Vitamin D: be careful, overdose!

Dr. Andrea Bannert has been with since 2013. The doctor of biology and medicine editor initially carried out research in microbiology and is the team's expert on the tiny things: bacteria, viruses, molecules and genes. She also works as a freelancer for Bayerischer Rundfunk and various science magazines and writes fantasy novels and children's stories.

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Vitamin supplements can generally not do any harm? Far from it: In extreme cases, high-dose vitamin D can even be life-threatening.

When 60-year-old Herbert E. * ordered vitamin D tablets on the Internet, he wanted to do something for his bone health. Instead, he sustained kidney damage and now has regular dialysis. Because if dosed too high, supposedly harmless vitamin D preparations can be very harmful to health.

Convert sunlight into vitamins

Vitamins are important for the body - but not all of them can be adequately obtained from food. This includes the sun vitamin D. The body produces it in the skin when there is sufficient light supply.

There is also a little vitamin D in oily fish, liver or egg yolks - however, the daily requirement cannot be met through diet. Various studies show that many people are not optimally supplied with vitamin D - especially in winter. A vitamin D deficiency is particularly bad for the elderly. Osteoporosis, i.e. bone loss, is the result.

If you want to increase your vitamin D level, you can go out into the sun even in the cold season. Or take vitamin D supplements - but caution is advised here, warns the drug commission of the German medical profession.

Stay away from Internet offers

"The safe upper limit is 100 micrograms of vitamin D per day," write the experts. This corresponds to 4,000 international units - this is the amount in which the vitamin concentration in food supplements is usually given.

Dosages of 800 international units were usually sufficient. "You shouldn't take higher doses on your own," the experts say. In this case, a regular medical check of the vitamin D level by the doctor is recommended.

In Germany, finished medicinal products with a daily dose of more than 1000 IU / d require a prescription anyway. You can order high-dose dietary supplements from foreign suppliers on the Internet.

Damaged organs

Herbert E. consumed 50,000 units a day. This caused him to develop what is known as hypercalcemia, a typical side effect of a vitamin D overdose. This means that the calcium level in his blood rose so much that he seriously damaged his kidneys and microcalcifications were deposited in the organs. Chronic kidney weakness was the result.

Other possible effects of vitamin D poisoning are cardiac arrhythmias, fatigue, headaches and other organ damage beyond the kidneys.

* Name changed by the editor

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