Are you taking too much vitamin D?

A lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults. If you are spending a lot of time indoors, the NHS suggests you should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D a day to keep your bones and muscles healthy. Dietary vitamin D is available in foods such as oily fish, cod liver oil, red meat, fortified cereals, fortified spreads and egg yolks.

Between October and early March the NHS says we do not make enough Vitamin D from sunlight, so you need to get vitamin D from your diet.

Around 20 percent of adults may have low vitamin D status, and there are several main risk factors for vitamin D deficiency.

Over-supplementation of vitamin D can be just as harmful and should be avoided.

The NHS says taking too many vitamin D supplements over a long period of time can cause too much calcium to build up in the body which can weaken the bones and damage the kidneys and the heart.

Vitamin D toxicity, also called hypervitaminosis D, is a rare but potentially serious condition that occurs when you have excessive amounts of vitamin D in your body.

It says that vitamin D toxicity can cause nausea and vomiting, weakness, and frequent urination.

Vitamin D toxicity might progress to bone pain and kidney problems, such as the formation of calcium stones.

Nonetheless, not enough vitamin D is also problematic. If you don’t have enough Vitamin D your bones can become soft. This means they can break more easily.

Some people have a higher risk of Vitamin D Deficiency. They include children under four years old, women who are pregnant or are breastfeeding, people aged over 65 years of age, and people who do not go outside much.

Although vitamin D toxicity is rare, the health effects can be serious if it is not promptly identified.

“Confusion, apathy, recurrent vomiting, abdominal pain, polyuria, polydipsia, and dehydration are the most often noted clinical symptoms of vitamin D toxicity.”