Vitamin A is essential for your immune system, skin health, vision, and overall wellness. But did you know that too much of it, especially from supplements, can actually harm your body?
In this blog, we’re diving deeper into Vitamin A toxicity, a common but overlooked issue in functional wellness. Many people take high-dose supplements without realizing the long-term effects it could have on their liver, bones, and even skin.
Let’s break it down in a simple, clear way.
Dr. Christina Yang breaks down the risks of vitamin A overload
What Is Vitamin A?
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin found in two main forms:
Preformed Vitamin A (retinol) – Found in animal products like liver, eggs, and dairy
Provitamin A (beta-carotene) – Found in plant-based foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, and spinach
The body stores Vitamin A in the liver. This is great for survival… but it also means that if you take too much, it builds up over time, and that’s where the risk starts.
Are You Accidentally Getting Too Much Vitamin A?
You might not realize you’re getting too much until symptoms show up:
Hair thinning or hair loss
Dry, flaky, or peeling skin
Fatigue and brain fog
Headaches or blurred vision
Hormonal imbalances
Liver inflammation or elevated enzymes
Nausea or joint pain
Over time, excess vitamin A can also lead to bone thinning, reproductive issues, and birth defects if consumed during pregnancy.
How Much Vitamin A Is Too Much?
Let’s make this clear with real numbers. Here’s what the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends by age and gender:
Recommended Daily Intakes vs. Upper Limits:
| Group | Recommended Daily Intake | Upper Safe Limit (Tolerable) |
|---|---|---|
| Infants (0–6 mo) | 400 mcg RAE (1,333 IU) | 600 mcg RAE (2,000 IU) |
| Children (1–3 yrs) | 300 mcg RAE (1,000 IU) | 600 mcg RAE (2,000 IU) |
| Children (4–8 yrs) | 400 mcg RAE (1,333 IU) | 900 mcg RAE (3,000 IU) |
| Children (9–13 yrs) | 600 mcg RAE (2,000 IU) | 1,700 mcg RAE (5,667 IU) |
| Males (14+) | 900 mcg RAE (3,000 IU) | 3,000 mcg RAE (10,000 IU) |
| Females (14+) | 700 mcg RAE (2,333 IU) | 3,000 mcg RAE (10,000 IU) |
| Pregnant teens (14–18) | 750 mcg RAE (2,500 IU) | 2,800 mcg RAE (9,333 IU) |
| Pregnant adults (19+) | 770 mcg RAE (2,567 IU) | 3,000 mcg RAE (10,000 IU) |
| Breastfeeding (all ages) | 1,200–1,300 mcg RAE | 3,000 mcg RAE (10,000 IU) |
⚠️ Note: These numbers refer to preformed vitamin A, not beta-carotene from vegetables, which doesn’t carry the same risk.
Where Are People Getting Too Much?
While food-based sources of Vitamin A are generally safe, synthetic supplements can be a problem, especially when people are unknowingly stacking multiple sources:
Multivitamins
Skin supplements for acne or aging
Eye health formulas
Retinol-based skincare absorbed through the skin
Liver capsules (often trending online)
When these overlap, your daily intake can easily exceed safe limits.
Who’s Most at Risk?
You might be at risk for vitamin A overload if you:
Take multiple supplements that include vitamin A, especially liver-based or multivitamins.
Use acne medications like isotretinoin (Accutane), which is a synthetic vitamin A derivative.
Regularly eat organ meats, especially beef liver or cod liver oil.
Are pregnant and taking prenatal supplements that exceed safe limits.
Have fatty liver disease or low bile production, reducing your ability to metabolize fat-soluble vitamins.
How Re-LAX Chiropractic + Wellness Can Help
Dr. Christina Yang from Re-LAX Chiropractic + Wellness integrates functional medicine lab testing to help identify toxic load, nutritional imbalances, and hormone disruptors — including excess vitamin A.
We help patients:
Review their supplement stack for hidden vitamin A
Order blood work to check active vitamin A and liver stress markers
Design detox protocols and gut healing strategies
Rebalance with personalized supplement recommendations
Support skin, energy, and hormone repair from the inside out
✨ You’re in good hands, ask a Re-LAX staff member about getting started with simple lab testing and a consultation with Dr. Yang for functional medicine.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to think, “Vitamins are natural, so more must be better.” But that’s not always true.
The key to feeling better isn’t loading up on every supplement, it’s understanding what your body truly needs and what might be doing more harm than good.
If you’re feeling off and don’t know why, or you’ve been taking supplements without much improvement, we’d love to help you uncover what’s really going on.
📍 Visit Us:
Re-LAX Chiropractic + Wellness
8929 South Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90045
🌐 www.re-laxchiropractic.com