Expert: Dr. Ravindra Bhaskar Ghooi - 5/25/2009

Question
Hi,
I am a 68-year-old man. For varying lengths of time I have been taking dailey a Multi-vitamin, vitamins C(500mg plus 60 in multi-vitamin)), D(1000mg +400 in MV), Magnesium(250mg+100mg in MV)), Selenium(200+20 in MV), and a doctor-recommended pill with magnesium/Psyillim husks 0.52.grams) to prevent reoccurence of kidney stones.

I added these at various times when reading articles in the NY Times health section claiming that they're good for older men.

I have no idea whether they do anything, but I figured they couldn't hurt. However,I just happened upon a site giving recommended daily amounts and overdose amounts. I suspect these overdose amounts are very conservative, but in some cases they are less than what I take:

                Overdose Amount
C         None
D         50mg
Magnesium      400mg
Selenium      200mg

Am I taking too much of any of these or is the site overly conservative?

Many thanks,

Steve

Answer
Hi Steve,
You are right about the overdosage of vitamins. Most water solube vitamins have no limits prescribed, this is because they get thrown out of the body if ingested in excess. Oil soluble vitamins can accumulate and create problems. So you should lower yor intake of Vit D.
I see no problem with magnesium, if you take an overdose of magnesium you will probably get loose motions. Personally I dont see th ned for any one to take selenium, in my opinion, selenium deficiency exists only the minds of pharmaceutical companies, and not in the general population.
Ravi Ghooi