity with cod liver oil, as it would require extreme abusive consumption rates of the oil.
One would have to consume estimated 2-4 tablespoons or more of cod liver oil every day for many months. This equates to 1-3 +/- bottles per week for many months. Approximately 60-120 capsules per day or more would need to be consumed to reach toxicity levels. In other words, the neighborhood of an estimated consumption of 15-60 +/- times the suggested serving/dose every day, day after day, and month after month would have to occur. Abusing cod liver oil to this extent might create more issues than just vitamin D toxicity concerns.
If one abuses any food or supplement to the tune of 15-60 +/- times a serving size every day, day after day and month after month one will have health problems. Even water at this abusive rate will create issues in human health.
Please consult your practitioner for specific details as we are all individuals and require individual care and consulting.
Here are the excerpts from the articles (click on each title to be taken to the entire web article):
The Overdose Risks of Vitamins: Why Proper Dosage Matters
Written by Brandi Abbey on
But, pay attention – while vitamin D overdose is extremely rare, there is such a thing as too much. Too much vitamin D can lead to a vitamin overdose and can cause permanent damage to your kidneys and heart. Vitamin D overdose symptoms can lead to bothersome health issues, although perhaps temporary, include nausea, vomiting, alternating constipation and diarrhea. Sometimes vitamin D overdose can even result in dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities. In addition, a vitamin D overdose in pregnancy has been shown to increase the potential of mental retardation in babies. Though the recommended daily requirement of vitamin D is around 1,000 IU, many doctors believe this is too low and regularly prescribe more to those who are vitamin D deficient. So how much is too much?
It has been shown that taking 40,000 IU of vitamin D in infants and 50,000 IU in adults for several months can cause toxicity. Make no mistake, that is a lot of vitamin D! The best way to determine the appropriate amount of vitamin D for you and avoid overdose is to avoid so-called mega-dosing, consult your own healthcare professional, and have your levels tested. If you are pregnant, make sure that you follow your healthcare professional’s guidelines for safe vitamin D supplementation to avoid a vitamin D overdose.
What is vitamin D toxicity, and should I worry about it since I take supplements?
Answers from Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D.
Taking 50,000 international units (IU) a day of vitamin D for several months has been shown to cause toxicity. This level is many times higher than the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for most adults of 600 IU of vitamin D a day.
Am I getting too much vitamin D?
Vitmain D Council
Very high levels of 25(OH)D can develop if you:
- take more than 10,000 IU/day (but not equal to) everyday for 3 months or more. However, vitamin D toxicity is more likely to develop if you take 40,000 IU/day everyday for 3 months or more.
- take more than 300,000 IU in a 24 hour period.
Vitamin D Overdose Does More Bad In Teenagers Than Good: New Study
By Gabe Lieb
(Click on the title to go to full blog posting to read articles in their entirety)