Can Vitamins Cause Constipation? An Expert's Guide

Vitamins are essential for our health and wellbeing, but can they cause constipation? The answer is yes and no. While multivitamins together do not cause constipation, some vitamins and minerals present in them may contribute to the irregularity. Vitamins generally don't cause constipation, but certain components, such as calcium and iron, can be a problem. Multivitamins often contain more than just vitamins.

They also provide you with minerals, and their mineral content can cause constipation. Iron in supplements often causes constipation and calcium also increases the risk of constipation, according to Brown University. If your vitamin supplement also contains herbal extracts, plant compounds, or other nutrients, they could also contribute to constipation. Deficiency of certain vitamins can lead to anemia, which can cause extreme fatigue, brittle nails, sensitivity to cold and shortness of breath, according to the NIH.

In cases of deficiency, which is determined by a blood test, your doctor may recommend an iron supplement, known to cause constipation. You can also split the pill in half and take one in the morning and one in the evening. In some cases, you can talk to your doctor about injectable iron or infusions, although insurance doesn't usually cover them. It is recommended that adults consume between 1000 and 1200 milligrams of calcium every day and it is especially important that women consume enough calcium to combat osteoporosis.

As with all nutrients, it's best to eat whole foods rich in calcium before trying a supplement. A glass of milk, for example, provides calcium, protein, fat and potassium. While the gastrointestinal tract is not fully understood, it is believed that calcium does not allow good hydration in the intestine, which then causes constipation. This means that hydration is very important when taking a calcium supplement.

Jouhourian recommends that people drink 64 ounces of water a day or more if they are physically active. The best thing you can do to avoid digestive discomfort when taking multivitamin supplements is to follow the dosage recommended by your doctor or the instructions on the product label (usually one pill a day). These data suggest that serum vitamin D levels should be routinely measured and vitamin D supplementation should be evaluated in patients with intestinal motility disorders. Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body and when combined with vitamin D it is crucial for bone development and strength according to the NIH.

These findings suggest that serum vitamin D levels should be routinely measured in this category of patients and consequently vitamin D supplementation could represent an additional therapeutic aid for this clinical condition. Choose an iron-free multivitamin with less calcium than other supplements if you're still experiencing digestive symptoms such as constipation or bloating. For example, if you choose between two multivitamins with different levels of iron it may be best to choose the supplement that contains the lowest amount of iron especially if you can make up for the difference with your diet. The good news is that the body produces vitamin D through sunlight and some foods contain vitamin D.

To investigate the relationship between serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and chronic functional constipation associated with intestinal motility disorders. On the other hand too much vitamin D (more than 4000 IU per day) can cause constipation and bloating especially in children pregnant women or women who breastfeed. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency anxiety and depression are commonly associated with chronic functional constipation induced by intestinal motility disorders. Proportion of patients who experienced constipation bloating abdominal pain and serum vitamin D levels in groups with slow transit constipation slow transit constipation and delayed small intestine transit (with) slow transit constipation.

Certain vitamins and minerals such as calcium folic acid and iron are essential for fetal growth and development. Like a well-oiled car a multivitamin is a supplement made up of many “parts” that work together to get you where you need to go. Without vitamin D your body can't absorb calcium no matter how many calcium supplements you take.

Ben Liebhardt
Ben Liebhardt

Amateur travel fanatic. General web buff. Certified travel junkie. Twitter nerd. Infuriatingly humble web practitioner. Certified beer nerd.

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