The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) once more warned on Wednesday of the risks of excess vitamin D in infants, following the discovery of three new cases. of overdose.
“An excess of vitamin D can have serious consequences on their health and threaten the vital prognosis of toddlers. To limit the risks, we recall our recommendations for the supplementation of infants with vitamin D”, the agency said in an article published on his website.
In children, vitamin D is considered essential for bone growth. To ensure this growth, this vitamin is therefore prescribed in France from the first days of life to prevent rickets, a disease of growth and ossification.
But “giving your child too much vitamin D can be as dangerous as not giving enough,” warns the agency, which says it has recorded “three new reports of severe hypercalcemia – excess calcium in the blood – occurring in infants in 2022”.
These cases result from the misuse of “food supplements containing vitamin D”, says ANSES.
To limit the risks, the agency recommends in particular to “prefer taking medication to that of food supplements”.
The drugs indeed guarantee “clear information in terms of doses, precautions for use, risk of adverse effects and overdose”.
She also recommends to “well control the doses given to your child and not to multiply the products containing vitamin D to avoid overdoses which might disturb his kidney function”, is it added.
In all cases, the intake of vitamin D must only be done on prescription from a health professional, insists ANSES once more.