Vitamin D is a vital nutrient involved in immune support, bone health, muscle function, and more.* And yet! Research shows almost half the population in the U.S. is insufficient in the beloved vitamin. To reach optimal levels of 50 ng/mL (the true goal for vitamin D sufficiency), food alone just doesn’t cut it; you would need an unreasonable amount of vitamin D-rich foods (like, six servings of trout) to even make a dent.
That, folks, is where supplements come into play: Trusted nutrition and medical experts recommend 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 (the body’s preferred form) per day to help you get to—andstay!—above that 50 ng/mL threshold.
If you’re familiar with the vitamin D market, you may notice that this recommendation is higher than the average standalone supplement typically offers (many include less-efficacious doses, like 400 IU, 600 IU, 1,000 IU, or 2,000 IU), mainly because brands haven’t been keeping up with current science, don’t want the hassle of updating their old formulas, or are overly conservative, using the possibility of vitamin D toxicity (or getting too much vitamin D) to back their sub-efficacious doses, according to mbg’s director of scientific affairs Ashley Jordan Ferira, Ph.D., RDN.
But here’s the thing: That’s old-school science. While vitamin D toxicity is possible, it’s much more challenging to reach than you might think—so there’s really no excuse for brands not to up the ante. The risk of toxicity is not even relevant at useful, science-backed supplement doses, Ferira says. A little confused? Allow us to explain.
Can you get too much vitamin D?
Vitamin D’s role in calcium absorption and homeostasis in the body is one essential (and helpful) function of the fat-soluble nutrient.* “Vitamin D increases calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract,” says Sina Gallo, Ph.D., RDN, a nutritional sciences professor at the University of Georgia.
At very high vitamin D doses (we explain what that entails below), “this helpful vitamin D-calcium relationship can tip from normal to not-so-normal, and too much calcium can contribute to kidney stones and blood vessel issues,” Ferira explains.
In rare cases, this calcium buildup can cause soft tissues throughout your body (including ones in the cardiovascular system) to harden, which can cause severe concerns. That’s why “vitamin D research studies measure calcium levels in the blood and urine,” Ferira says. “To ensure the healthy balance doesn’t tip to unhealthy, which is very rare in healthy individuals receiving normal doses of vitamin D.”
So why the conservative messaging? “Public health guidance, such as that coming from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), needs to be conservative to balance the risk of toxicity in a population,” adds Gallo. “A number of other factors affect vitamin D status, including endogenous production (i.e. through sun exposure), adiposity, age, latitude, age, etc., which makes one recommendation for all individuals difficult.” A fair reason, but lo and behold, you are an individual and the research is evolving—and we are seeing a slight shift in perspective.
Because of this widespread guidance, though, some supplement brands still tend to err on the lower side of the spectrum and assume the consumer will take more based on their needs. The issue, though, is that this makes people assume that 1,000 IU is cutting it (here’s why it’s not) and that they’re going overboard at clinically useful doses (like 5,000 IU), Ferira says.
So, yes, while you can technically can get too much vitamin D, we’re about to explain why it’s so incredibly unlikely.
What new research says about vitamin D toxicity.
Here’s what we know today: Unless you’re taking mega, mega amounts of vitamin D, toxicity isn’t really a concern (which means it’s time for brands and consumers to catch up).
As one 2018 review recounts: “In statements released over the last decade, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Endocrine Society have both concluded that acute vitamin D toxicity (VDT) is extremely rare in the literature, that serum 25(OH)D concentrations must exceed 150 ng/mL, and that other factors, such as calcium intake, may affect the risk of developing hypercalcemia and VDT.”
One key point here: that 150 ng/ml mention. That’s three times higher than the healthy range clinicians typically recommend (50 ng/ml) for vitamin D sufficiency.
Meanwhile, another 2014 study found that taking a whopping 20,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily successfully increased whole-body vitamin D levels without participants even coming close to levels associated with toxicity. So, successful, not scary.
Let’s also debunk the notion that fat-soluble vitamins are “dangerous,” simply because they can be stored in the body. According to Ferira, this is simply untrue. “Just because vitamin D is fat-soluble by design doesn’t mean it’s toxic at clinically useful doses, like 5,000 IU,” she says. “In reality, true reports of frank vitamin D toxicity with clinical evidence have occurred at 200,000 to 300,000 IU per day—yes, you read that correctly—in vulnerable populations like infants or folks with medical issues.”
Sweeping statements about fat-soluble nutrients and toxicity simply aren’t useful. Ferira continues, “That kind of fear-mongering totally lacks nuance and is an antiquated concept. Let’s use another fat-soluble as an example: vitamin A. Yes, you can get hypervitaminosis A (aka, too much vitamin A in the body) and turn orange if you eat a massive amount of carrot smoothies every day for many weeks. The same is true of any massive input that’s not the norm, and is well above the levels required to achieve sufficiency.”
The bottom line here: Getting too much vitamin D is very, very difficult—especially in a population where almost half are clinically insufficient (and almost one-third are deficient) and 93% of U.S. adults can’t even manage to get 400 IU of vitamin D from our diet.
So how much vitamin D is actually too much?
“Interestingly 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day is considered a science-backed Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) from top vitamin D researchers who have actually studied vitamin D toxicity for decades,” says Ferira.
To be clear, the UL is not the toxic level. Instead, the UL is the highest amount of a nutrient the general population can take that likely doesn’t have a risk of adverse health effects. “That’s an important call-out: general population,” Ferira continues. “We’re individuals, and the collective science plus your healthcare provider may determine you personally need less or more than the ‘average’ person.” In fact, some people may even need more than 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day to reach the desired 50 ng/mL range.*
Gallo seconds the advice: “In cases where an individual may be at risk for deficiency, higher intake may be warranted—and this decision should be made in consultation with a healthcare professional who can monitor for any signs or risks of toxicity,” she says.
Vitamin D toxicity is a real possibility and concern—we’re not here to dismiss that—but it seems we need extreme amounts to reach that point. As Ferira puts it: “I think vitamin D is like water, metaphorically speaking. It’s absolutely essential and its impact on the body is incredibly widespread. Also, like water, too much of a good thing is harmful to anyone, but it would take some real concerted effort or inadvertent error to get to those kinds of detrimental levels.”
That being said, this information paves a hopeful road: With more emerging research to back up these claims, perhaps brands will begin to offer more clinically-useful doses of vitamin D in high-quality formats, with more realistic apprehensions for toxicity. Want to see some options we do approve of? Here are our favorite vitamin D supplements on the market.
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking medications, consult with your doctor before starting a supplement routine. It is always optimal to consult with a health care provider when considering what supplements are right for you.
