NHS warning as person ‘overdoses’ on vitamin D during health

A man was left in hospital for more than a week after taking 80 times the recommended daily allowance of vitamin D as part of a healthy campaign.

The case, published in the British Medical Journal, has led to an NHS doctor issuing a warning to those taking the supplements.

The man started taking the vitamins after seeing a private nutritionist and was taking 20 different supplements a day.

The report said the man’s kidneys “stopped working” and he subsequently spent eight days in hospital.

The daily recommended dose is 600 mg, but the report says the man took 50,000 mg.

The man was on a healthy kick after visiting a private nutritionist

(iStock)

The Health Service also says that taking more than 100 mcg of vitamin D a day can be “harmful”.

He adds: “Taking too many vitamin D supplements over a long period of time can cause too much calcium to build up in the body (hypercalcaemia). It can weaken the bones and damage the kidneys and heart.”

The man’s admission to hospital came four months after he started taking the supplements, which include omega 3, magnesium and vitamin C.

In that time he has lost almost two stone but suffers from leg cramps, stomach pains, vomiting, nausea and tinnitus.

Doctors who examined his case said he had “too much calcium” in his blood. Too much calcium in the blood can lead to coma.

NHS doctor Dr Alamin Alkundi, who treated the man’s case, said cases of “hypervitaminosis D” were increasing around the world.

He added: “This report further highlights the potential toxicity of supplements that are largely considered safe until taken in unsafe amounts or in dangerous combinations.”

A man’s vitamin D levels will still be abnormally high two months after leaving hospital because the supplement can take “several weeks” to leave the body.

When taken correctly, vitamin D can “help regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate in the body”, says the NHS.

It adds that it is important to take vitamin D daily during the fall and winter, as there is less sunlight, which is a natural source of vitamin D, then.