Can Vitamins Cause Frequent Urination?

If you take a multivitamin, it’s important to drink plenty of water to flush excess vitamins out of your system.
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Vitamins do a lot of good for the body, but they can have side effects if you take too much. With that being said, no vitamins cause frequent urination. If you think you've been making too many trips to the bathroom and can't figure out why, it's best to call a doctor rather than blame it on your vitamins.

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Vitamins have many functions, but none cause frequent urination.

No Vitamins Cause Frequent Urination

There are two main categories of vitamins: water soluble and fat soluble. Our bodies need 13 different vitamins from those categories, and it's unhealthy to have too much or too little of any of them.

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Water-soluble vitamins don't accumulate in the body and need to be replenished often. For that reason, it's difficult to consume too much of them in your diet. Fat-soluble vitamins are stored in your fat cells for later use, which means that it's possible to accumulate too much of them.

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Since water-soluble vitamins are flushed out of your body by fluids, it makes sense that a myth about frequent urination caused by vitamins could start. There are no known vitamins that cause frequent urination, and there's no link to minerals like magnesium causing frequent urination. There may even be some evidence that vitamin C can prevent frequent urination.

Read more:How to Stop Frequent Urination

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Diuretics Increase Urination

A 2011 study published in European Urology looked at lower urinary tract symptoms in women. The researchers found that increased vitamin C intake caused a decrease in frequency of urination. It's not certain how this would play out in people who don't have lower urinary tract symptoms, but it shows that vitamins can have the opposite effect of frequent urination.

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Substances that cause you to urinate more are known as diuretics. Caffeine and alcohol are the most common examples. Diuretics work by causing your body to flush out water and sodium. Your kidneys pull excess fluid out of your bloodstream, which you get rid of through urination.

Vitamins and Urine Color

No known vitamins act as diuretics. However, some vitamins have a surprising effect on your urine. Certain water-soluble vitamins actually change the color of your urine.

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Vitamin C, for example, can make your urine orange, and certain B vitamins can give it a greenish tinge. You might be alarmed if this happens, but it's not something to worry about.

Read more:Diet for Frequent Urination

Other Causes of Frequent Urination

If you find yourself urinating 20 times a day or more and you haven't had any diuretics, it might be a sign of a more serious condition, and you should consult a doctor.

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ACE inhibitors, antidepressants and sedatives can cause frequent urination, and so can Type 1 diabetes. Your risk of having increased urination is increased with lower urinary tract symptoms, age and a family history of incontinence.

Prostate cancer in men and pelvic or bladder cancer in both sexes can cause frequent urination. On the other hand, something as harmless as pregnancy can cause it. To be safe, see your doctor if you experience unusual symptoms.

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