Like Santa Claus’ story, the papers tell us at least once a year another fairy tale about vitamin overdose. It’s a myth that seems deeply rooted in publishers’ editing rooms and their adverts sales department.

A few years back, I had a very interesting conversation. Opposite me was the lady who headed the vitamin research department of one of the greatest pharmaceutical companies. Over lunch I asked her about vitamins in general and about the problem of overdosing. She snorted. This perfect lady snorted. Then she clipped out: Vitamin overdose is a myth.

What followed was a long diatribe against the stupidity of journalists and others who write about things they don’t understand.

It sums up as follows: If you consume vitamins from a natural source in either their natural fruit or in any extracted form such as tablets, juice, powder, or concentrated extract, it is physically impossible to consume too much. The size of the largest stomach is still too small to allow overdosing. Even when consuming it for years, you can’t come to any harm. The emphasis lies on the word natural.

If you consume artificially produced multi vitamin products, it would take several kilograms a day over several months to come to any harm. Doesn’t sound very intelligent to do, but then, there are people who dry their dog in the microwave. If it is a single vitamin supplement, the dose would be reduced to a paltry kilogram a day over at least six months to reach reaction level. Doesn’t sound very convincing to me either, or would you stuff yourself on Vitamin D by the kilogram?

So far, there have been only two incidents in the world connected to vitamin overdose. One was in Switzerland, where an employee did eat several pounds of Vitamin D every day directly out of production over months; the other was in Caracas where an employee fell into the silo containing Vitamin A. Two not very likely cases to recur, I deem, and not the everyday problem of consumers either.

The myth stems from misunderstandings on one part and outright fraud on other parts. Let’s start to look at things with the list an international authority drew up; it’s the daily vitamin dose list of WHO, the World Health Organisation. The list was drawn up, is kept, and is published always according to the most recent scientific findings. It doesn’t say anywhere, that the list is a recommendation for daily consumption, nor does it say anywhere, that it shows a maximum dose. The list is used for allocating food in case of need.

If there is severe food shortage, the food for the population must be flown in, as for example after the tsunami of 2004 in Indonesia. To do that, experts have to know how much to fly in, what to fly in, and the cost of it. The list is there to help them to get the minimum necessary for survival into the region as fast and as cheap as possible. Nothing more than the minimum. The list therefore is the minimum needed to survive, not to be healthy, not to be well fed, not to have enough vitamins, but just barely enough to survive. That is mostly misunderstood by the public, maybe by journalists as well. It is a well known fact to governments though.

Governments also publish lists with vitamin dosage. Mostly, these lists are identical with the one the WHO issues. But suddenly the lists are called recommended doses. I have tried for years to get an answer from any government, why the list by the WHO suddenly has become a recommended list. I never got an answer. In most cases, the phone was just rung up. Obviously, the governments are committing fraud, but why?

As much as I would like to do it, I can’t answer you that last question. I am able to guess, but I don’t know. And your guess is probably as good as mine.