‘Why are shops selling them’ Philip Schofield shocked as Dr Mosley shames Vitamin D doses

This Morning: Dr Michael Mosley discusses vitamin D dosage

The dosage of vitamin D supplements in shops is quite confusing, Phillip Schofield put to Dr Mosley on This Morning. 

“3000 IU, 75 UG I don’t understand any of that,” Schofield said.

He added: “Why are shops selling them.”

Dr Mosley answered: “I’m taking 25 micrograms which is 1000 international units so I would say taking 3000 is unnecessary and not a good idea.”

“So 3000, that’s a lot, is it too much?” asked Schofield.

Dr Mosley answered: “That’s about nine or ten times more than the NHS recommends.

“And that’s probably producing very expensive wee because a lot of excess vitamins just get excreted.”

Asked why vitamin D being sold in that quantity; Dr Mosley assured they are pretty safe with a GP being able to prescribe up to 20,000 units for people who are vitamin D deficient. 

“This is a pretty safe vitamin, and I don’t think they are doing anything dangerous,” Dr Mosley said.

“But certainly, the NHS says you should not be consuming on a regular basis more than 4000 international units a day and over 1000 is probably unnecessary for the vast majority of people.”

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A new study has suggested taking vitamin D can reduce the risk of catching COVID-19 by up to a third.

But Dr Mosley suggested there were other factors to consider.

He said: “It’s a good study, it doesn’t prove vitamin D is going to do magical things.”

“What they found – if you said you took vitamin D supplements you were a third less likely to get COVID-19.”

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“But there are lots of other things going on in people’s life other than taking supplements.”

The NHS says it’s important to take vitamin D as you may have been indoors more than usual this year.

It advises taking 10 micrograms (400 IU) of vitamin D a day between October and early march to keep bones and muscles healthy.

It says while there have been some reports about vitamin D reducing the risk of coronavirus, there is currently not enough to support taking vitamin D to prevent or treat coronavirus.

Vitamin D is useful for helping the body absorb and use calcium. However, as noted above, too much calcium is bad news.

Published in the Journal of Paediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism (JPEM), researchers found symptoms of too much vitamin D can include constipation, diarrhoea and stomach pains.

The researchers said: “Vitamin D administration implies several risks and must be prescribed only when needed and under strict medical control.”

The Department of Health and Social Care says 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.

If you choose to take vitamin D supplements, 10 micrograms a day will be enough for most people.

Don’t take more than 100 micrograms (4,000 IU) of vitamin D a day as it could be harmful.

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