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I was shocked when I got my vitamin D levels analyzed a couple of years ago. Yeah I work inside most of the time, like most programmers, but I also walk to work

I was shocked when I got my vitamin D levels analyzed a couple of years ago. Yeah I work inside most of the time, like most programmers, but I also walk to work and easily get 10000 steps a day, so I thought I'd be OK. Nope, guess it wasn't enough especially since I'm in Chicago. My levels were in the deficient range. I now take supplements daily.

whitepoplar 9y ago
What dosage do you take daily?
asah 9y ago
Me too, actually had tingling in my feet. Doctor prescribed 10000 IU once a week and symptoms went away.
- bdamm 9y ago
  Wow, 10,000IU in one big mega dose?
  - terminalcommand 9y ago
    Vitamin D can be stored by the body. My Doctor also prescribed me one whole bottle every week for a certain period of time, then I switched to 6 drops a day. Vitamin D defficiency is really a problem, I didn't know I had it till I got a blood test. I was feeling tired all the time, my bones ached, I felt low, dizzy, etc. Getting Vitamin D supplements helped cured all the symptoms, I feel much healthier now.
  - jackmott 9y ago
    yeah you can take vitamin d like that. 1 unit a day, or 7 units once a week, doesn't matter.
  - sp332 9y ago
    Yup, I was on that temporarily too. It came in little blue-and-white capsules. I think you have to get a prescription for those since, as the article mentions, large doses can cause problems over time.
  - insertnickname 9y ago
    Infrequent 50k IU doses are commonly used too.
  - vijay_nair 9y ago
    I’ve been taking 60,000IU once a week for the last 3 years
mattferderer 9y ago
Out of curiosity, do you remember what levels they suggested you be at? I've heard there are a lot of different opinions on this. Some important factors on receiving Vitamin D from sun exposure are skin color, the amount of clothing you wear & time of day. Light skin absorbs more than dark skin. Noon gives more Vitamin D than morning or evening. Sun screen & sun screen lotion limit the Vitamin D you get. Being a fellow northerner, walking outside doesn't do much in the winter when 95% of my body is covered in clothing. Science Vs did a great podcast on this - https://gimletmedia.com/episode/vitamins-supplements-worth/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/vitamins-supplements-worth/ (Vitamin D is their first supplement they discuss & the link provides a transcript for skimming) My personal experience (with no medical background except the Chiropractor's wife who recommended it) finds that Vitamin D supplements (5,000 IU) seems to help prevent & shorten colds & flu-like bugs. I mostly take that dosage when feeling slightly ill or run down.
- bproven 9y ago
  From what I can tell the article lists guidelines based on consumption (how much Vit D to take or what is recommended), but seems to fail to mention that absorption can vary by person. I think the better method would be to get a blood test and find out where you are and supplement (or get more sun) as needed to bring levels within normal to optimal ranges. But again, what is normal or optimal? Where is the mention of Vit K? In my experimentation, it takes about 5000-10,000 IU per day supplementation + outdoor sun exposure 3 days a week for about an hour each day for me to be in the (or what I am hoping is) normal/optimal range (around 60-70 ng/mL). My sun exposure in that hour is hiking outdoors in full/partial sun mid-day with no shirt on. So 75% body exposure I guess? I am assuming that normal or optimal is mid to upper values in the lab results ranges for Vit D. In the case of Labcorp, the range referenced was 30-100 ng/mL with anything around 30ish and under being definitely deficient according to the lab results description of the range. So in my case it does take quite a bit of sun + supplementation to get optimal. Now my results above are based on summer sun exposure. In the winter, obviously that will be reduced (colder less outdoor skin exposure + sun is low in the sky) so I'm curious to see what difference I see on the labs without the sun exposure part. There are some nice phone apps that helpful in figuring out sun exposure and Vit D. I have used D Minder on the iPhone. You punch in some stats about yourself (skin type, age, % of skin exposure and it asks you a few questions to confirm skin type based on your experience in the sun (do you burn easily, just get red and tan, just tan etc). Then based on your current geo location, sun angle in the sky (winter vs summer and the time of day) and time you want to spend exposed to the sun it calculates Vit D absorption in IU. Granted I'm not sure how accurate it is, but based on my labs and supplementation the biggest eye opener to me was how much sun it really takes to make a difference between deficient and normal/optimal. I do tend to believe now that the old recommendation of "15 min in the sun per day is enough" is false. That might be enough to stave off rickets, but I think more is probably in order for optimal living. However, with all this said it would be great if there more studies on what the optimal or disease preventing blood levels are - with emphasis on blood levels and not just IUs intake per day.
fraflo 9y ago
Hey if you have a minute and don't mind would you tell me a little bit about where you work? I'm graduating in December with a software engineering degree and plan on move to Chicago afterwards, but it obviously isn't quite as well known for tech firms as big cities on the west coast
- brianwawok 9y ago
  Chicago has a great scene. Some startups, some trading, some big business. Its not a bad place to code.
- mamoswined 9y ago
  I think it's OK, there are plenty of opportunities, but I would not do it if I were young. I would do Silicon Valley, get a "big tech" or startup name on my resume and work on cutting edge projects, and then move to Chicago. The major advantage here is cost of living is so much lower than the valley. Housing is cheap, which leaves a lot of room for money to use to eat out, nightlife, plays, music, etc.
monksy 9y ago
I also work in the loop. I found that my mood changes in the winter, and it's greatly helped with Vit D. Just popped one just now.
- rbjorklin 9y ago
  I’ve also had quite severe mood changes during autumn/winter and this year I’m supplementing 100ug (4000IU) five days a week. It took a few weeks but it feels like I’ve bounced back. For anyone who understands Swedish this presentation is valuable: https://youtu.be/syRaJVIBNnw https://youtu.be/syRaJVIBNnw Article with the same info: http://www.lakartidningen.se/OldWebArticlePdf/6/6279/LKT0711s853_857.pdf http://www.lakartidningen.se/OldWebArticlePdf/6/6279/LKT0711...
amelius 9y ago
Instead of taking supplements, you could eat more fish, which contains a lot of vitamin D. This would also give you the necessary DHA and EPA.
- vcryan 9y ago
  You will also get high level of toxins in the form of PCBs, agricultural pesticides, benzene, etc. The pill is probably a safer option
  - amelius 9y ago
    In that case, you could opt for cod-liver oil from a renowned brand.
  - ovao 9y ago
    To my knowledge PCBs aren't a significant concern in wild-caught fish. They may be somewhat more prevalent in farm-raised fish, which typically have a lower concentration of vitamin D anyway (and would therefore be of less benefit). Suffice it to say that I don't believe it's accurate to argue that eating "more fish" will result in "high levels of toxins" — if someone is eating little to no fish and integrates some quality fish into their diet, that's very unlikely to result in the consumption of unsafe levels of toxins. Of course, when it comes to fish, and especially with concern to mercury, over-doing it is very possible.

whitepoplar 9y ago

What dosage do you take daily?

asah 9y ago

Me too, actually had tingling in my feet. Doctor prescribed 10000 IU once a week and symptoms went away.

bdamm 9y ago
Wow, 10,000IU in one big mega dose?
- terminalcommand 9y ago
  Vitamin D can be stored by the body. My Doctor also prescribed me one whole bottle every week for a certain period of time, then I switched to 6 drops a day. Vitamin D defficiency is really a problem, I didn't know I had it till I got a blood test. I was feeling tired all the time, my bones ached, I felt low, dizzy, etc. Getting Vitamin D supplements helped cured all the symptoms, I feel much healthier now.
- jackmott 9y ago
  yeah you can take vitamin d like that. 1 unit a day, or 7 units once a week, doesn't matter.
- sp332 9y ago
  Yup, I was on that temporarily too. It came in little blue-and-white capsules. I think you have to get a prescription for those since, as the article mentions, large doses can cause problems over time.
- insertnickname 9y ago
  Infrequent 50k IU doses are commonly used too.
- vijay_nair 9y ago
  I’ve been taking 60,000IU once a week for the last 3 years

mattferderer 9y ago

Out of curiosity, do you remember what levels they suggested you be at? I've heard there are a lot of different opinions on this. Some important factors on receiving Vitamin D from sun exposure are skin color, the amount of clothing you wear & time of day. Light skin absorbs more than dark skin. Noon gives more Vitamin D than morning or evening. Sun screen & sun screen lotion limit the Vitamin D you get. Being a fellow northerner, walking outside doesn't do much in the winter when 95% of my body is covered in clothing. Science Vs did a great podcast on this - https://gimletmedia.com/episode/vitamins-supplements-worth/ https://gimletmedia.com/episode/vitamins-supplements-worth/ (Vitamin D is their first supplement they discuss & the link provides a transcript for skimming) My personal experience (with no medical background except the Chiropractor's wife who recommended it) finds that Vitamin D supplements (5,000 IU) seems to help prevent & shorten colds & flu-like bugs. I mostly take that dosage when feeling slightly ill or run down.

bproven 9y ago
From what I can tell the article lists guidelines based on consumption (how much Vit D to take or what is recommended), but seems to fail to mention that absorption can vary by person. I think the better method would be to get a blood test and find out where you are and supplement (or get more sun) as needed to bring levels within normal to optimal ranges. But again, what is normal or optimal? Where is the mention of Vit K? In my experimentation, it takes about 5000-10,000 IU per day supplementation + outdoor sun exposure 3 days a week for about an hour each day for me to be in the (or what I am hoping is) normal/optimal range (around 60-70 ng/mL). My sun exposure in that hour is hiking outdoors in full/partial sun mid-day with no shirt on. So 75% body exposure I guess? I am assuming that normal or optimal is mid to upper values in the lab results ranges for Vit D. In the case of Labcorp, the range referenced was 30-100 ng/mL with anything around 30ish and under being definitely deficient according to the lab results description of the range. So in my case it does take quite a bit of sun + supplementation to get optimal. Now my results above are based on summer sun exposure. In the winter, obviously that will be reduced (colder less outdoor skin exposure + sun is low in the sky) so I'm curious to see what difference I see on the labs without the sun exposure part. There are some nice phone apps that helpful in figuring out sun exposure and Vit D. I have used D Minder on the iPhone. You punch in some stats about yourself (skin type, age, % of skin exposure and it asks you a few questions to confirm skin type based on your experience in the sun (do you burn easily, just get red and tan, just tan etc). Then based on your current geo location, sun angle in the sky (winter vs summer and the time of day) and time you want to spend exposed to the sun it calculates Vit D absorption in IU. Granted I'm not sure how accurate it is, but based on my labs and supplementation the biggest eye opener to me was how much sun it really takes to make a difference between deficient and normal/optimal. I do tend to believe now that the old recommendation of "15 min in the sun per day is enough" is false. That might be enough to stave off rickets, but I think more is probably in order for optimal living. However, with all this said it would be great if there more studies on what the optimal or disease preventing blood levels are - with emphasis on blood levels and not just IUs intake per day.

fraflo 9y ago

Hey if you have a minute and don't mind would you tell me a little bit about where you work? I'm graduating in December with a software engineering degree and plan on move to Chicago afterwards, but it obviously isn't quite as well known for tech firms as big cities on the west coast

brianwawok 9y ago
Chicago has a great scene. Some startups, some trading, some big business. Its not a bad place to code.
mamoswined 9y ago
I think it's OK, there are plenty of opportunities, but I would not do it if I were young. I would do Silicon Valley, get a "big tech" or startup name on my resume and work on cutting edge projects, and then move to Chicago. The major advantage here is cost of living is so much lower than the valley. Housing is cheap, which leaves a lot of room for money to use to eat out, nightlife, plays, music, etc.

monksy 9y ago

I also work in the loop. I found that my mood changes in the winter, and it's greatly helped with Vit D. Just popped one just now.

rbjorklin 9y ago
I’ve also had quite severe mood changes during autumn/winter and this year I’m supplementing 100ug (4000IU) five days a week. It took a few weeks but it feels like I’ve bounced back. For anyone who understands Swedish this presentation is valuable: https://youtu.be/syRaJVIBNnw https://youtu.be/syRaJVIBNnw Article with the same info: http://www.lakartidningen.se/OldWebArticlePdf/6/6279/LKT0711s853_857.pdf http://www.lakartidningen.se/OldWebArticlePdf/6/6279/LKT0711...

amelius 9y ago

Instead of taking supplements, you could eat more fish, which contains a lot of vitamin D. This would also give you the necessary DHA and EPA.

vcryan 9y ago
You will also get high level of toxins in the form of PCBs, agricultural pesticides, benzene, etc. The pill is probably a safer option
- amelius 9y ago
  In that case, you could opt for cod-liver oil from a renowned brand.
- ovao 9y ago
  To my knowledge PCBs aren't a significant concern in wild-caught fish. They may be somewhat more prevalent in farm-raised fish, which typically have a lower concentration of vitamin D anyway (and would therefore be of less benefit). Suffice it to say that I don't believe it's accurate to argue that eating "more fish" will result in "high levels of toxins" — if someone is eating little to no fish and integrates some quality fish into their diet, that's very unlikely to result in the consumption of unsafe levels of toxins. Of course, when it comes to fish, and especially with concern to mercury, over-doing it is very possible.