High Levels of Vitamin D Not Toxic
High Levels of Vitamin D Not Toxic – A new study, published in the May issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, found that vitamin D supplements, even when consumed in large doses don’t cause any side effects. High vitamin D levels are known to cause hypercalcemia or high blood calcium levels, resulting in weakness, vomiting, and kidney problems.
For the study, researchers looked at vitamin D blood tests of 20,000 people living in Rochester, Minnesota, over a period of 10 years. They defined high levels of vitamin D as levels over 50 nanograms per milliliter. Normal vitamin D levels are between 20 and 50 ng/mL.
Researchers found that during the study period, the number of people with high vitamin D levels increased significantly, from 9 per 100,000 people in 2002 to 233 per 100,000 people in 2011, indicating that more people were taking vitamin D supplements. But researchers did not find any cases of hypercalcemia; in fact they found no link between the participants’ vitamin D levels and their calcium levels.
According to the study co-author Dr. Thomas D. Thacher, a family medicine expert at Mayo Clinic, there were only four cases of hypercalcemia associated with high vitamin D levels, of which 3 showed no symptoms. Only one case was serious, where a 51-year-old woman had vitamin D levels of 364 ng/mL, resulting in kidney damage. She had taken 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per day for three months, along with calcium supplements, and experienced weight loss, vomiting, and confusion, and kidney damage.
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