Most people knock back their vitamins and minerals to support overall health and performance. They want more energy, better digestion, a stronger immune system, and the list goes on.
However, just like prescription medications you’d take from your doctor, nutritional supplements also have a recommended dosage that shouldn’t be exceeded; despite being derived from natural sources, they have an upper intake value.
Depending on what you’re taking and when, some nutrients are tolerable in higher limits with minimal side effects, while others can cause some pretty unpleasant ones.
If you’ve ever popped back your morning supplements only to be hit by a massive banger of a headache after, you’re not alone. We’re breaking down why vitamins can sometimes cause headaches and which ones to be wary of.
The Importance Of Taking Vitamins Daily
A lot of people think taking vitamins and minerals is completely unnecessary. Everything your body needs should be able to come from the food you’re eating, and theoretically speaking, yes, it should, but that’s not always the case.
Even if you’re eating the healthiest diet in the world, there are still some physiological and external factors that can interfere with nutrient stores.
- Diet: While supplements aren’t there to replace a healthy diet, most people aren’t consuming what their body needs through diet due to excessive intake of sugar, refined carbohydrates, and other foods that are devoid of nutrients. As such, nutrient deficiencies develop and interfere with optimal body performance. But we also have people following specific diets (vegan, vegetarian, keto, etc.) who may be missing out on key nutrients due to food restrictions.
- Stress: While stress has profound negative impacts on body function as a whole, it has an especially big impact on nutrient stores. There’s a large body of evidence suggesting that stress can affect micronutrient concentrations, often leading to micronutrient depletion 1. The most commonly impacted nutrients are magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron, and niacin.
- Physical activity: Just like stress, physical activity can deplete certain nutrients faster than others, and if you’re not replacing them, they’re going to start running low.
- Intake vs. utilization: Your diet may technically meet your daily intake for certain nutrients, but how much of those can your body effectively use? For example, calcium is widely available in many foods and gets a lot of credit for supporting bone health, but unless you’re taking it with vitamin D, magnesium, and vitamin K, your body can’t effectively use it.
- Aging: As we start to get older, our guts just don’t absorb things like they used to, which means that nutrient absorption isn’t as effective, and as a result, nutrient requirements may actually increase 2.
Nutrient Deficiencies Could Be Causing Your Headaches
Before we touch on the link between vitamin supplementation and headaches, it’s important to know that while some vitamins in excess may lead to headaches, not getting enough of certain vitamins or minerals can also do the same.
And when you’re dealing with a pounding headache, our standard go-to sources for relief are only temporary, leaving us wondering and waiting for the next headache to strike.
Rather than waiting, look into what you may be missing. Studies suggest that several nutrient deficiencies are associated with the onset of headaches and migraines, including 3:
- Magnesium
- Niacin (B3)
- Riboflavin (B2)
- Cobalamin (B12)
- Coenzyme Q10
- Carnitine
- Alpha-lipoic acid
- Vitamin D
But some research also suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired antioxidant status, and increased homocysteine levels can also be the reason for migraine development, with the latter generally resulting from other nutrient deficiencies involved in converting homocysteine to less toxic intermediates 3.
4 Vitamins That Can Give You A Headache
On the flip side, research suggests that excessive intake of certain vitamins can also lead to the development of a headache.
How To Avoid Supplement Side Effects
With all of that said, the last thing you want is getting a slew of nasty side effects when you’re trying to improve your health through supplements. Here are some tips to help reduce the likelihood of experiencing side effects with vitamins:
Final Thoughts
For most people, vitamin supplements won’t cause any nasty side effects, but on rare occasions, it can lead to things like nausea, diarrhea, and headaches when taken in excess.
If you’re not keen on experiencing what high-dose supplementation has to offer, our best recommendation is to stick to the lower end or what’s prescribed on the bottle.
Your body doesn’t need mega-doses of most nutrients, and if that’s what you’re giving it, it’s going to let you know. You want optimal amounts—not more, not less.