Do you take in too many vitamins?

Ever since I've seen a law firm advertising for victims affected by a denture cream with too much zinc, I've that question has been in my mind. I know too much of anything is bad, but do we take in too many vitamins?

It seems as if everything is vitamin enriched and I mean everything. Our water, eggs, and even milk contain extra vitamins. Although we need these vitamins and minerals to thrive, our intake of vitamins is beginning to scare me. You can have too many vitamins. If you're eating vitamin fortified food and taking a supplement, then you may have too much of the good stuff. Here is a lift of common vitamins and what the side effects are.

Vitamin C- if you take 2-5,000 mg of vitamin C, you may experience diarrhea, nausea, burning urine, stomach cramps, headache, insomnia, vomiting, and kidney stones.

Vitamin A-who knew this had a name? Hypervitaminosis A can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, blurred vision, dizziness, and loss of coordination. Long term effects include Birth defects, Liver problems, Reduced bone mineral density that may result in osteoporosis
Coarse bone growths, Skin discoloration, Hair loss, Excessive skin dryness/peeling, Angular cheilitis Intracranial hypertension. Stick to 10,000 IU's.

Calcium- more than 4,000 IU's of calcium can cause constipation, dry mouth, a continuing headache, increased thirst, irritability, loss of appetite, depression, a metallic taste in the mouth, and fatigue

Vitamin E- this is the new super vitamin but beware. You only need 100-300 mg a day and any more than that can cause blood clots, fatigue, tumors in the breast, and reproductive problems.

Vitamin B's (yes all the B's)- more than 1-2 mg of vitamin B can cause nerve damage and stomach ulcers. It takes as little as 500 mg to cause serious nerve damage.

Iron- Who knew too much iron had a name also? Hemochromatosis, or more than 100 mg, or 140 mg for nursing and pregnant women, can weaken the immune system, arthritis liver disease, including an enlarged liver, cirrhosis, cancer, and liver failure, damage to the pancreas, possibly causing diabetes, heart abnormalities, such as irregular heart rhythms or congestive heart failure, impotence, early menopause, abnormal pigmentation of the skin, making it look gray or bronze, thyroid deficiency, and damage to the adrenal glands.

vitamin d- In addition to vitamin e, this is a new super vitamin. It seems as if everything is vitamin d enriched but the sun gives you 80-90% of your daily vitamin D. If you get your vitamin D from the sun, it's hard to experience toxicity but more of a hypersensitivity. Too much vitamin D may cause lung and skin cancer. It is advised to take vitamin D with a doctor's recommendation.

Vitamin K- at this time it's hard to know how much vitamin k is too much because it is obtained from food sources. If you're on blood thinners, avoid too much vitamin K because they help thicken the blood.

Zinc- the recommended zinc dosage is 9-11 mg a day and poisining starts at 35-40 mg. Symptons of zinc poisoning includes a weakening of the immune system, which may result in cancer, decrease in white blood cells, decreased urination, nausea, and upset stomach.

Any way you cut it, too many vitamins and minerals is deadly. Your body is a machine and will filter out the extras but taking too much messes with the body's functions. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and grains will help you with your diet.