2023-06-04 23:28:35
When it comes to nutrition, the adage that too much is bad is true. Although medical professionals recommend that their patients have a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, the truth is that on some occasions there may be cases in which people consume more nutrients than necessary.
The Ministry of Health of Mexico points out that vitamins are considered essential nutrients for the human body, but this does not necessarily mean that they can be consumed without control. They are key for cells to carry out different functions and, therefore, ingesting them in amounts greater than those recommended can have harmful effects on health.
According to the health authority, vitamins “are divided into water-soluble and fat-soluble. The difference between the two lies in the fact that the former are used by the body immediately and the surplus comes out through the urine (except vitamin B12) while the fat-soluble ones are stored in the body’s fatty tissue.”
To that extent, it explains that Fat-soluble vitamins include A, D, E, and K, which if consumed in excess can cause multiple symptoms of varying severity.
The Mexican Ministry of Health maintains that when they are consumed in excess, an effect known as “hypervitaminosis” is generated.
“It is difficult for this condition to occur through diet and it is more frequent that it occurs due to the indiscriminate consumption of multivitamin complexes,” indicates the portfolio of Health of Mexico.
However, he points out that hypervitaminosis occurs more frequently with vitamins A and D, which play important roles in the body.
Medline Plus, the online encyclopedia of the United States National Library of Medicine, also indicates that In the case of vitamin A, poisonings generally do not occur due to the frequent consumption of foods that contain this nutrient, but instead occur as a result of ingesting alternative products to the diet.
“Taking large doses of vitamin A during pregnancy can cause birth defects. Acute vitamin A poisoning occurs quickly. It can happen when an adult consumes hundreds of thousands of international units (IU)”, indicates Medline Plus.
Furthermore, it asserts that if an adult consumes more than 25,000 international units of vitamin A per day for a long time, chronic poisoning may occur, although he has pointed out that both children and babies are more vulnerable to poisoning with that nutrient.
“They can get sick following taking smaller doses. Swallowing a product that contains vitamin A, such as retinol-containing skin cream, can also cause vitamin A poisoning,” details Medline Plus.
Among other symptoms that excessive consumption of vitamin A can cause, the medical source cites discomforts such as blurred vision, pain or swelling in the bones, lack of appetite, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, irritability, hair changes, vomiting, nausea, and liver damage.
In children and infants, in addition, “abnormal softening of the skull bone (in infants and children)” may be noted.
Treatment is relatively simple, as people just need to identify the source of vitamin A that they are consuming in excess and discontinue it.
Meanwhile, the Mexican Ministry of Health indicates that “Excessive intake of vitamin D (approximately 1250 micrograms/day) can lead to soft tissue calcium deposits, kidney and/or cardiovascular damage, and symptoms such as constipation, decreased appetite, vomiting, fatigue, and/or dehydration.”
In addition, he maintains that clinical problems can also occur with water-soluble vitamins. of facts, warns that although these nutrients do not accumulate in the body, they can cause kidney problems in patients and facilitate the development of kidney stones when consumed in excess.
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