NEW Toxic forever chemicals in drinking water: Is Canada doing enough?
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
A British man's overdose on vitamin D is a cautionary tale for people who are considering adding supplements to their lives, according to a paper published Tuesday in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
After a visit with a private nutritionist, the man began taking more than 20 over-the-counter supplements every day, including 50,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D three times a day. That's a dose hundreds of times higher than standard nutritional recommendations.
Within a month, the man began suffering from nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea and repeated bouts of vomiting, along with cramping in the legs and ringing in the ears.
The man, whose name was not disclosed, heard about the supplements from a radio talk show and contacted the nutritionist on the show afterward, said Dr. Alamin Alkundi, a coauthor of the report and an endocrinologist at William Harvey hospital in East Kent in the U.K., who treated the man.
"Registration by regulator is not compulsory for nutritionists in the U.K. and their title is not protected, so anybody can practice as a nutritionist," Alkundi said in an email.
Unlike water-soluble vitamins, which the body can easily eliminate, vitamin D and its cousins A, E and K are stored in the liver and fat cells of the body until they are needed. Consuming well over the daily recommended dose can build up to toxic levels.
The man in the case study was taking a daily dose of 150,000 IU of vitamin D, which was "375 times the recommended amount," Alkundi said. The U.K. National Health Service typically recommends 400 IU of vitamin D a day for children over age 1 and adults.
The man stopped taking the supplements when his symptoms began, but his condition didn't improve. By the time he was referred to the hospital two months later, he had lost 28 pounds (12.7 kg) and his kidneys were in trouble. Tests showed he had overdosed on vitamin D, a condition called hypervitaminosis D.
The body needs vitamin D. The vitamin's main job is to help the body absorb calcium from the intestines -- in fact, the body cannot absorb calcium unless vitamin D is present. The vitamin also plays a role in immune health, brain cell activity and how muscles function.
In the United States, 15 micrograms, or 600 IU of vitamin D a day, is recommended for adults up to 69 years old, according to the National Institutes of Health. For adults age 70 and up, the dose rises to 20 micrograms or 800 IU each day. The recommended amount for infants, children and adolescents was recently doubled by the American Academy of Pediatrics to 10 micrograms or 400 IU per day.
A 2017 study found 3% of Americans took more than the tolerable upper limit of 4,000 IU daily for adults, thus putting themselves at risk for toxicity. About 18% took more than 1,000 IU daily.
Too much vitamin D in the blood leads to hypercalcaemia, which occurs when the calcium level in your blood is above normal. The man in the BMJ case study was diagnosed with hypercalcaemia, which can weaken your bones, create kidney stones, and interfere with how your heart and brain work.
The man was hospitalized for eight days and treated with drugs to lower the levels of calcium in his blood. A followup two months later found his blood calcium levels had dropped to almost normal. While the man's vitamin D level had also significantly improved, it was still high, Alkundi said.
"A plan to periodically monitor both parameters in clinic was established to track the declining levels to normal levels. We have had contact with him and he reported (he feels) much better, but still not back to his normal self," Alkundi said.
"He is very eager for his story to be known to alert others," Alkundi added.
Signs of a vitamin D overdose can include drowsiness, confusion, lethargy and depression, and in more severe cases it can lead to stupor and coma. The heart can be affected: Blood pressure can rise and the heart can begin to beat erratically. In severe cases, the kidneys can go into renal failure. Hearing and vision can be affected.
The body makes adequate vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sunshine. In fact, going outside in a bathing suit for 10 to 15 minutes during the summer "will generate 10,000 to 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 in adults with light skin pigmentation," according to the AAP.
However, going into strong midday sunlight isn't advised due to the risk of skin cancer, so dermatologists and the AAP say it's best to use sunblock if you will be exposed for any prolonged length of time. Sunscreens can reduce the body's ability to process vitamin D.
Vitamin D supplementation may not be needed for many children and teens, the AAP said, since many foods such as milk, eggs, cereals and orange juice are often fortified with vitamin D. Breastfed infants should be given 400 IU of supplemental vitamin D daily, starting in the first few days of life and continuing until the baby is weaned to milk or formula fortified with vitamin D, the AAP advised.
If vitamin D supplements are being considered, daily levels of vitamin D obtained from food should be factored into the decision, experts caution. In addition to fortified foods, eggs, cheese, shiitake mushrooms, salmon, swordfish, tuna, rainbow trout and beef liver contain vitamin D, as does cod liver oil.
Anyone concerned about their vitamin D levels should have them evaluated by a doctor, experts say.
"Patients are encouraged to seek the opinion of their general practitioners regarding any alternative therapy or over-the-counter medications they may be taking or desire to initiate," Alkundi said.
As the United States sets its first national limits on toxic forever chemicals in drinking water, researchers say Canada is lagging when it comes to regulations.
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Calgary police have arrested a man and a charge is pending in connection with the death of a toddler in 2022.
The journey to home ownership can be exciting, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew warns about the trappings of becoming 'house poor' -- where an overwhelming portion of your income is devoured by housing costs. Liew offers some practical strategies to maintain better financial health while owning a home.
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
New archeological investigations in Guatemala reveal that the ancient Maya people had a ritual of burning royal human remains as a public display of political regime change.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Prince William will return to public duties on Thursday for the first time since his wife Kate revealed she was undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
Russian air defences downed what authorities described as five Ukrainian balloons overnight, the defence ministry in Moscow said Thursday, as the sides kept up long-range strikes that have featured heavily in what has largely become a war of attrition.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.