The Dangers Of Vitamin Overdoses

You may be asking yourself if it is possible to get sick from taking too many vitamins. Well the answer is yes. What many people don't understand is that vitamins are just like any other medicine: You have to stick to the recommended dosage or bad things can happen.

I know that the pharmaceutical companies make them taste oh so good but treating your meds like they're candy can have both mild and serious negative side effects. Let's take a look at several different types of vitamins and evaluate just what exactly they can do that you may find undesirable.

Carrot Juice

Many people get on what is known as the Carrot Juice Diet. The idea is that carrots have enough protein and beta carotene to send you sky-rocketing to a better, fitter you. What most people don't know is that the term "watch what you eat" can mean a lot more than just eating too much sugar.

The people who have drank gallons of this carrot juice to get fit have noticed that the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet begin to turn orange. It reminds me of the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, in which the girl, Violet, turns into a big, plump blueberry. It's kind of the same thing, really, although you don't actually turn into a carrot (that would be ridiculous).

Instead, the beta carotene, which is what makes the carrots orange in the first place, begin to take root in your skin and turn it a dull yellowish-orange color which, as you can imagine, is very distasteful. Don't get me wrong, I think that drinking carrot juice, along with other vegetable cocktails, is very healthy for you; just make sure that you include other foods in your diet as well.

A good solid meal along with a nice fruit or vegetable drink is fine, just don't over-do it and you'll be fine. The carrot juice syndrome is thought, aside from the discoloration, to be completely harmless. Other vitamin overdoses, though, can lead to more problems than simply turning orange. Let's continue through our exploration of these more lethal vitamins.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A can prove to be worse than you might think. While taken in small amounts this vitamin play an important role in vision, gene transcription, immune functions, embryonic development and reproduction, bone metabolism, haematopoiesis (blood production), general skin health, reducing risk of heart attacks and heart disease, and can be used as an antioxidant, taking more than the recommended dosage (five times the recommended amount, that is) can create problems such as liver damage, hair loss, blurred vision, and headaches.

While the blurred vision and headaches will go away, and hair loss can be repaired, it's the liver damage that raises the most worry. Liver damage is definitely not something you want as it can be both fatal and permanent. Liver damage is a common problem associated with overdosing on many common medicines so just make sure you stick to the recommended amounts.

Vitamin B-6

Vitamin B-6 is just one of many in the Vitamin B system. It's mostly good for your genes and overall brain function, which is good if you still want to be sane when you're eighty.

The only real problem with vitamin B-6 is that if you take a good 200 times what you're supposed to then it can cause numbness in your mouth and hands and might make walking a little difficult. It's not a really big concern because you have to take such a heavy dose but it's still not a good idea to overdose on it. Just stick to the prescribed amount; those doctors know what they're talking about.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is usually a tablet that looks like a Tums and tastes rather good, if you're into tropical fruit flavors. There's not really too much to worry about with Vitamin C either. Some people used to think that Vitamin C causes kidney stones but scientists are now saying that it's all a load of crap.

Even so, don't take too many of these tasty pills as high doses can sometimes cause stomachaches and diarrhea, which we all know is something to be avoided like the plague.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D, which is often found in dairy products and sunlight can sometimes cause an extra large amount of calcium to build up in your body and messes around with muscle tissue, including that of the heart.

Don't worry about sunbathing by the pool, though, as you'd most likely get skin cancer long before you ever got Vitamin D poisoning. It takes about 125 times the recommended dosage to have any negative side effects, so the only real problem is if you intentionally overdosed on some vitamin D supplements. So as long as you play safe and don't take more than what you should, you'll be fine.

Niacin

If you haven't heard of it before, don't feel bad. Niacin is a drug that doctors sometimes intentionally overdose their patients with in order to lower cholesterol. Those patients who do overdose on it, though, might experience a bad case of the jaundice (that's when your skin turns yellow) which is usually a sign of liver damage (the second side effect).

I know you may be looking for a quick fix to get rid of that cholesterol, and your doctor might be eager to help you do that, but there's other, safer ways of lowering your cholesterol rather than overdosing on a drug. Start taking short jogs in the morning, eat your Cheerios, and please don't take too much Niacin. It could be bad for your health.

Iron

Iron is a mineral that can be used as a vitamin to increase your red blood cell count, which is why a lot of old people and pregnant women take it to get healthier and stay healthy. Only six times the recommended dosage, though, can create problems relating to your body's zinc absorption which is actually how your wounds heal and regulates your immune system.

Doesn't it sound more logical to have a good immune system and fast healing by NOT overdosing on iron, which is the whole point of increasing your red blood cell count? A little bit of iron is fine but make sure you stick to what the bottle tells you. It could mean the safety of yourself, and if pregnant, your child.

I truly hope you learned something from this article and I wish you all the best of luck. Don't overdose on anything because, as they say, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. They don't call it OVERdosing for nothing.