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The number of people in the study is too small to really make much in the way of definitive conclusions. But it is certainly enough that a larger study should o

The number of people in the study is too small to really make much in the way of definitive conclusions. But it is certainly enough that a larger study should occur. In the meantime, since vitamins are cheap and not dangerous at these doses, it seems a reasonable measure to go ahead and take them. They might help, there's weak evidence to suggest that they might, and they shouldn't hurt. However, it's important not to overdose. I know that at least vitamin D is dangerous if overdosed. Most people as they get older are low in vitamin D anyway. In my mind this is something like masks were months ago. Maybe they help, maybe they don't, but the risk of wearing a mask or taking vitamins is pretty negligible, and there are common-sense reasons to believe they might be helpful. Until better experimental results are available, you should use common sense approaches to reduce your risks. They might not work, but the harm of doing them is negligible.

j-conn 6y ago
One thing to keep in mind in the US is that dietary supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA. Consumers have to place a lot of trust in the manufacturer that their product is free from potentially harmful contaminants.
eloff 6y ago
You're not going to overdose vitamin D at 1000 IU. Do your own research, but the RDA is too low for people living in the northern hemisphere. I'm a computer programmer living in Canada, I take 3000 IU a day. A good sun exposure can produce 50,000 IU, not all of which gets absorbed. If you have too much over a long period of time it can cause calcification. You're probably not going to experience that under 10000 IU a day. Again, do your own research. I'm not an expert in this field.
jerf 6y ago
If we're going to call out one of those three vitamins for overdose potential, it's the magnesium you should be calling out, not the vitamin D. Accidental vitamin D overdose seems to be a non-issue, almost (but not quite) entirely theoretical. Clinically-significant doses of magnesium can have real effects on the body, though, even in the "safe range"; it affects your heart fairly strongly, for instance, and needs to be in balance with some other nutrients. Even if you are in fact in need of magnesium supplementation, you can trigger some heart issues if you supplement magnesium without the other nutrients you need to go with it. This won't happen to most people, but I'd guess it's a 3-4 more orders of magnitude serious concern than vitamin D overdose.

j-conn 6y ago

One thing to keep in mind in the US is that dietary supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA. Consumers have to place a lot of trust in the manufacturer that their product is free from potentially harmful contaminants.

eloff 6y ago

You're not going to overdose vitamin D at 1000 IU. Do your own research, but the RDA is too low for people living in the northern hemisphere. I'm a computer programmer living in Canada, I take 3000 IU a day. A good sun exposure can produce 50,000 IU, not all of which gets absorbed. If you have too much over a long period of time it can cause calcification. You're probably not going to experience that under 10000 IU a day. Again, do your own research. I'm not an expert in this field.

jerf 6y ago

If we're going to call out one of those three vitamins for overdose potential, it's the magnesium you should be calling out, not the vitamin D. Accidental vitamin D overdose seems to be a non-issue, almost (but not quite) entirely theoretical. Clinically-significant doses of magnesium can have real effects on the body, though, even in the "safe range"; it affects your heart fairly strongly, for instance, and needs to be in balance with some other nutrients. Even if you are in fact in need of magnesium supplementation, you can trigger some heart issues if you supplement magnesium without the other nutrients you need to go with it. This won't happen to most people, but I'd guess it's a 3-4 more orders of magnitude serious concern than vitamin D overdose.