Hey all.  i just started taking supplements about a week ago.  When I started studying the nutritional content something kinda bothered me.

Everything my supplements contain is somewhere between 200% and 4000% of the reccomended daily value.


Is there any downside/ negative effects to worry about when taking in large amounts of vitamins? or does the 'excess' just process through your system to be excreted with the rest of your waste?

Large amounts of Vs and Ms can become toxic and cause illness if the body cannot expell them.  Just keep that in mind.

Also keep in mind that the RDA is usually based on a 2000 calorie diet and is a one size fits all estimate.

Also it's tough for your body to process alot of these supplements and can result in passing stones and other side effects.

I have tried some of the supplements, and now just do Omega 3 routinely and Ibuprofen for the occational injuries.

When your urine looks like you just plugged in a neon light! your pissin away your scratch!

Quoted: When your urine looks like you just plugged in a neon light! your pissin away your scratch!

Funny thing- shortly after I started taking them I had to drain the lizard.  As I looked down i was momentarily horrified thinking I had a radiator leak.  Until I remembered i wasnt in a car...


Having antifreeze piss is normal, right?

Quoted: Quoted: When your urine looks like you just plugged in a neon light! your pissin away your scratch! Funny thing- shortly after I started taking them I had to drain the lizard.  As I looked down i was momentarily horrified thinking I had a radiator leak.  Until I remembered i wasnt in a car... Having antifreeze piss is normal, right?

If you are going to supplement you must drink 1/2 oz. of water for every pound of body weight daily (that would be your recommended personal intake).   So, a 100 lb. person needs 50 oz. of water daily for general hydration.

The urine will stay darkened if the kidneys are overworked.  You will notice when you increase your water intake this dilutes and weakens the load on the kidneys.

As for ibuprofen, extended use or regular use is not recommended, it is known to clog the liver.  Milk thistle twice daily will help cleanse the liver.  It's important to maintain a healthy liver because this is where fat is metabolized.

I've been taking vitamins for years and RDA is bunk.   Vitamin C is recommended at 1000 mg/day and a new study just came out that it cannot be maintained in the body.  At the first stress, it vanishes (like unplugging your PC and losing everything in RAM).  So, the new recommendation is 6,000 mg/day for people with high stress jobs.

The one vitamine NO ONE ever needs to take is Vitamin A.  In large amounts, it is highly toxic and overdose can be fatal.

In summary, if your urine is too dark you are not drinking enough water.  Drink water until it runs clear while taking your vitamin supplements.

Well water soluable vitamins are cleared easily.  The high doses of Vit C and Bvitamins are mainly an American thing.  In Germany for example, vitamins are controled as drugs.  The prescription dose for vitamin C is 50mg.  Anything over about 200mg is totally wasted.  However in AMeric we think MORE IS BETTER!  It is not.  Excess intake of water soluable vitamins leads to a reduced abilty to absorb them.  It is the bodies defense mechanism to help it have to process less of theose vitamins because if it does not absorb them it wont have to eliminate them.  This means if you quit taking the supplement for a while you will not absorb adequate amounts from normal food.  That said you really cant overdose on water soluable vitamins.

Fat soluable vitamins can build up in the system.  Since they cannot be eliminated in urine your body can build them up over a LONG period.  The reccomendation to not supplement vitamin A is toally unfounded.  Yes you can get some Vit A from beta-c but Vit A is still the superior form for suplementation becasue as you age you absorb and can convert the beta carrotene less effectively.  It takes a MASSIVE overdose of vitamin A to be harmful.  Same with most any of the fat soluable vitamins.  In fact it takes years of massively high doses of those vitamins to reach toxic levels and there are visable signs when you have gone over the edge.  For instance excess vitamin E will make your skin yellow. etc.

That said you should also realise certain minerals can be toxic in too high a dose just like the fat soluable vitamins.  Again this takes a LOT of overdosing for a LONG time.

You also need to realise that the RDA allowances are the MINIMUM TO PREVENT ILLNESS.  Than means the LEAST amount of vitamin C to prevent scuvy, etc.  This is NOT optimal nor anywhere near the MAXIMUM level before build up will begin to occur.  So dont think you must stay strictly at the RDA reccomendations.

I could go in great detail on much of this stuff but that is beyond the scope of a single post.  You should be making sure that the ingredients in your vitamins are good as well.  For example Vit E should be the natural form and not the racemic form.  d-tocopherol not dl version. Different forms of minerals will absorb at drastically differnt rates and this is not accounted for in the %RDA listings.  For example calcium carbonate is a poorly absorbed form of calcium yet is the most common in supplements because it is cheap.  It is nearly impossible to get too much clacium from calcium carbonate supplmentation.

Id also like to addres these two statements while I am here as well....

"As for ibuprofen, extended use or regular use is not recommended, it is known to clog the liver. Milk thistle twice daily will help cleanse the liver. It's important to maintain a healthy liver because this is where fat is metabolized."

ibuprofen does not "clog" the liver.  It is simply metabolised by the liver through the use of enzymes. All processes in the liver will create free radicals that need to be eliminated by glutathione. Acetaminophen is FAR worse as far as depleting your liver glutathione levels... it can actually kill you if you take too many at once.  Milk thistle doe snot "cleanse" the liver either. Instead it contains Silymarin which is an anti oxidant and increases your livers glutathione levels which is the main anti oxidant produced by the body.  Milk Thistle is just fine to take as a supplement but it wont aid in fat loss in any way.

I hope that this post gives you a starting place for more research on your own.

Make sure you take your multi vite vitamin when you eat your large meal of the day. This will help slow down the rate of absorbtion and allow more to be absorbed instead of just passing thur the body.

Quoted: Well water soluable vitamins are cleared easily.  The high doses of Vit C and Bvitamins are mainly an American thing.  In Germany for example, vitamins are controled as drugs.  The prescription dose for vitamin C is 50mg.  Anything over about 200mg is totally wasted.  However in AMeric we think MORE IS BETTER!  It is not.  Excess intake of water soluable vitamins leads to a reduced abilty to absorb them.  It is the bodies defense mechanism to help it have to process less of theose vitamins because if it does not absorb them it wont have to eliminate them.  This means if you quit taking the supplement for a while you will not absorb adequate amounts from normal food.  That said you really cant overdose on water soluable vitamins. Fat soluable vitamins can build up in the system.  Since they cannot be eliminated in urine your body can build them up over a LONG period.  The reccomendation to not supplement vitamin A is toally unfounded.  Yes you can get some Vit A from beta-c but Vit A is still the superior form for suplementation becasue as you age you absorb and can convert the beta carrotene less effectively.  It takes a MASSIVE overdose of vitamin A to be harmful.  Same with most any of the fat soluable vitamins.  In fact it takes years of massively high doses of those vitamins to reach toxic levels and there are visable signs when you have gone over the edge.  For instance excess vitamin E will make your skin yellow. etc. That said you should also realise certain minerals can be toxic in too high a dose just like the fat soluable vitamins.  Again this takes a LOT of overdosing for a LONG time. You also need to realise that the RDA allowances are the MINIMUM TO PREVENT ILLNESS.  Than means the LEAST amount of vitamin C to prevent scuvy, etc.  This is NOT optimal nor anywhere near the MAXIMUM level before build up will begin to occur.  So dont think you must stay strictly at the RDA reccomendations. I could go in great detail on much of this stuff but that is beyond the scope of a single post.  You should be making sure that the ingredients in your vitamins are good as well.  For example Vit E should be the natural form and not the racemic form.  d-tocopherol not dl version. Different forms of minerals will absorb at drastically differnt rates and this is not accounted for in the %RDA listings.  For example calcium carbonate is a poorly absorbed form of calcium yet is the most common in supplements because it is cheap.  It is nearly impossible to get too much clacium from calcium carbonate supplmentation. Id also like to addres these two statements while I am here as well.... "As for ibuprofen, extended use or regular use is not recommended, it is known to clog the liver. Milk thistle twice daily will help cleanse the liver. It's important to maintain a healthy liver because this is where fat is metabolized." ibuprofen does not "clog" the liver.  It is simply metabolised by the liver through the use of enzymes. All processes in the liver will create free radicals that need to be eliminated by glutathione. Acetaminophen is FAR worse as far as depleting your liver glutathione levels... it can actually kill you if you take too many at once.  Milk thistle doe snot "cleanse" the liver either. Instead it contains Silymarin which is an anti oxidant and increases your livers glutathione levels which is the main anti oxidant produced by the body.  Milk Thistle is just fine to take as a supplement but it wont aid in fat loss in any way. I hope that this post gives you a starting place for more research on your own.

I just read medical journals last week on testing using milk thistle in patients with liver disease.  And, yes, ibuprofen does clog the liver.   Pain killers are known to damage the liver.  

There's also trials out there where milk thistle was used in patients during weight loss.  Fat metabolism increased during the testing phase in patients using milk thistle versus those not using it.

I'm not sure where you are getting your information but I pay close attention to medical journals and look for true testing instead of just infomercial stuff.  

There were also 3 cases in Illinois a few years ago of women that died from overdose of Vitamin A.  Again, this was from the coroner's office.

So, I don't understand your basis for your information.  Everything I stated is based on medical research.

All vitamins except for A, D, E, and K are water soluble.  I.e., your body cannot store them, and will expel what it doesn't use.  So, for instance, if you take 1000 mg of vitamin C at one time, you may as well throw it in the toilet and say "I'm tired of being the middle man."

A, D, E, and K are fat soluble, so your body will store these, and you can get too much of them.  Vitamin K, in particular, is dangerous because it affects one of your bodies clotting factors.  So you have to be careful with those four vitamins.

Quoted: Quoted: Well water soluable vitamins are cleared easily.  The high doses of Vit C and Bvitamins are mainly an American thing.  In Germany for example, vitamins are controled as drugs.  The prescription dose for vitamin C is 50mg.  Anything over about 200mg is totally wasted.  However in AMeric we think MORE IS BETTER!  It is not.  Excess intake of water soluable vitamins leads to a reduced abilty to absorb them.  It is the bodies defense mechanism to help it have to process less of theose vitamins because if it does not absorb them it wont have to eliminate them.  This means if you quit taking the supplement for a while you will not absorb adequate amounts from normal food.  That said you really cant overdose on water soluable vitamins. Fat soluable vitamins can build up in the system.  Since they cannot be eliminated in urine your body can build them up over a LONG period.  The reccomendation to not supplement vitamin A is toally unfounded.  Yes you can get some Vit A from beta-c but Vit A is still the superior form for suplementation becasue as you age you absorb and can convert the beta carrotene less effectively.  It takes a MASSIVE overdose of vitamin A to be harmful.  Same with most any of the fat soluable vitamins.  In fact it takes years of massively high doses of those vitamins to reach toxic levels and there are visable signs when you have gone over the edge.  For instance excess vitamin E will make your skin yellow. etc. That said you should also realise certain minerals can be toxic in too high a dose just like the fat soluable vitamins.  Again this takes a LOT of overdosing for a LONG time. You also need to realise that the RDA allowances are the MINIMUM TO PREVENT ILLNESS.  Than means the LEAST amount of vitamin C to prevent scuvy, etc.  This is NOT optimal nor anywhere near the MAXIMUM level before build up will begin to occur.  So dont think you must stay strictly at the RDA reccomendations. I could go in great detail on much of this stuff but that is beyond the scope of a single post.  You should be making sure that the ingredients in your vitamins are good as well.  For example Vit E should be the natural form and not the racemic form.  d-tocopherol not dl version. Different forms of minerals will absorb at drastically differnt rates and this is not accounted for in the %RDA listings.  For example calcium carbonate is a poorly absorbed form of calcium yet is the most common in supplements because it is cheap.  It is nearly impossible to get too much clacium from calcium carbonate supplmentation. Id also like to addres these two statements while I am here as well.... "As for ibuprofen, extended use or regular use is not recommended, it is known to clog the liver. Milk thistle twice daily will help cleanse the liver. It's important to maintain a healthy liver because this is where fat is metabolized." ibuprofen does not "clog" the liver.  It is simply metabolised by the liver through the use of enzymes. All processes in the liver will create free radicals that need to be eliminated by glutathione. Acetaminophen is FAR worse as far as depleting your liver glutathione levels... it can actually kill you if you take too many at once.  Milk thistle doe snot "cleanse" the liver either. Instead it contains Silymarin which is an anti oxidant and increases your livers glutathione levels which is the main anti oxidant produced by the body.  Milk Thistle is just fine to take as a supplement but it wont aid in fat loss in any way. I hope that this post gives you a starting place for more research on your own. I just read medical journals last week on testing using milk thistle in patients with liver disease.  And, yes, ibuprofen does clog the liver.   Pain killers are known to damage the liver.   There's also trials out there where milk thistle was used in patients during weight loss.  Fat metabolism increased during the testing phase in patients using milk thistle versus those not using it. I'm not sure where you are getting your information but I pay close attention to medical journals and look for true testing instead of just infomercial stuff.   There were also 3 cases in Illinois a few years ago of women that died from overdose of Vitamin A.  Again, this was from the coroner's office. So, I don't understand your basis for your information.  Everything I stated is based on medical research.

Link to sources?  I especially want to see the clog the liver reference. I have spent more time researching medical journals related to fitness than I did studying college course work and I am a straight A student.  Literally hundreds, no make that thousands of hours of reasearch over years and years.  No infomercial knowledge here.  I have read a report of an Eskimo who ate a polar bear liver (very high Vit A content) who was lost and starving.  He suffered from Accute Vit A poisoning, all his hair fell out on his head and body and he was VERY ill but recovered.  It would be VERY difficult to do this and not notice it happening to a regular person.  If Vit A was so bad drugs like accutane would not be on the shelf.  Its a Vitamin A derivative and if used in lower doses is completely safe... lots of sides but safe none the less.  I have taken both high dose Vit A and Accutane and you KNOW when you are taking too much.