Vitamin how much to take

Biotin in food and as a supplement. Folate in food and as a supplement. Vitamin A in food and as a supplement. Vitamin B 1 in food and as a supplement. Vitamin B 2 in food and as a supplement. Vitamin B 3 in food and as a supplement. Doses larger than mg may cause problems ranging from facial flushing to liver disease.

Vitamin B 5 in food and as a supplement. Vitamin B 6 in food and as a supplement. If you have dark skin — for example you have an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background — you may also not make enough vitamin D from sunlight.

You should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year. The Department of Health and Social Care recommends that babies from birth to 1 year of age should have a daily supplement containing 8.

Children aged 1 to 4 years old should be given a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year. You can buy vitamin D supplements or vitamin drops containing vitamin D for under 5s at most pharmacies and supermarkets. Women and children who qualify for the Healthy Start scheme can get free supplements containing vitamin D. See the Healthy Start website for more information. Taking too many vitamin D supplements over a long period of time can cause too much calcium to build up in the body hypercalcaemia.

This can weaken the bones and damage the kidneys and the heart. As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.

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Staying Healthy Taking too much vitamin D can cloud its benefits and create health risks December 15, Print This Page Click to Print. Staying Healthy. These varied factors make it difficult to recommend how much sunlight a person should get to make the vitamin D that their body needs. The Vitamin D Council gives some examples:. Some people may not absorb enough vitamin D from sunlight because of specific lifestyle factors. For example, individuals who work at night, stay indoors during daylight hours, always cover their skin, or use a high-factor sunscreen every day.

The body can only make a certain amount of vitamin D at once. After this, it is vital to protect the skin from UV rays. There is currently no set level for vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency in children can cause rickets.

This is a condition that makes bones soft, causing them to bend. A deficiency can also cause bone pain and weak muscles in adults. Not having enough vitamin D or calcium over a lifetime may contribute to osteoporosis. This causes fragile bones that may fracture more easily. There may be a connection between vitamin D and other medical problems and diseases, but more research is necessary to confirm this.

The recommended dietary intake for vitamin D is difficult to judge, as it is dependent on sun exposure. This varies from person to person according to where they live and the time of year, among other factors.

For this reason, guidelines base their recommended intakes on the assumption that a person gets minimal sun. The recommended dietary intake is in IU, which is International Units. There are also treatment options where people with vitamin D deficiency receive 50, IU weekly or monthly instead of taking a daily dose.

Many foods in the U. Breakfast cereals, milk, and orange juice often contain added vitamin D. The nutrition label should make it clear when this is the case. Breast-fed babies and young children will often need a vitamin D supplement.