5 ms·

I started to take d vitamin when Covid started and was wondering if that is why I have not had a cold this year. But most likely it is the social distancing.

highmastdon 6y ago
I started taking vitamin d when I started my professional life as a software engineer after my studies. I had a minor winter depression, and I’ve never stopped taking. Since then I’ve had no colds at all. Of course this is anecdotal, but I think a LOT of people in western society could benefit from taking 2000-4000 IU daily throughout the year
- internet_user 6y ago
  vitamin D deficiency is rampant. head of cardiology at one of the most renowned hospitals takes 5000 IU daily, been for decades.
  - HighlandSpring 6y ago
    Don't hesitate to take 10-15k a day for an initial period of couple weeks if you think you might be deficient. Vitamin D requirements are notoriously understated and the supplements underdosed
  - lostlogin 6y ago
    I think that copying the behaviour of hospital department heads could lead to propagation of some truely idiosyncratic behaviour.
- himinlomax 6y ago
  Same, haven't gotten a cold since I started taking vit D supplements; or when I did get anything close to cold symptoms it was very mild and didn't last more than a day or two. I had done the blood test for vit D and I was very deficient -- like many people. It's worth noting that it may well be the only vitamin where deficiency is common in developed countries and where supplementation has plausible benefits. In fact the only thing missing to positively say that supplementation is beneficial is that while deficiency is known for certain to be associated with major issues, and that supplementation has recently been shown to be beneficial in some cases, it's not been demonstrated that supplementing in the general case translates into better outcomes. However, since it's certainly not been demonstrated that it doesn't, it seems quite a bit more plausible than it does than otherwise. The question is, what are the risks of supplementation? For almost everyone, and at doses that are not completely insane to begin with, the risks seem to be close to zero. But there may be some genetic factors that make a small minority susceptible to overdose.
  - the_gipsy 6y ago
    > Same, haven't gotten a cold since I started taking vit D supplements; or when I did get anything close to cold symptoms it was very mild and didn't last more than a day or two. Funny, those "I never get ill" claimers always do get ill if you follow up, "just very little, it's nothing".
    - himinlomax 6y ago
      Sometimes I get a runny nose, my throat is slightly sore ... and it's gone the next day. Could be an allergic reaction, too much vaping, inhaling something, or an infection not taking hold; no idea. It's an entirely different experience from getting an infection with a fever, fatigue and so on.
    - graeme 6y ago
      That’s actually a pretty good outcome.
tempestn 6y ago
I've been taking D as well, and got two colds almost back to back from my kids as soon as they went back to school. I'd agree it's probably the distancing.
- slow_donkey 6y ago
  Are there other reasons you'd continue to take it?
  - tempestn 6y ago
    I wasn't taking it to prevent colds in the first place. The main thing that spurred it now is that Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the severity of covid infections. But being up in Canada I assume I'm deficient, so it should have multiple potential benefits. Eventually I'm planning to test my level to confirm, but for now I figured taking it is safer than not.

highmastdon 6y ago

I started taking vitamin d when I started my professional life as a software engineer after my studies. I had a minor winter depression, and I’ve never stopped taking. Since then I’ve had no colds at all. Of course this is anecdotal, but I think a LOT of people in western society could benefit from taking 2000-4000 IU daily throughout the year

internet_user 6y ago
vitamin D deficiency is rampant. head of cardiology at one of the most renowned hospitals takes 5000 IU daily, been for decades.
- HighlandSpring 6y ago
  Don't hesitate to take 10-15k a day for an initial period of couple weeks if you think you might be deficient. Vitamin D requirements are notoriously understated and the supplements underdosed
- lostlogin 6y ago
  I think that copying the behaviour of hospital department heads could lead to propagation of some truely idiosyncratic behaviour.
himinlomax 6y ago
Same, haven't gotten a cold since I started taking vit D supplements; or when I did get anything close to cold symptoms it was very mild and didn't last more than a day or two. I had done the blood test for vit D and I was very deficient -- like many people. It's worth noting that it may well be the only vitamin where deficiency is common in developed countries and where supplementation has plausible benefits. In fact the only thing missing to positively say that supplementation is beneficial is that while deficiency is known for certain to be associated with major issues, and that supplementation has recently been shown to be beneficial in some cases, it's not been demonstrated that supplementing in the general case translates into better outcomes. However, since it's certainly not been demonstrated that it doesn't, it seems quite a bit more plausible than it does than otherwise. The question is, what are the risks of supplementation? For almost everyone, and at doses that are not completely insane to begin with, the risks seem to be close to zero. But there may be some genetic factors that make a small minority susceptible to overdose.
- the_gipsy 6y ago
  > Same, haven't gotten a cold since I started taking vit D supplements; or when I did get anything close to cold symptoms it was very mild and didn't last more than a day or two. Funny, those "I never get ill" claimers always do get ill if you follow up, "just very little, it's nothing".
  - himinlomax 6y ago
    Sometimes I get a runny nose, my throat is slightly sore ... and it's gone the next day. Could be an allergic reaction, too much vaping, inhaling something, or an infection not taking hold; no idea. It's an entirely different experience from getting an infection with a fever, fatigue and so on.
  - graeme 6y ago
    That’s actually a pretty good outcome.

tempestn 6y ago

I've been taking D as well, and got two colds almost back to back from my kids as soon as they went back to school. I'd agree it's probably the distancing.

slow_donkey 6y ago
Are there other reasons you'd continue to take it?
- tempestn 6y ago
  I wasn't taking it to prevent colds in the first place. The main thing that spurred it now is that Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the severity of covid infections. But being up in Canada I assume I'm deficient, so it should have multiple potential benefits. Eventually I'm planning to test my level to confirm, but for now I figured taking it is safer than not.