Can you get too much of a good thing? Darn right, you can. Some vitamins are toxic when taken in the very large amounts popularly known as megadoses. How much is a megadose? Nobody knows for sure. The general consensus, however, is that a megadose is several times the RDA, but the term is so vague that it’s in neither my medical dictionary nor the dictionary on my computer.
- Megadoses of vitamin A (as retinol) may cause symptoms that make you think you have a brain tumor. Taken by a pregnant woman, megadoses of vitamin A may damage the fetus.
- Megadoses of vitamin D may cause kidney stones and hard lumps of calcium in soft tissue (muscles and organs).
- Megadoses of niacin (sometimes used to lower cholesterol levels) can damage liver tissue.
- Megadoses of vitamin B6 can cause (temporary) damage to nerves in arms and legs, fingers, and toes.
No comments:
Post a Comment