Is there such a thing as overdosing on Vitamins/supplements?

[Dreamkitty]

I eat alot of healthy vegetables, fish is part of the meals every day. My mum cooks in the house so I always eat whatever she cooks. So we eat alot of foods that naturally contain sulphur.

My hair is thick but I still want it to be thicker (want my hair to reach its maximum potential in terms of thickness/length/health).

I am not deficient in vitamins. But I still want to take MSM, hair growth pills such as Rogaine, just to see if it makes any difference to my hair.

But im worried that I might overdose on the vitamins if I take the pills, what if I already enough vitamins in my body, could it potentially be dangerous as in make me ill? could having too many vitamins actually lead to hair loss?

:p I feel silly for asking these questions but those thoughts definetly did cross my mind and thats the reason why I haven't experimented with pills yet.

[Dragon]

As long as you take the recommended does you should me fine. Vitamin D overdose can cause headaches and spewing. Have seen it happen. And to much of some B vitamins can also cause headaches.

[Eolan]

It's good to take precautions. Try to read up on you vitamins before taking them, that's always good. My BF is a medical student and he says it's not good to take multivitamins all the time. Have to get back on why, never asked that.

[ceur]

Everything in moderation. You should be careful with the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K), as they can cause some serious damage if you overdose over a period of time.

[Dars]

In short, yes. Vitamins and minerals each have a point of toxicity and they really should not be taken to replace a wholesome diet or in your case to supplement an already wholesome diet. If you have underlying conditions then vitamins and minerals may be applicable through discussion with a doctor. You only have one body, it runs fine on TLC but deep down it is quite a delicate network of systems. Each vitamin and mineral impacts the body differently in terms of deficiency and overdose. Here is a brief (http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Vitamins_and_Mineral_supplements?open) rundown of vitamins and minerals. You can easily research this further via credible sources of information.

[FrannyG]

Absolutely yes, supplements, whether vitamin, mineral or herbal, can be dangerous and you can overdose on them and/or have a bad reaction to them.

It's difficult at times to get good information on just what toxic doses are, because the medical community only suggests taking supplements when needed, and the proponents of supplements often do not discuss toxic doses.

Find a reputable source for toxicities. Unfortunately, we are not experts here at LHC.

As far as Rogaine goes, taken orally, that can be very dangerous, and I wouldn't even consider taking it. I doubt if you could get it prescribed for you, to be honest.

[Naphthylamine]

A, D, E and K vitamins are stored in body; which means overdosing them can lead to some complications especially in liver. But the excess of other vitamins such as B or C are disposed by urination.

[KittyLost]

Yes it is. I had the same question a few months back, here are the replies I recieved.
http://www.forums.longhaircommunity.com/showthread.php?t=51266

I now only take a hair, skin and nails vitamin and that works fine with me :) no side effects such as headaches or nausea.

[bumblebums]

Yes, not just vitamins but also minerals. Taking too much iron can lead to problems, for example. Talk to a doctor.

[Dreamkitty]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

KittyLost- Some of those replies in your thread answered the questions I had, so thanks :).

Ive come to a conclusion that I definetly don't want to take any vitamin pills, I don't want that risk to my health. I eat very well and if anything I might be overdosing already on certain vitamins, not by pills but by food. I went to the doctor couple of months ago and she said, my hormones were imbalanced and I was told to reduce the amount of chicken I eat as it will only make my hormones even worse. So I definetly think Ive got enough protein in my diet. I eat vegetables everyday.

I don't think I eat that much fruit since my gums are weak so I will try eating more fruit.

I heard excess MSM can be eliminated from the body because that is the only supplement I am willing to try out, just to see if it speeds up hair growth.:D

[JenniferNoel]

As with nearly everything, yes, there is a point where too much is too much.
Agreeing with the above posts, I must add that everyone's body reacts differently to different diets, vitamins, exercise regimens, drugs, etc. and it is very important to listen to your body's cues, large and small, to ensure that what you are doing is healthy.
The best thing to do is get your vitamins and nutrients from a wholesome, balanced diet, no mater what, unless you have a certain medical situation in which you are required to take supplements.
As long as you watch what you consume, and listen carefully to your body on a daily basis (trips to the bathroom, headaches, unexplainable nausea, fatigue, cramps, too much energy, etc), you should be in good shape.
:)

[ericthegreat]

You could overdose on water. Anything that you take in over excess can become toxic to your body. As with everything else in life, its about finding the right balance. I agree completely with Jennifer's post. Its important to pay attention to your own body to know exactly what your nutritional needs are.

[Dreamkitty]

I guess I won't take MSM or any pills.

I just will make sure I have a balanced diet and just let naturally let my hair grow, whatever length it reaches, I will just have to accept it.

:) I only use oil to promote growth of my hair, compared to everyone else at LHC it feels like I am doing very little so I always think, what can I do to my hair to make it healthier. But there is no magic solution.:D

[spidermom]

Taking too many vitamins results in expensive urine.

[Calaelen]

Not only can you overdose on vitamins or minerals, MSM particularly affects the way your body absorbs other nutrients, and medications, making the effects stronger, so you can overdose on those without realizing it. Vitamin C added to this increases the effects.

I Take MSM, and you're right, even MASSIVE doses such as 30,000mg can be tolerated in the body with no ill effects (MSM alone), but you have to consider your diet, other medications you may be taking, and your overall health when doing anything like this.

For hair growth, the recommended dose is 4000mg a day, and this can cause nausea and a detox like effect if you start off on that dose right away, so they recommend building up slowly.

Whatever you choose to do, being informed is important.

[Mirsha]

Whenever I think of supplements and vitamins and what not, I think of this chart: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/

For me, if it's below the 'conflicting' evidence line I don't think it's worth it. :)

[feralnature]

Like others said, A, D, E and K can be overdosed on. They are fat soluble meaning they are stored in your fat and are harder to get rid of. Vitamin C and many others can be peed oput in your urine because it is water soluble. Remember that you cannot get medical advice on this board.

I take A,B,C,D,E, Biotin, Fish Oil and a MultiVitamin and Minerals. I try to take them every day and have for years. It is not megadoses though.

[Crazycatlady]

Whenever I think of supplements and vitamins and what not, I think of this chart: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/snake-oil-supplements/

For me, if it's below the 'conflicting' evidence line I don't think it's worth it. :)
Mirsha thanks for reminding us of this one. I've seen it before, but I forgot how much I love it! Especially the interactive "play" feature that makes the bubbles move. :p

[torrilin]

I eat very well and if anything I might be overdosing already on certain vitamins, not by pills but by food

That's pretty unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely. My oldest cousin did manage to overdose on Vitamin A solely from food as a very little girl, to the point that she turned orange... but she was refusing to eat any vegetable that wasn't orange. Carrots, yes. Squash yes. Pretty much anything else, no. And she really passionately loved her orange veggies, and was under the age of 4, so the overdose level was pretty low.

That's why everyone is saying to be sensible and talk to a doctor. If you're really concerned about your nutrition, they can do some simple blood tests to check whether various nutrients are at appropriate levels. Even if you eat a diet that objectively should be healthy, it might not be precisely what your body needs... just as you've found with your doctor's recommendation to cut back on the chicken.

[feralnature]

My sister's two sons, one grown boy and the other school age, were both diagnosed as vitamin D deficient. I was embarrased for her. They just sat inside on their computers all day and never went outside for activities. It is pretty hard to be Vit. D deficient if you are a caucasion in Texas! So much sun and always in the dark. Shameful.

[littlenvy]

I agree with what everyone said so far – anything in too large quantities can be toxic.

There should be a tendency to be cautious with any kind of supplements.
Vitamins in larger quantities are not too bad, especially the water soluble ones, but you do have to watch the fat soluble. For myself, I never take my antioxidants with my B complex or other water soluble ones because they serve a totally different purpose. The AnitO’s are to clean your body and to quite it down, while the B’s are there to make energy, burn food and to make your body move/grow. I also take great care not too overuse both C and E. C because your body has a tendency to get use to it and then will demand a higher quantity to maintain its new “norm” and if you don’t keep on delivering you will start showing signs of deficiency.
Vitamin E on the other hand can interfere with hormones (ie birth control pills) and a lot of other minerals.
On the other hand, its very easy to overdose on minerals. Most minerals taken in larger quantity are toxic and will cause death.
Even regular does taken at the wrong time can be bad for you. For example, Zinc will prevent the absorption of calcium and copper. And calcium should be taken with magnesium or its mostly useless.
This is why I’m not a fan of the “one a day” multi.
Besides, each body is different hand has different needs.

So as it stands, the best thing you can do is have a healthy, nutrient rich diet and take vitamins and minerals as a SUPPLEMENT not as a bulk of your food or a replacement for it.
Watch for skin colour change and any type of colour change to your nails. Lines white or black are bad. Metalic taste in your mouth or garlic smell without eathing garlic is bad too.

Personally, I take a break from suppliments to prevent build up. Just like with build up in hair ;) ... too much of a good thing is not good :p

[aenflex]

I take multi, flintstones, every day. I used to also take a Caltrate + D every day. I noticed that doing this caused a few lumps around bony areas of my body near my ears and neck to pop up. Small, harm lumps. I stopped the Caltrate and the lumps stopped. I started the Caltrate and lumps came back. So I stopped permanently. No lumps. So yeah, your body can get too much of something, and then that 'something' has no choice but to build up in your body and be stored somewhere. Mine were calcuim deposits. But the same can happen with other minerals/metals - you don't want to get too much heavy metals or minerals in you. Too much iron can kill, as can too much of a lot of things.

[misspriss]

My sister's two sons, one grown boy and the other school age, were both diagnosed as vitamin D deficient. I was embarrased for her. They just sat inside on their computers all day and never went outside for activities. It is pretty hard to be Vit. D deficient if you are a caucasion in Texas! So much sun and always in the dark. Shameful.

I was diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency, I have heard that many Americans are deficient. This is nothing to be embarassed about, it is very common. I am an adult and I admit I don't spend a great deal outside, but when I am outside I seek shade and tend to cover my skin with clothes or sunscreen. I do not believe that it is hard to be deficient if you are caucasion and in Texas (I live nextdoor, in Arkansas). Perhaps your sister is worried about sun damage on their skin, or skin cancer, there are worse things than vitamin D deficiency.

[curlylocks85]

Yes, there is always a chance that too many of a vitamin, mineral or herb can in some cases be hazardous to your health. I have heard from doctors to only take supplements if there is a deficiency and food sources are not helping. I have also heard from doctors that no one should take vitamins or supplements at all. Either way I would recommend talking with your health care provider or someone who specializes in this area to get the answers you need for you own health.

It sounds as though you have a good healthy diet and if you are eating the recommended amount of each food group then I see no reason why you should have to take any type of supplement. However, I am not an expert so I do encourage you to talk to your doctor first before making any decisions. Good luck on your hair and health journey.