Vitamin C is a necessary vitamin for the human physique. It’s an antioxidant, and it helps with a spread of necessary processes, together with reducing blood stress, preventing irritation, and creating collagen.
On this article, we have a look at the advisable higher limits of vitamin C consumption, doable unwanted side effects of taking an excessive amount of, and different warnings.
Vitamin C is often protected to take even at excessive dosages. Nevertheless, folks could typically expertise delicate unwanted side effects, equivalent to digestive discomfort. Not often, extra severe unwanted side effects can happen.
Signs of taking an excessive amount of vitamin C
Regularly consuming meals excessive in vitamin C shouldn’t result in any well being points. Taking an excessive amount of vitamin C via dietary supplements can, nevertheless, trigger unwanted side effects.
In adults, the advisable dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin C is 90 milligrams (mg) for males and 75 mg for females.
Adults who take greater than 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day could expertise unwanted side effects.
When an individual takes greater than the advisable restrict of vitamin C, they could expertise delicate digestive disturbances. These can happen if the vitamin C that the physique doesn’t take up irritates the gastrointestinal tract.
Widespread delicate unwanted side effects of an excessive amount of vitamin C embrace:
The physique doesn’t take up all the vitamin C that it will get from dietary supplements.
For instance, if an individual takes 30–180 mg of vitamin C every day, their physique absorbs about 70–90% of this vitamin. If an individual takes greater than 1 gram (g) of vitamin C per day, the physique absorbs lower than 50% of the vitamin, which reduces the chance of unfavourable unwanted side effects. The surplus leaves the physique within the urine.
How a lot vitamin C is an excessive amount of?
As vitamin C may cause disagreeable signs if an individual takes an excessive amount of, the Meals and Diet Board have established “tolerable upper intake levels.”
In line with the Workplace of Dietary Dietary supplements (ODS), the higher restrict for vitamin C consumption in folks aged 19 years and over is 2,000 mg in women and men. The restrict stays the identical for pregnant or breastfeeding ladies.
The higher day by day vitamin C ranges for kids and infants are as follows:
There are exceptions to those limits, which solely apply if an individual’s physician has not specified a distinct consumption. Some folks could need to take bigger quantities of vitamin C for medical therapies.
Extreme unwanted side effects
Much less generally, folks could expertise extreme unwanted side effects from taking an excessive amount of vitamin C. Long run consumption above the advisable ranges will increase the chance of those unfavourable results.
Potential well being dangers of taking an excessive amount of vitamin C embrace:
Kidney stones
Docs imagine that an excessive amount of vitamin C supplementation might end in an individual excreting the compounds oxalate and uric acid of their urine. These compounds might result in kidney stone formation.
The authors of a case examine within the journal Kidney Internationalreported {that a} lady developed kidney stones after taking 4 g or extra of vitamin C every day for 4 months.
Nevertheless, researchers haven’t carried out any bigger scale research on vitamin C consumption and kidney stone formation. They do know that individuals who have a historical past of kidney stones usually tend to kind them in the event that they take massive quantities of vitamin C, in line with the ODS.
Nutrient imbalances
One other concern relating to extreme vitamin C consumption is that it may possibly impair the physique’s skill to course of different vitamins.
For instance, vitamin C could scale back the degrees of vitamin B-12 and copper within the physique.
The presence of vitamin C may also improve iron absorption within the physique, which might result in excessively excessive ranges.
Trigger bone spurs
In line with the Arthritis Basis, one examine discovered that the presence of very excessive vitamin C ranges within the physique elevated the probability of an individual creating painful bone spurs.
Nevertheless, the Basis additionally cited a analysis examine that discovered that folks with low ranges of vitamin C had a better danger of creating rheumatoid arthritis, a painful inflammatory joint situation.
These findings emphasize the necessity for acceptable vitamin C supplementation that gives neither an excessive amount of nor too little.
Impair the effectiveness of niacin-simvastatin
Proof means that taking vitamin C dietary supplements could impair the physique’s skill to extend excessive density lipoprotein (HDL) ldl cholesterol in folks taking the mixture drug niacin-simvastatin. This drug combines the vitamin niacin with the statin simvastatin (Zocor), and other people take it to deal with excessive ldl cholesterol.
Docs contemplate HDL ldl cholesterol the “good” ldl cholesterol as a result of it reduces the quantity of dangerous ldl cholesterol within the blood.
If an individual takes vitamin C dietary supplements and niacin-simvastatin, they need to discuss to their physician about methods to make every simpler. Docs have no idea whether or not vitamin C additionally impacts the power of different medicines much like Zocor.
How a lot vitamin C ought to I take?
An individual’s physique can’t make vitamin C, so folks must eat sufficient meals that comprise vitamin C to fulfill their day by day wants. If somebody is vulnerable to a vitamin C deficiency, they’ll take vitamin C dietary supplements.
The ODS advise aiming for the next RDA of vitamin C every day:
Individuals who smoke ought to take 35 mg extra vitamin C per day than those that don’t smoke.
Throughout being pregnant or when breastfeeding, ladies ought to get the next ranges of vitamin C per day:
There may be not sufficient analysis to recommend an RDA for vitamin C in these youthful than 1 12 months of age. In consequence, the ODS present an “adequate intake,” which is the quantity that’s prone to be adequate:
Vitamin C and being pregnant – “vitamin c for kids”
Some medical doctors advocate ladies taking vitamin C dietary supplements when pregnant.
A literature evaluate within the Cochrane Database of Systematic Critiques regarded into the results of vitamin C supplementation throughout being pregnant.
The authors examined 29 research that included 24,300 pregnant ladies. There was inadequate proof for them to conclude that vitamin C helped forestall issues throughout being pregnant, equivalent to stillbirth, preterm beginning, or preeclampsia.
Nevertheless, pregnant ladies ought to attempt to get sufficient vitamin C via their day by day diets when pregnant. Meals excessive in vitamin C embrace:
If a girl has hassle assembly her day by day necessities, she ought to discuss to her physician about supplementation.
Abstract
Vitamin C has probably dangerous unwanted side effects if an individual takes too many dietary supplements. Often, an individual won’t expertise unwanted side effects in the event that they eat a number of meals containing vitamin C.
If an individual suspects that their vitamin C consumption could also be inflicting unwanted side effects, they need to discuss to their physician.
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