[MartyG]

I have been taking calcium with vitamin D since last year due to the fact that I am IBS-D and postmenopause. Each tablet is 600mg calcium and 200IU Vitamin D. I also take a multivit which contains 400IU of Vitamin D.How much is too much vitamin D?According to Ralph Golan, MD in his book Optimal Wellness. "In excessive amounts, vitamin D is toxic, having a narrower margin of safety than any other vitamin, Sutdies have shown as little as 1,200 IU of vitamin D (dietary and supplement sources combined) to be correlated with increased incidence of elevated blood cholesterol levels, heart attack, and kidney stones. Most Americans receive too much Vitamin D, as the food industry fortifies milk, other milk products, cereals, and grain products". He does go on to list other problems associated with too much vitamin D. Is there a difference between mg and IU and how can I continue to get sufficient calcium and vitamins without overdoing the D. I have not been able to find a calicum carb, without D. Can anyone give me some guidance or suggestions?Thanks for your help.M.[This message has been edited by MartyG (edited 06-22-2001).]

 

[LNAPE]

Caltrate with the Blue and white label is just calcium carbonate if you just want to take the calcium. You should be able to find other brands with just calcium carbonate.The vitamin D does help some of the calcium get to the bones and you also get vitamin D from being out in the sun but lots of use today put on the sun screen and I have even heard that some kids today are coming up with scurvy because they are not getting enough vitamin D because of all the sun screes that are put on them to protect the from the sun. I guess you can get too much of a good thing at times.Linda

 

[Redfern]

Marty, Vitamin D (as well as Vitamin A) is a fat soluble vitamin and excess dietary amounts are not excreted harmlessly in the urine as are the water soluble vitamins. You should not take in more than 400 IU a day. This vitamin is usually quantified in IU's and not mg. IU stands for International Units. I take a calcium supplement called Posture. This company makes one with Vitamin D and one without. If your multi has 400 IU's, you should definitely NOT be taking any more in your calcium supplement. I like Posture calcium also because it is Calcium phosphate and does not cause gas. Let me know if you need the company information. My e-mail is Redfern76028###earthlink.net.

 

[ewink]

Hi,I use a calcium carbonate supplement without vit. D for that reason (don't want too much of it, my multi-vit. has 400 IU also).I take Nature Made calcium carbonate. It also doesn't have magnesium stereate, which most of them contain, and which makes my D worse. It's only 500 mg per tablet (instead of 600mg in the Caltrate), but I cut some tablets in 5 pieces, and add one of those little pieces to each tablet I take, to get 600 mg, and that seems to work pretty well.Hope that helps some,Edith

 

[MartyG]

Ewink:That's a good idea. Thanks for sharing. I've stopped taking the calcium with D and will try and look for the NatureMade 500. I guess evidently the D will exit my body.

 

[vikee]

Note: 2,000 IU, (50 mcg/day) is safe according to the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the Institute of Medicine. It is best used by the body as D3. The form of Vitamin D should be stated on the Vitamin label.More information can be found at this site and I quote from it: http://osu.orst.edu/dept/lpi/infocenter/vitamins/vitaminD/ �Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that exists in many forms. The form utilized primarily by humans is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Animals (including humans) can convert cholesterol to 7-dehydrocholesterol, which is a precursor of vitamin D3. Exposure to the ultraviolet light in sunlight (UVB radiation) converts 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3. In fact, adequate exposure to sunlight can eliminate the requirement for vitamin D in the diet (see Sources), making it only "conditionally essential". Vitamin D3 is not itself biologically active, but must be modified by the body to have any physiologic effects (1).Toxicity: Vitamin D toxicity is also called, hypervitaminosis D. Vitamin D toxicity has not been observed to result from sun exposure. Hypervitaminosis D appears to result primarily from vitamin D supplementation over many years at pharmacologic doses of 10, 000 to 50,000 IU/day (250 to 1250 mcg/day) (7). The adverse effects of hypervitaminosis D appear to be due mainly to the elevated blood calcium levels it induces. Symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, excessive urination, severe itching,� muscular weakness, joint pain, and ultimately disorientation, coma, and death. Blood and urinary calcium levels are elevated. If the condition persists, demineralization of bones and calcification of organs, such as the heart and kidneys, may also occur. The potential for vitamin D toxicity is higher if an individual is taking one of the drug formulations of calcitriol [1,25(OH)2D3] because it bypasses physiological control mechanisms that limit its production in the kidneys (see Function). Because the consequences of vitamin D toxicity are severe, the Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the Institute of Medicine set the tolerable upper level of intake (UL) for vitamin D at 2000 IU/day (50 mcg/day) for adults, five times lower than the dose generally observed to cause hypervitaminosis D in healthy individuals (7)Drug interactions: Anticonvulsants (phenytoin and phenobarbitol) increase the metabolism of calcitriol in the liver, thereby increasing the requirement of individuals on long-term anticonvulsant therapy for vitamin D. Cholestyramine, a bile acid binding resin used to treat elevated cholesterol levels, and mineral oil can decrease the intestinal absorption of vitamin D. The induction of hypercalcemia (elevated blood calcium levels) by toxic levels of vitamin D may precipitate cardiac arrhythmias in patients on digitalis (digoxin) or verapamil, a calcium channel blocker, used to treat high blood pressure (26).�References1.� Brody, T. Nutritional Biochemistry, 2nd Edition. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1999:� pages 565-593.7.�� Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes: Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997: pages 250-287. 26.� Vitamins. In Drug Facts and Comparisons. St. Louis, MO: Facts and Comparisons, 1999: pages 6-33.�------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Note: Except in those with conditions causing hypersensitivity, there is no evidence of adverse effects of a total vitamin D supply of 10,000 IU according to the research of R. Vieth.Full Text of this Article http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/5/842 Reprint (PDF) Version of this Article Download to Citation Manager American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 69, No. 5, 842-856, May 1999� 1999 American Society for Clinical Nutrition Review ArticlesVitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations, and safety1,2 Reinhold Vieth For adults, the 5-�g (200 IU) vitamin D recommended dietary allowance may prevent osteomalacia in the absence of sunlight, but more is needed to help prevent osteoporosis and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Other benefits of vitamin D supplementation are implicated epidemiologically: prevention of some cancers, osteoarthritis progression, multiple sclerosis, and hypertension. Total-body sun exposure easily provides the equivalent of 250 �g (10000 IU) vitamin D/d, suggesting that this is a physiologic limit. Sailors in US submarines are deprived of environmentally acquired vitamin D equivalent to 20�50 �g (800�2000 IU)/d. The assembled data from many vitamin D supplementation studies reveal a curve for vitamin D dose versus serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] response that is surprisingly flat up to 250 �g (10000 IU) vitamin D/d. To ensure that serum 25(OH)D concentrations exceed 100 nmol/L, a total vitamin D supply of 100 �g (4000 IU)/d is required. Except in those with conditions causing hypersensitivity, there is no evidence of adverse effects with serum 25(OH)D concentrations <140 nmol/L, which require a total vitamin D supply of 250 �g (10000 IU)/d to attain. Published cases of vitamin D toxicity with hypercalcemia, for which the 25(OH)D concentration and vitamin D dose are known, all involve intake of 1000 �g (40000 IU)/d. Because vitamin D is potentially toxic, intake of >25 �g (1000 IU)/d has been avoided even though the weight of evidence shows that the currently accepted, no observed adverse effect limit of 50 �g (2000 IU)/d is too low by at least 5-fold. This article has been cited by other articles: * Tomashek, K. M., Nesby, S., Scanlon, K. S., Cogswell, M. E., Powell, K. E., Parashar, U. D., Mellinger-Birdsong, A., Grummer-Strawn, L. M., Dietz, W. H. (2001). COMMENTARY: Nutritional Rickets in Georgia. Pediatrics 107: 45e-45 [Abstract] [Full Text] � * Zlotkin, S., Blumsohn, A. (1999). Vitamin D concentrations in Asian children living in England. BMJ 318: 1417-1417 [Full Text] � * Heaney, R. P (1999). Lessons for nutritional science from vitamin D. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 69: 825-826 [Full Text] � * Lark, R. K, Lester, G. E, Ontjes, D. A, Blackwood, A. D, Hollis, B. W, Hensler, M. M, Aris, R. M (2001). Diminished and erratic absorption of ergocalciferol in adult cystic fibrosis patients. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 73: 602-606 [Abstract] [Full Text] � * Vieth, R., Chan, P.-C. R, MacFarlane, G. D (2001). Efficacy and safety of vitamin D3 intake exceeding the lowest observed adverse effect level. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 73: 288-294 [Abstract] [Full Text] � * Lips, P., Duong, T., Oleksik, A., Black, D., Cummings, S., Cox, D., Nickelsen, T. (2001). A Global Study of Vitamin D Status and Parathyroid Function in Postmenopausal Women with Osteoporosis: Baseline Data from the Multiple Outcomes of Raloxifene Evaluation Clinical Trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 86: 1212-1221 [Abstract] [Full Text] � ------------------Take care, Forever Vikee

 

[MartyG]

Vikee:Thank you so much for all that information. It was extremely helpful in determining how I need to monitor my vitamin intake. I kept on thinking that somehow I may have overdosed on the D but after reading what you sent me, I know that I need to watch the amounts I take, but that I come no where near toxic levels according to those guidelines.Thanks again.