(Integrative Medicine) - According to a recent letter to the editor in the New England Journal of Medicine, a 42-year-old man experienced vitamin D intoxication after taking a dietary supplement that was mislabeled and contained 78 to 1302 times the recommended safe upper limit of the vitamin. Researchers analyzed three of the patient's vitamin D3 supplements and found that they contained approximately 1.3 mg, 12.8 mg, and 21.7 mg of vitamin D per gram of powder -- 26 to 430 times the amount listed by the manufacturer. The man was hospitalized with high calcium levels (symptoms include loss of appetite, nausea, thirst, fatigue, and confusion). He received intravenous fluid, discontinued the vitamin D3, and was instructed to wear sunscreen at all times when outside. Upon examination thirty months after discharge, all of his blood tests were normal.

References

Koutkia P, Chen TC, Holick MF. Vitamin D intoxication associated with an over-the-counter supplement. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(1):66.