“Vitamin D3 Surplus: Symptoms, Side Effects, and Precautions”

Vitamin D3 is essential for your health, but you can also get too much vitamin D3 – and that has some annoying symptoms. In this article you can read everything you need to know about a vitamin D3 surplus.

What is Vitamin D3?

Vitamin D3 – or cholecalciferol – is part of vitamin D together with vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol). Vitamin D3 has the same effect as vitamin D and is needed to absorb calcium from food. Vitamin D3 therefore plays a role in maintaining strong bones and good muscle function.

Vitamin D3 is found in foods of animal origin and has a slightly stronger effect than vitamin D2. Because of this, vitamin D3 is often used in supplements, but that also has a downside. All surpluses of vitamin D3 are caused by taking large amounts of vitamin D3 supplements. Oh dear!

What happens with too much vitamin D3?

A vitamin D3 too much is also called hyperavitaminosis D and ensures an extra absorption of calcium in the intestine. This causes a too high calcium level in the blood and can lead to kidney stones, damage to the kidneys and the heart. Too much vitamin D3 can be harmful, but can only occur if you use too many supplements for a long time. If you exceed this amount for a long time and take too much vitamin D3 for a long time, it can lead to the following side effects:

Does Vitamin D3 Have Side Effects?

If you take in too much vitamin D3 for a long time, this can lead to the following symptoms:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Abdominal pain and constipation
• A lot of thirst, a lot of drinking and a lot of urination
• Irritability, confusion or gloom

• Fatigue and weakness

• Drowsiness
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Bone pain

What are the disadvantages of vitamin D3?

Vitamin D3 has no disadvantages with normal use, but can have consequences if you use too many vitamin D3 supplements. The tolerable upper limit of vitamin D3 for adults is 100 micrograms per day. In contrast to a vitamin D3 deficiency, an excess of this vitamin is not very common in the Netherlands. Therefore, do not be afraid that taking a normal amount of supplements will cause an excess of vitamin D3.

Bronen: Medicinfo, Nutrition Center