Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Vitamins A and D
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Vitamins are essential micronutrients that are needed in small amounts, but both deficiency and excess can cause health problems. A key distinction in nutrition is between water soluble and fat soluble vitamins. Water soluble vitamins are usually excreted if taken in extra amounts, while fat soluble vitamins can accumulate in the body. This question asks which vitamins, among the options given, can be dangerous when taken in excess because they are stored in body tissues.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Fat soluble vitamins dissolve in fats and can be stored in the liver and adipose tissue. Excessive intake over time can lead to toxicity, called hypervitaminosis. Vitamins A and D are particularly well documented for causing toxicity when consumed far above recommended levels, resulting in symptoms like liver damage, bone pain, and other problems. In contrast, water soluble vitamins B complex and C are usually excreted in urine when taken in large amounts, making toxicity less common. Although vitamin E and K are also fat soluble, the classical exam emphasis is on A and D for toxicity risk.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat soluble and can accumulate in body stores.
Step 2: Know that long term high intake of vitamins A and D is strongly associated with hypervitaminosis and toxicity symptoms.
Step 3: Recognise that water soluble vitamins B complex and C are generally lost in urine when consumed in excess and rarely cause serious toxicity at normal supplement doses.
Step 4: Examine the options and identify which pair lists vitamins known for storage and potential toxicity and is included among choices.
Step 5: Option D, vitamins A and D, fits the pattern of fat soluble vitamins with significant toxicity risk and is a standard answer in many exams.
Step 6: Other options either list water soluble vitamins or mix vitamins in a way that does not match classical teaching.
Verification / Alternative check:
Nutrition and pharmacology references describe hypervitaminosis A and hypervitaminosis D in detail. Excess vitamin A can cause headache, liver damage, skin changes, and birth defects. Excess vitamin D can lead to high blood calcium levels, calcification of soft tissues, and kidney damage. Both conditions arise because these vitamins are stored and not quickly excreted. By contrast, high intake of B complex and vitamin C generally causes only mild side effects and is mostly cleared in urine. This supports the answer that vitamins A and D are especially dangerous in excess.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, B complex vitamins, refers to water soluble vitamins that are excreted and usually do not build up to toxic levels under normal dietary patterns. Option B pairs vitamin E a fat soluble vitamin with vitamin C a water soluble vitamin and does not match the classic exam pairing. Option C, vitamins B and C, consists entirely of water soluble vitamins. Option E, vitamin K only, is fat soluble but is not the main vitamin highlighted in this standard question pattern, and toxicity is less commonly discussed in basic courses.
Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes assume that all fat soluble vitamins are equally dangerous in excess, which is true at an advanced level, but exam questions may focus on the most prominent examples: vitamins A and D. Another pitfall is to pick any option containing a fat soluble vitamin without checking whether the pair matches what textbooks emphasise. Remember the mnemonic that fat soluble vitamins are A, D, E, and K, and that hypervitaminosis A and D are particularly highlighted for toxicity in many syllabi.
Final Answer:
Among the options given, the vitamins that can be dangerous in excess because they are stored in the body are Vitamins A and D.
Discussion & Comments