I am a 19 year old, white male who eats over 2400 calories a day.
My diet consists of fruits/vegetables/bread. Are there any nutrients/vitamins I can overdose on that would have a negative effect on me? Has anyone else with a similar background ever found out that taking in too much of a certain vitamin effected them in a negative way with an actual example?

I just checked. Apparently today I took in 2800% vitamin C. That is the...worst/best example.

One I'm concerned with is iron, which is over 400%. I am currently taking multivitamins, but don't plan on buying/taking anymore once I run out.

I've read information on how you shouldn't have a certain amount of anything, but can that information really apply to me? Most of those papers are written with the intended audience of the average person who doesn't eat enough.

Over-consumption of anything is bad. No matter if it's the average human-being or super genetic freak. Especially vitamins, too much can be dangerous. :p Just wondering, where does this extra vitamins comes from? If it comes from your daily intake of food, then I think it's alright, but if you consume them from multivitamins, then it's a big no-no :d_wink:
Oh and did you know, the overweight, unhealthy, crap eating individuals out there, most people think that they have sufficient nutrients, yes it's true but they only have certain nutrients and lack of other important nutrients. Nutrients can make you fat too, you know... So again, the key here is moderation... :tucool:

Well I plan on being very active so there's no way out of getting too many vitamins if I stick to eating healthy food.

I take the multivitamins because I used to need them with the diet I had, and I still have about half the bottle left over.

I can't just throw them away. :D

I take 500mg of vitamin C in the morning, after running, and night.

What I fail to understand is as my dad always says, taking vitamin C is good (he keeps trying to force feed me "FRESH" orange juice), but if you take too much, you're going to be spending a lot of time in the bathroom. It's not happening though...so is my body using the nutrients? If I run daily in the morning, is there a point in taking vitamin before and after I run, and then before I go to bed?

Too much of anything can be bad. However, you're basing this on the wrong thing. The RDA has nothing to do with getting too much of anything. It's not even a measure of getting enough. All the RDA measures is the bare minimum required for survival - that's right, just to remain alive and not suffer from certain diseases such as scurvy and ricketts.

If you are looking to optimal health, you'll have to get past the RDA. The level varies from nutrient to nutrient, but there are plenty of companies that have put in the research and time to evaluate the studies and determine what is optimal for health based on current information. 2800% vitamin C is a drop in the bucket and there are no known adverse effects from going well over the RDA short of diahhreah. The upper intake as established by the government is, I believe, 2 grams or 2000mg, which is many times the RDA.

Most of the major colleges and institutions that focus on nutrition agree that even a diet rich with fruits and vegetables does not supply adequate nutrients and that all adults should supplement with a multivitamin. There is also plenty of research to show that most over the counter, cheap brands are poor quality and don't offer much. Many don't even digest properly and have the wrong combinations (nutrients interact, for example, Vitamin C can increase iron uptake, so just throwing them in haphazardly as the cheap grocery stores do doesn't cut it.) If you want to receive value from your multivitamin, look for something that is pharmaceutical grade and adheres to the USP standards for dissolution. This will cost more for the multis, but cost you much less in the long run (I am always amused by people who refuse to invest in a quality multi for their health, but then get sick and end up spending 5 times that amount on cough medicines, flu medicines, and doctors visits - most people I know who take quality multis report that they are sick less often, sometimes not at all, and when they do get sick, they recover far more quickly).

Jeremy


I am a 19 year old, white male who eats over 2400 calories a day.
My diet consists of fruits/vegetables/bread. Are there any nutrients/vitamins I can overdose on that would have a negative effect on me? Has anyone else with a similar background ever found out that taking in too much of a certain vitamin effected them in a negative way with an actual example?

I just checked. Apparently today I took in 2800% vitamin C. That is the...worst/best example.

One I'm concerned with is iron, which is over 400%. I am currently taking multivitamins, but don't plan on buying/taking anymore once I run out.

I've read information on how you shouldn't have a certain amount of anything, but can that information really apply to me? Most of those papers are written with the intended audience of the average person who doesn't eat enough.

Vitamin E: Large doses can actually cause negative health effects.
Link (http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200503/s1325191.htm)
Vitamin A: This is a tricky one. This vitamin isn't flushed quickly from the system as vitamin C is. If you take it in faster than it leaves, it will accumulate in your system. Some of the effects:

"Symptoms of vitamin A toxicity include dry and cracking skin, brittle nails, excessive hair loss, bleeding gums, weight loss, irritability, nausea, and fatigue. An extremely high single dose--500,000 IU, for example--can cause vomiting and weakness."
I also recall that women facing a risk of osteoperosis shouldn't supplement Vitamin A. It had been linked to increased bone loss in osteoperosis victims and increased fragility in bones overall.
The recommended amount is 3,000 IU I believe.

Check on google. There is more information about Vitamin A.

These were the only two I thought of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more out there.

I should of mentioned I drink a ton of water too. At least 2 gallons I imagine though I don't actually measure it.

So, I thank you guys for the information. I'll continue to not worry about it and just take my cheap multis until they run out. I'll look into better multis, but with my diet I don't think there would be much of a difference. Thanks again though.

Men dont really need iron supplement as they usually would get enough from normal diet, so buy a multivitamin without iron is best.
Your body will excrete excess vitamins so the chance of overdosing is unlikely.