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vitamin overdosing

kal900
kal900 Posts: 69 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hi
I have been really good at monitoring and varying my food intake across a wide range of ingredients. Thought I was doing ok until someone mentioned vit A. I am consistently over my rda in A & C.
How on earth am I gonna reduce my intake without seriously limiting my foods again. Just when I think I've nailed it...

Replies

  • smokinbluegrass
    smokinbluegrass Posts: 126 Member
    edited March 2017
    C isn't a problem because it's water-soluble. It's the fat-solubles you have to worry about. Consult your physician (although they don't get much, if any, nutrition or vitamin training in school in the states....some learn on their own later) or a registered dietitian.
  • macgurlnet
    macgurlnet Posts: 1,946 Member
    I would start by double-checking your database entries to make sure they've got the correct amounts of A. Since the database is mostly user-entered, there's a high likelihood of errors.

    If you're using accurate entries, might be worthwhile to call your doctor and/or have bloodwork done to see if there's cause for concern. It also may be as simple as swapping 1-2 foods for something with lower vitamin A.

    Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin, so your body will just pee out whatever excess. Not something to be too concerned with.

    ~Lyssa
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
    It's pro vitamin A from vegetables which converts to retinol so you can't get too much that way.

    And vit c is water soluble.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    No worries about going over on vitamin C. Your body can't store it and will simply pee out the excess.

    It takes a lot of vitamin A to overdo it. It's doubly hard to do from natural sources. If you do the tips of your fingers and your eyeballs will turn orange. Super high doses of vitamin A are used to treat acne.

    http://www.healthline.com/health/hypervitaminosis-a#Diagnosis6
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    More pale vegetables like yellow tomatoes, mushrooms and iceberg lettuce.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,312 Member
    I was going to say that if it is from food you don't likely have anything to worry about unless you are not eating a varied diet. Vitamin overdosing generally only happens from pill forms, and frankly is far more rare than many seem to think.
    The acute toxic dose of vitamin A is 25,000 IU/kg, and the chronic toxic dose is 4000 IU/kg every day for 6-15 months. (Beta-carotene [ie, provitamin A] is converted to retinol but not rapidly enough for acute toxicity.)
    http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/819426-overview

    Notice this is an amount per Kilogram, and frankly for a 60Kg person the toxic dose for Vitamin A is 240,000 IU per day for 6-15 months. I highly doubt that you are getting near that especially since from the food you are eating it needs to be converted first.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    I wouldn't worry about either of these. Unless your vitamin A is coming from animal parts (the straight retinol form) you have nothing to worry about. Beta carotene (the kind found in plants) is only converted for use by the body on an as needed basis. It's essentially impossible to develop Vit A toxicity from plant sources.

    Just don't start eating a bunch of liver at the same time, and you're fine.

    The vitamin C is of no concern at all. Mammals half of our size who make their own Vitamin C (we lost the ability somewhere in evolution) make up to 15,000 mg per day. You'll never hit that without massive supplementation, and even then, the only side effects that I am aware of from a dose that high, tend to be nasty stomach upset. I personally dose 3000+ mg/day to assist with lifting recovery. Absolutely no negative effect.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    The easiest way to overdose on vitamin A are supplements like cod liver oil. With just food you probably aren't hitting those levels, but you can talk to a doctor about blood tests to double check.

    Vitamin C isn't an issue. You will just pee out the excess.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited March 2017
    I'm usually way over on those just due to food choices (vegetables, fruit). I don't check on MFP, but from when I logged on Chron I recall that. Those aren't things to worry about, as others said. I don't supplement them, though, and personally wouldn't.
  • kal900
    kal900 Posts: 69 Member
    thankyou... thats put me at ease a bit.. enough to not go screaming to the docs and book an appointment instead.
    99% of my vit a is from a wide but healthy variety of fruit/ veg/ meat. Although I am taking multivits as a top up.. hard to get without vit a included.
    Sharnt worry about the vit c at all then.. nice!
    x

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