Have you been taking vitamin and mineral supplements for a long time but still feel fatigued, run down or developing usual symptoms and you haven’t figured out what’s wrong? You may be taking too many supplements. Its said that you can’t get too much of a good thing, but in the case of supplements you can. For instance if you are taking too much Vitamin C, Iron or Zinc you will not only develop symptoms of overdose for these supplements but you will inhibit your body’s ability to absorb Copper.

You may scoff at the idea, because how can anyone be so silly as to overdose on supplements. It happens all the time. Though with the recent explosion in popularity of the dietary supplement market many more people may actually be causing themselves harm. Do you know that Zinc works so well at inhibiting Copper absorption in the body that it is used to treat patients with Wilson’s Disease?

Your body only absorbs very small amounts of Copper but it’s an essential mineral. The required daily amount of Copper is about one to two milligrams it’s one of the elements necessary for our body’s health. We use Copper in linking elastin and collagen in skin tissue. Our bodies use Copper to store and release Iron, which is necessary for our blood. And Copper is a part of hundreds of enzymatic functions occurring daily.

If you are taking too much Zinc or Vitamin C or Iron and over a long enough period of time you can develop a Copper deficiency. Symptoms of deficiency are poor skin tissue formation ( since Copper is involved in crossing elastin and collagen your tissue will be weak), ruptured blood vessels, osteoporosis, joint abnormalities, bad cholesterol, anemia, and loss of hair and skin pigmentation.

Large doses of Zinc, Vitamin C and Iron can also lead to overdose symptoms. If you take too much Zinc you will develop gastrointestinal problems, hair loss, anemia, cramps, kidney problems, dizziness and vomiting. Too much Vitamin C will lead to diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal cramping. Lastly too much Iron will cause dehydration, low blood sugar, drowsiness, fever and gastrointestinal problems.

If you’ll notice many of these symptoms overlap each other. If you’ve been taking many of these nutrients in combination for a long enough period of time it’s easy to see how overdose symptoms could develop. Many of these symptoms are generalized enough that you may even mistake them for a stomach flu that you can’t seem to shake. The recommended daily intake of Zinc is 15 milligrams, the RDA of Vitamin C is 60 milligrams and the RDA of Iron is 15 milligrams for women and 10 milligrams for men.

Remember to check how much supplement you are taking in order to make sure your body can properly absorb Copper and to prevent an overdose of many nutrients. You may also wish to consult a doctor if you have certain medical conditions that require more or less of a specific supplement.