FAQs: What Happens if You Take Too Many Vitamins?

You know that vitamins are really good for you. If some vitamins are healthy, then a lot of vitamins must be really healthy right? Not so fat! While this logic does make sense, it is a misunderstanding. The truth is that you can take too many vitamins, because your body only needs so much.

Have you ever read labels that say things like "contain 50% of your daily Vitamin C requirements?" This implies you can go over 100% if you ate three times that amount. You'd be getting more Vitamin C than you need. In fact, you can get more than what you need from all of the vitamins out there. Why? And more importantly, what happens if you do?

As an easy example, let's talk about iron. Let's say you have an iron deficiency because you don't eat meat. In a case like this, taking iron over and above its recommended daily intake would be beneficial until the deficiency has balanced itself out. If you continued taking a mega dose of iron every day, you could begin experiencing toxicity symptoms like sore joints, abdominal pain, or even hair loss. An overdose of Vitamin C can cause diarrhea and too much calcium can overwork your kidneys. 

It's worth noting that these are rare examples. You would need to take A LOT of extra vitamins for this to happen, though, not just a little bit more. In most cases, what happens when you take too many vitamins is… nothing. 

It’s highly unlikely that we will overdose on food or beverages alone. Even multivitamins make it very difficult, because nutrient content per dose is minimal and widespread. Let's say you're eating healthy and taking a vitamin in the morning. When you calculate your totals at the end of the day, you took in 125% of your daily Vitamin B needs. This is nothing to panic about! Severe reactions are the result of taking far too much for a long time. If you're worried about it, the smart thing to do is check the labels of everything you consume, so you know how much of a vitamin you are putting into your body. It is a good idea to have a general knowledge of how much you need based on your gender, age, diet and current lifestyle. A pregnant woman, an elderly man, and a growing child all have very different nutritional and vitamin needs.

A healthy diet, exercise, sleep, and vitamins are all essential to optimal health and longevity. You don't just need vitamins, you need the right vitamins and in the right amount. We make it easy to know that you're getting the perfect amount! For instance, our Cellsentials are great for this. Core Minerals and Vita-Antioxidant work together to supply carefully balanced levels of high-quality vitamins and antioxidants and a balanced range of highly absorbable essential minerals and trace minerals. Order yours today and you can have a peace of mind knowing you're taking the right amount of vitamins.