Contents
Vitamin supplementation itself is not bad. On the contrary – in justified cases, it is an indispensable element of therapy. Vitamin deficiency can have dire consequences. However, the same is also with their excess. In recent years, people have been particularly eager to overuse vitamin D. And the effects can be dire, as the patients of the endocrinologist Szymon Suwawa found out.
- When it comes to vitamin D, people often use advice found on the internet that is completely irrelevant to the scientific data
- Hence, people with symptoms such as hypercalcaemia caused by an overdose of this substance
- The extreme case of following bad advice is the story of a woman who took vitamin D for horses
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage.
The problem with vitamin D. Common sense is lacking
An endocrinologist working at the Department of Endocrinology and Diabetology, University Hospital no. dr. Antoni Jurasza in Bydgoszcz pointed out that supplementation is, as a rule, the additional supply of substances to the body (mainly by means of tablets, capsules or other forms) that we are not able to supplement with the diet. He emphasized that if something cannot be provided in the diet, it is the supplement that is supposed to provide it, although the best form of taking all nutrients, elements and microelements should be a diet and, as a rule, you should stick to it.
«As an endocrinologist, I most often encounter cases of overdose or excessive supply, excessive supplementation of vitamin D. The issue of vitamin deficiency is a problem, even worldwide, and in Poland 80-90 percent. of the population is deficient in vitamin D, hence there is so much talk about taking this vitamin. However, vitamin D should be taken in common sense doses »warns Suwałki.
The endocrinologist indicated that the dose of vitamin D in the prevention of its deficiency, depending on body weight, type of work and many other factors, varies, but more or less translates into a dose from 400 to 2. units per day, in the case of seniors – up to 4 thousand. units per day. Vitamin D is also produced by our own body, skin, which happens as a result of adequate exposure to solar radiation.
Suała admitted that in his practice he uses dietary supplements that contain a much higher dose of vitamin D, and what’s more – there are people who take preparations that are not intended for humans. One of the patients, who had suffered from successfully treated hypothyroidism in the course of Hashimoto’s disease, was taking a 50 vitamin D supplement. units per tablet daily, which was a feed preparation for horses. She did this because she found advice on the Internet that she should take care of a sufficiently high level of vitamin D.
Vitamin D overdose: nephrolithiasis, arrhythmia, paresthesia
Endocrinologists pay attention that the level of vitamin in the blood serum in humans should be in the range of 30-50 ng / ml – while on the Internet you can find opinions that it should be above 80 or 100 ng / ml.
«These are fingerprints that have no scientific reflection. The patient followed the advice of one of her friends to use a specific horse feed formulation. It was 50 thousand. units of vitamin D per day, and additionally in this tablet there was vitamin K2MK7. This vitamin was intended to counteract vitamin D overdose and hypercalcemia – elevated levels of calcium. She also took other supplements »- reported Suwała.
After such a “treatment”, the patient came to an endocrinologist with abdominal and joint pain, dizziness, muscle aches and a feeling of weakness and paresthesia (inappropriate sensation of stimuli as a result of damage to peripheral nerves). The woman came to the visit with the results of the tests that showed an increase in calcium levels and admitted to using vitamin D in such a large dose for several months. Hospital studies showed extremely high levels of vitamin D – 420 ng / ml. Nephrolithiasis developed as one of the complications of hypercalcemia. Due to excessive calcium levels, the patient also had neurological symptoms and cardiac arrhythmias.
The endocrinologist admitted that the treatment was relatively simple, as it involved withdrawal of vitamin D, rehydration, and the introduction of anti-hypercalcemia medications. Fortunately, the patient’s story ended happily, but she did not have to, because there could be a hypercalcemic breakthrough – such a high concentration of calcium that it is life threatening.
The doctor noted that a prestigious medical journal described a case of a sick patient using “vitamin therapy” recommended by a dietitian, which included 25 different substances, including vitamin D – 150 thousand. units per day.
A man with a history of spinal tuberculosis, meningitis and a successfully operated acoustic neuroma was hospitalized for persistent vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramps, tinnitus, dry mouth, increased thirst and weight loss . During the research it was found, inter alia, elevated levels of calcium, undetectably high levels of vitamin D and acute kidney damage.
“The treatment carried out led to the fact that this story was successful, although irreversible changes in the body, and even death, could have occurred” – emphasized the endocrinologist.
Suwała also gave the case of a patient who came to him by accident because he could not get to another endocrinologist recommended by a tick-borne diseases doctor. The patient came to a tick-borne diseases office found via the Internet in connection with ailments and the results of tests indicating Lyme disease.
«In this office, the patient was recommended to use the controversial ILADS method, consisting in the very long-term use of antibiotics and antifungal drugs, and in addition a whole lot of herbal supplements and vitamins, including D and C in absurd doses. The ILADS method is considered a problem in the medical community because it is a pseudoscientific theory of treating tick-borne diseases »- noted the endocrinologist. (PAP)
Author: Jerzy Rausz
Provide your body with the right dose of vitamin D and order XeniVIT Vitamin D Forte Xenico available in a package containing 120 capsules.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time, Dr. Agnieszka Bolikowska – the founder of Linguistics, creator of the 6oMethod® method, will tell us about what slow learning is. How to break the language barrier? How to learn to make mistakes? You will learn about this and other aspects of language learning in today’s episode. Listen!