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Are You Taking Too Many Vitamins? Here’s How to Tell, According to Doctors
The best way to avoid these risks? Talk to your healthcare provider before adding anything new to your routine. “The number one thing to do is to talk to your doctor,” affirmed Pieter Cohen, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and leader of the Cambridge Health Alliance Supplement Research Program in Cambridge, MA. And yes, it’s still important to do so even if you’ve done your own research to find out if magnesium can improve sleep or if vitamin C or vitamin E does more for your skin.
In the meantime, read on to discover the possible signs and side effects of taking too many vitamins, plus the key interactions you should know.
Is it dangerous to take too many vitamins?
To answer this question, you have to know what supplements are really intended for. “Supplements are commercial products marketed for health, but they are not medications,” said Olivia Thomas, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., director of nutrition innovation and implementation at Boston Medical Center. “The most important thing is to know why you are considering the supplement in the first place. Supplements should fill a specific nutrient gap, not replace a balanced diet or act as a shortcut to better health.” In other words, you should never rely on a supplement exclusively to ensure you’re getting a certain vitamin or mineral—doing so will only make your diet less balanced and healthy overall.
What’s more, vitamins can be dangerous in people with certain medical conditions who need to avoid certain supplements altogether. “Be extra cautious if you’re on any medications and/or already using other supplements, if you have liver, kidney, or heart problems, if you’re undergoing cancer treatment, if you’re on immune-modifying drugs or blood thinners, or if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding or trying to conceive,” said Cindy Reuter, N.D., M.S.O.M., M.P.H., LA.c., medical director of integrative medicine at Dartmouth Health Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, NH.
It’s also important to remember that the FDA doesn’t regulate supplements the same way it does medications or food. Instead, supplement companies are responsible for testing their products for safety—something that’s hard to confirm. “You don’t know the quality of the supplement,” Dr. Cohen said. “Often, supplements are not accurately labeled. Avoid supplements with labels that suggest they’ll do anything.”
