*NOTE* As always consult your physician before taking this or any other medical information and including it in your treatment regimen. ALWAYS follow the advice of you physician** Mega-dosing vitamins is always tempting for people with chronic diseases. The idea is that since many illnesses decrease nutrient absorption then over-supplying the body will provide enough nutrient for the body to fight disease better, perhaps a good theory on paper but there are some real dangers in perusing this course of treatment. Take vitamin C for instance: Blood levels of vitamin C remain steady at approximately 200 mg per day. Although vitamin C can be well tolerated at doses well above the RDA recommendations, adverse effects can occur at doses above 3 grams per day though overload is unlikely. The common threshold side effect of megadoses is diarrhea. Other possible adverse effects include increased oxalate excretion and kidney stones, increased uric-acid excretion, systemic conditioning (rebound scurvy), preoxidant effects, iron overload, reduced absorption of vitamin B12 and copper, increased oxygen demand, and acid erosion of the teeth with chewing ascorbic-acid tablets. In addition, one case has been noted of a woman who had received a kidney transplant followed by high-dose vitamin C and died soon afterwards as a result of calcium oxalate deposits that destroyed her new kidney. Her doctors concluded that high-dose vitamin C therapy should be avoided in patients with renal failure. And then there are fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin D, E, A and K; The risk here of megadoses is magnified because these vitamins, A, D, E and K, are stored in the body in fatty tissue and can accumulate to toxic levels if excessive doses are taken chronically. Vitamin A has been the cause of the largest number of vitamin poisoning cases. In rare instances it can be toxic in doses as low as 10 times the amount needed for good nutritional health. The association of this vitamin with cancer prevention in particular has resulted in rampant abuse, although it is taken for a wide variety of reasons by people of all ages. Megadoses can cause both acute (sudden, from single large doses) and chronic (from prolonged overdose) toxicity. Symptoms include headache from increased pressure in the skull; nausea and vomiting; loss of skin and hair; fatigue and sleepiness; hemorrhages; swelling; pain in the long bones; enlargement of the liver and spleen; hyperirritability, and double vision. Taken during pregnancy, overdoses can cause birth defects. Some people consume excessive amounts of the chemical parent of vitamin A, beta-carotene, which gives carrots their orange color. Excessive beta-carotene can also give people an orange or yellow color. Though usually innocuous, carotenemia, as this condition is called, can be confused with jaundice and has been reported to cause loss of menstrual periods. Vitamin D in megadose quantities also causes both acute and chronic toxic effects, among them abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, excessive urination and thirst, dangerously elevated calcium in the blood, calcium deposits in soft tissues, bone pain, weakness, mental confusion, cataracts and kidney failure. Symptoms may persist for more than a year after megadoses are stopped. And then some vitamins may come into conflict with prescription medications that you already take. Chemistry is tricky. Everyone should exercise care with what they choose to put into their body and as far as possible make informed choices. Always consult with your doctors before adding anything to your health regimen and inform them of EVERYTHING you take including herbal supplements and over-the-counter medications.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 16:09:45 +0000
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