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Interesting. At least with respect to Vitamin D, my doctors have been recommending supplementation for years.

Ensorceled 9y ago
Vitamin D has also been recommended by both my GP and my significant other’s. Both also say to stay away from most other supplements and especially multivitamins.
- Someone1234 9y ago
  Mine has been recommending fish oil too. Same as yours in regard to multi-vitamins, she thinks they're a waste of money (we haven't spoken about D specifically).
  - rrauenza 9y ago
    I started a new medication and found my stomach hurt all day. Finally realized it was the fish oil that I started taking regularly again because of the other med. It was also a new brand of fish oil. How do you find fish oil that doesn't kill your stomach? Doesn't seem to matter if it's "burpless."
    - awa 9y ago
      There are 2 options: 1. Try enteric coated fish oil. I think it solves the burp problem. 2. Try a fish oil which is in triglyceride form e.g. https://www.costco.com/Pure-Alaska-Omega-Wild-Salmon-Oil-1000-mg.%2C-180-Softgels.product.11745704.html https://www.costco.com/Pure-Alaska-Omega-Wild-Salmon-Oil-100...
    - scorpioxy 9y ago
      You mean it hurts when taken together? I am sure you've tried this, but what happened when you separated them by a few hours? After or before food, etc? You might want to ask a pharmacist about this, I am not aware of any interaction like this that cannot be remedied by changing the supplementation time. Examine is also great at picking out the research.
      - rrauenza 9y ago
        No, there is a longer story ... which I'll go ahead and tell since it's a perfect example of correlation vs. causation. I remember to take my fish oil more regularly when I'm taking a prescribed medicine. At one point I switched brands, but also hadn't been taking it regularly. I started a new prescription and had stomach discomfort. I attributed it to the new med. So I stopped taking the new med, and it got better--- but that also meant I wasn't taking the fish oil regularly. Eventually I got regular about taking the fish oil again without the prescription med and went ... wait! I'm having that symptom that prescription made gave me! Correlation is not causation!
  - richardknop 9y ago
    Interesting. I remember I was recommended fish oil as child in early nineties. So My parents fed me a lot of can tuna and sardines because doctor said I needed more vitamin D. Apparently fish oil recommendations were a thing already two decades ago.
    - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
      Friends of mine at least 3 decades ago were forced to take their cod-liver oil in liquid form (their mother was a medical professional). 4g of it contains the USDA RDI for VitD apparently.
  - freeflight 9y ago
    There is a long history [0] of populations living in cold places, (Vikings, Eskimos) with less sun using cod liver oil (Levertran) as a "strength tonic", due to the Vitamin D3 in it. The connection is also pretty well established in regards to lack of sunlight and higher risk for developing rickets [1]. Also found a pretty good NPR piece [2] about this whole issue. [0] http://evclo.com/history/ http://evclo.com/history/ [1] http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/2/e132 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/2/e132 [2] https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2012/06/21/155297960/for-summers-first-full-day-the-science-of-skin-color-and-vitamin-d https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2012/06/21/155297960/for-s...
jstarfish 9y ago
Surely not at "high" doses though. There is an accepted safe amount that tends to be proscribed.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- Yver 9y ago
  Recently, I went shopping for vitamin D supplements and I was surprised by the very wide range in products marketed for daily usage, going from 600 IU to 12,000 IU. The recommended intake and upper limit vary depending on which country's ministry of health or which non-governmental health organisation you ask. The Mayo Clinic places toxicity at 50,000 IU [1] and there is anecdotal evidence (i.e. unverifiable comments from the EFSA public consultation on vitamin D) of individuals taking up to 100,000 IU a day. [1]: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h...
- gervase 9y ago
  My doctor prescribed me 10000 IUs/day, which seems to be pretty high based on the values listed in the article. I had a D deficiency at the time, but he suggested that I continue those doses as "preventative maintenance" in the future, even after my levels returned to normal. I assume that it's just a consequence of normal variation regarding (A) the journals your doctor is reading and (B) how they're interpreting those articles.
  - ovao 9y ago
    Interesting. Did you end up maintaining 10,000 IUs/day after your levels normalized, and if so, how long have you been doing so?
- tinymollusk 9y ago
  My doc recommended that I take 10K IU/day. That's the very upper end of the new (higher) range. (I only take 5k, and believe it's incredibly helpful for my mental health.)

Vitamin D has also been recommended by both my GP and my significant other’s. Both also say to stay away from most other supplements and especially multivitamins.

Someone1234 9y ago
Mine has been recommending fish oil too. Same as yours in regard to multi-vitamins, she thinks they're a waste of money (we haven't spoken about D specifically).
- rrauenza 9y ago
  I started a new medication and found my stomach hurt all day. Finally realized it was the fish oil that I started taking regularly again because of the other med. It was also a new brand of fish oil. How do you find fish oil that doesn't kill your stomach? Doesn't seem to matter if it's "burpless."
  - awa 9y ago
    There are 2 options: 1. Try enteric coated fish oil. I think it solves the burp problem. 2. Try a fish oil which is in triglyceride form e.g. https://www.costco.com/Pure-Alaska-Omega-Wild-Salmon-Oil-1000-mg.%2C-180-Softgels.product.11745704.html https://www.costco.com/Pure-Alaska-Omega-Wild-Salmon-Oil-100...
  - scorpioxy 9y ago
    You mean it hurts when taken together? I am sure you've tried this, but what happened when you separated them by a few hours? After or before food, etc? You might want to ask a pharmacist about this, I am not aware of any interaction like this that cannot be remedied by changing the supplementation time. Examine is also great at picking out the research.
    - rrauenza 9y ago
      No, there is a longer story ... which I'll go ahead and tell since it's a perfect example of correlation vs. causation. I remember to take my fish oil more regularly when I'm taking a prescribed medicine. At one point I switched brands, but also hadn't been taking it regularly. I started a new prescription and had stomach discomfort. I attributed it to the new med. So I stopped taking the new med, and it got better--- but that also meant I wasn't taking the fish oil regularly. Eventually I got regular about taking the fish oil again without the prescription med and went ... wait! I'm having that symptom that prescription made gave me! Correlation is not causation!
- richardknop 9y ago
  Interesting. I remember I was recommended fish oil as child in early nineties. So My parents fed me a lot of can tuna and sardines because doctor said I needed more vitamin D. Apparently fish oil recommendations were a thing already two decades ago.
  - pbhjpbhj 9y ago
    Friends of mine at least 3 decades ago were forced to take their cod-liver oil in liquid form (their mother was a medical professional). 4g of it contains the USDA RDI for VitD apparently.
- freeflight 9y ago
  There is a long history [0] of populations living in cold places, (Vikings, Eskimos) with less sun using cod liver oil (Levertran) as a "strength tonic", due to the Vitamin D3 in it. The connection is also pretty well established in regards to lack of sunlight and higher risk for developing rickets [1]. Also found a pretty good NPR piece [2] about this whole issue. [0] http://evclo.com/history/ http://evclo.com/history/ [1] http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/2/e132 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/2/e132 [2] https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2012/06/21/155297960/for-summers-first-full-day-the-science-of-skin-color-and-vitamin-d https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2012/06/21/155297960/for-s...

jstarfish 9y ago

Surely not at "high" doses though. There is an accepted safe amount that tends to be proscribed.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Yver 9y ago
Recently, I went shopping for vitamin D supplements and I was surprised by the very wide range in products marketed for daily usage, going from 600 IU to 12,000 IU. The recommended intake and upper limit vary depending on which country's ministry of health or which non-governmental health organisation you ask. The Mayo Clinic places toxicity at 50,000 IU [1] and there is anecdotal evidence (i.e. unverifiable comments from the EFSA public consultation on vitamin D) of individuals taking up to 100,000 IU a day. [1]: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/vitamin-d-toxicity/faq-20058108 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-h...
gervase 9y ago
My doctor prescribed me 10000 IUs/day, which seems to be pretty high based on the values listed in the article. I had a D deficiency at the time, but he suggested that I continue those doses as "preventative maintenance" in the future, even after my levels returned to normal. I assume that it's just a consequence of normal variation regarding (A) the journals your doctor is reading and (B) how they're interpreting those articles.
- ovao 9y ago
  Interesting. Did you end up maintaining 10,000 IUs/day after your levels normalized, and if so, how long have you been doing so?
tinymollusk 9y ago
My doc recommended that I take 10K IU/day. That's the very upper end of the new (higher) range. (I only take 5k, and believe it's incredibly helpful for my mental health.)