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Funny -- I was just digesting a competing study released recently[0] which showed little-to-no benefit from vitamin D, Omega 3 fatty acids, and exercise (either
by ezekiel68 6y ago
Funny -- I was just digesting a competing study released recently[0] which showed little-to-no benefit from vitamin D, Omega 3 fatty acids, and exercise (either alone or in combinations). That study used 5X the daily vitamin D as this one. So I guess the jury's still out and I may choose to continue to err on the side of supplementing vitamin D.
[0] https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/11/10/Study-Little-benefit-for-vitamin-D-omega-3-exercise-in-seniors/2191605028709/ https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2020/11/10/Study-Little-bene...
- dilap 6y agoOr just get some sunshine! It's likely there are other benefits, besides just the vitamin D.
- zmmmmm 6y agoOddly the study didn't seem to state (from the abstract anyway) if the participants were deficient in vitamin D to start with or not.
- randmeerkat 6y agoSure, but the winter climates in many geographical regions don’t provide adequate sunlight during winter.
- wincy 6y agoI was pretty amazed to Discover that Spirit Airlines is doing round trip flights for $75 to Orlando from my local airport. If you’re in the Midwest in a midsized city that’s cold and dreary in winter there’s a good chance you can find a similar deal.
- superkuh 6y agoA lot of this interest in vitamin D is motivated by the desire to not die from getting infected with sars-cov-2. Or not dying in general. Travel like that is counter-productive currently.
- randmeerkat 6y agoI know different people have different risk tolerances, but there’s no way I would get on a plane during a pandemic if I don’t have to.
- artursapek 6y agoAn airplane is probably a safer place to be than your local grocery store right now.
- dragonwriter 6y agoUnless airplanes are alternatives to grocery stores, even if that comparison was accurate it would be meaningless.
- moron4hire 6y agoAm I the only one who finds it laughable to consider trusting the word of companies the likes of Delta, Southwest, and US Air? They seem fundamentally incompetent in pretty much every other aspect of anything that doesn't involve literally keeping the plane from crashing. Why would I believe the air filtration systems are even going to be operational, say nothing about effective when they are?
- sokoloff 6y agoPressurized airliners have about 15 air changes per hour or 3-4x what’s typical in an office building. This is air exchanges with the outside, not filtration cycles which are in addition. Even if the filters were entirely INOP, I suspect you’re no worse off than sitting in an office building. Now, I’m not doing that right now, but there’s little reason to think major US carriers aren’t doing what they say they’re doing and if the air change mechanism wasn’t working, you’d see oxygen masks deploying as that’s the mechanism by which the aircraft remains pressurized.
- moron4hire 6y agoSitting in an office building is one of the worst places you can be for avoiding getting sick.
- raffraffraff 6y agoCongratulations, you have proposed the least ecologically sustainable vitamin boost I've ever heard. Every day brings new surprises.
- radicalriddler 6y agoWell I mean, in Australia, that leads to skin cancer, so I'll just take some tablets thanks!
- dilap 6y agoWe're starting to get into some pretty controversial territory here, but I think you're probably better off still getting at least SOME sunshine. It's speculative, but I believe the skin cancer risk can be dramatically reduced by making sure you're not getting too much linoleic acid in your diet (note: you really have to try at this, tho -- almost every1 is!). Here's a study in mice: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1751-1097.1988.tb02882.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1751-1097.... Of course, that's not humans, but I think the fundamental mechanisms at play should be the same. More broadly, this article is interesting, and makes the case for more sun exposure: https://www.outsideonline.com/2380751/sunscreen-sun-exposure-skin-cancer-science https://www.outsideonline.com/2380751/sunscreen-sun-exposure...
- radicalriddler 6y agoInteresting. Other information [0] suggest that I should consume more lineolic acids compared to other fats to help my risk of Heart Disease that runs in the family. Not looking good for me hey! [0] https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/11/05/dietary-linoleic-acid-and-risk-of-coronary-heart-disease/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2014/11/05/diet...
- senectus1 6y agoDoctors in Australia recommend approximately 15 mins of sunshine a day in Australia. This is pretty easy to achieve, even in winter, for us... and is unlikely to "lead to skin cancer"
- pfarnsworth 6y agoVitamin D taken via pill is not the same an that manufactured by sunlight. The pill form has side effects like causing too much absorption of calcium in the intestines, which leads to other problems. This is something that doesn't happen from sunlight.
- Ragib_Zaman 6y agoCorrect. Perhaps even more important than vitamin D is nitric oxide. The summarised advice is to avoid the sun when it is high in the sky (noon-ish), get some sun in the mornings/evenings, and supplement vitamin D. This ensures good levels of vitamin D and nitric oxide while reducing skin cancer risk. Details here: https://youtu.be/Kvh4D_osFXs https://youtu.be/Kvh4D_osFXs
- null_object 6y ago> Or just get some sunshine! Where I live I haven't been able to get sun actually on my skin for the last three weeks. I saw sunshine through the window one day last week while in a meeting, but it was gone an hour later. According to my weather app the next break in cloud is more than a week from now. Even when there is sunshine in the winter, it's often too cold to expose more than a tiny amount of skin anyway. Please don't assume we all live in California.
- carlmr 6y ago>Please don't assume we all live in California. Same here, although at least there's sun on weekends for me (if it isn't cloudy). Looking out the window, and being outside on the weekend with a winter hat and long sleeves is probably not allowing a lot of vitamin D. I'm wondering if there's something like a good lamp that gives UV light without being too strong.
- treeman79 6y agoUV bath in Russia. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/2009/10/ultraviolet-bath-mcnally-pod/ https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-...
- neilwilson 6y agoThat doesn't work at the latitudes some of us live at. https://new-wayland.com/blog/onward-to-100-nmol/ https://new-wayland.com/blog/onward-to-100-nmol/
- Noxmiles 6y agoNo. I'm a computer scientist and work at the computer. In my free time i play at the computer. I don't like to walk around for kilometers in my free time. Just because some people want to do it / can do it, it is not the same for everyone.
- treeman79 6y agoI’m allergic to the sun. Autoimmune. A day in full sun will mean months of agony.
- msandford 6y agoThere's a big difference between the amount you need to not get rickets (around 100 IU) and the amounts that seem to move the needle on other outcomes (2000 IU or more). The study used 800 IU which to me, isn't great.
- rustamm 6y agoOne important factor in vitamin studies is the prevalence of vitamin deficiency in a particular population. E.g. vitamin D in the US might not be as effective because it is already added into many food products, e.g. milk, which is not the case for other countries.
- Noxmiles 6y agoIn Germany (probably in most european countries) it's not allowed to add vitamin D to food. So it's really important to know about it. Still, almost no one knows about it...
- sandos 6y agoVitamin D is added to milk and butter in Sweden, even obligatory for some kinds! But that's because of our sad lack of sunshine for many months on end of course, so I expect the other nordic countries does something similar.
- kevinmchugh 6y agoEven within a population, vitamin D deficiency will vary by lifestyle, skin tone, and climate. All three of which vary a lot in the US.
- deelowe 6y agoMy understanding is that even the definition of what constitutes deficient isn't settled due to how it's measured. For example, many African Americans show deficient even though it's believed they aren't.
- amanaplanacanal 6y ago> 40.7% of participants had 25(OH)D levels of less than 20 ng/mL at baseline, and according to current guidelines, all were allowed to take 800 IU/d of supplemental vitamin D outside the study medication. So, even the controls were given D3 supplements if they were deficient. That kind of throws the whole study into question.
- LinuxBender 6y agoIt might also be worth mentioning that measuring 25-hydroxy is also an approximation at best. That still has to be converted to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin by the kidneys. People with high insulin resistance (diabetics, pre-diabetics) or kidney damage tend to have problems converting 25-hydroxy. Measuring 25-hydroxy is primarily used for toxicity and even that has variables that are difficult to measure, so a statistical baseline is applied.
- zeku 6y agoI'm not so sure it does, as something like 800 IU of Vitamin D is the daily minimum.
- marcosdumay 6y ago> That kind of throws the whole study into question. Well, that turns it into a study that checks if extra vitamin will have an effect, even when there is no deficiency. It doesn't throw the study into question, but it may not apply to what the people on this thread are talking about (what's never clear).
- sachdevap 6y agoI have not looked at the underlying study, but that article definitely does a terrible job of being clear on the caveats of the study. E.g. this nugget was left for the last paragraph of the article: "Our exercise intervention was a simple home strength exercise program, which likely was not challenging enough in our unexpectedly active study population, where over 80% already engaged moderate to high intensity exercise," she said. I would take anything from this study with a pinch of salt. I doubt if it was a well controlled study.