Vitamin D Toxicity

We must address toxicity issues when discussing Vitamin D, especially after talking about supplementation. There are some who say that toxic levels of D are reached when blood levels exceed 56 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), however, as we have seen above, those who work outside seem to reach those levels during the summer without any adverse effects.

There are different forms of vitamin D that seem to have varying toxicity in high amounts. D2 is a synthetic version of vitamin D, and is also the type that is found in mushrooms. Vitamin D3 is found in animal foods, primarily in seafoods. According to Dr. Reinhold Vieth, medical researcher from the University of Toronto's Mt. Sinai Hospital, there has never been a known case of vitamin D toxicity with an intentional dose of D3. The only D3 toxicity cases reported were when people accidentally consumed very high doses.

However, this does not necessarily mean that D3 is safe at high levels, since it has not been studied extensively. However, other research seems to indicate that as long as you have high enough levels of vitamin A and vitamin K in the diet, you will have a measure of protection from D toxicity. If you are thinking about taking D supplements or even adding lots of concentrated forms of D to your diet, and are concerned about toxicity, we recommend you get a blood test done.

Although we do note that there are some researchers who believe that fears of D toxicity are excessive and may be keeping some from getting enough vitamin D, we still think it you have any doubts, it is better to test.

Those on Blood Thinners Need to Be More Careful
with Vitamin D Supplementation

Warfarin is an anti-clotting drug that was, no lie, originally introduced to the marketplace as a rat poison, way back in 1948. It works by inhibiting the recycling of vitamin K, and hence those taking Warfarin and other coumadin derivatives need to be more careful of Vitamin D toxicity than others. Problems with vitamin D supplementation are seen at much lower levels if the person is also taking Warfarin than if they were only supplementing with D.

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Vitamin D Toxicity

Those on Blood Thinners Need to Be More Careful with Vitamin D Supplementation

Those on Blood Thinners Need to Be More Careful
with Vitamin D Supplementation