11 ms·

Vitamin D supplements are one of the few where there's a strong evidence base, and where health services advise on supplementation. https://www.nhs.uk/conditi

by yaseer 5y ago

Vitamin D supplements are one of the few where there's a strong evidence base, and where health services advise on supplementation. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-... It's particularly important if you have dark skin and live in the northern hemisphere. Several of my family were diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency and had a tangible increase in quality of life from supplements.

glenngillen 5y ago
Would you mind elaborating on what specifically "tangible increase in quality of life" means in this context for the curious (i.e., me :) ?
- yaseer 5y ago
  Pre supplements: Feeling lethargic and often sick, not shaking off coughs. Our Doctor diagnosed Vitamin D deficiency. Post supplementation (and D levels returning to normal), sick far less often with lower severity + increase in energy levels [to normal] EDIT: Clarified energy increase is to normal.
  - Broken_Hippo 5y ago
    Not everyone is going to get those benefits, though. I've been so deficient that I literally hurt. I had trouble sleeping due to the back/neck pain and had to take breaks while cooking food. Supplements took care of the pain and the extreme lack of energy, but I've never been "energetic". The best way to describe this, really, is that if I had taken supplements before, I'd have prevented undue lethargy and tiredness. What actually made me get sick less often was not working with the public nor with children, and I never really had trouble shaking off disease when I did get sick. (I ended up deficient due to moving to a northern climate). At best, supplements help me keep a level of normal.
    - yaseer 5y ago
      Yes, I think what you're describing agrees with my family's experience. When I said 'lethargic'->'increase in energy levels', I didn't mean increase above the baseline. I meant 'lethargic'->'normal'.
  - kasperni 5y ago
    Pretty much the same experience. Have stopped taking supplements twice. And it took me right back to 4-5 colds a winter and no energy. I'm in Denmark. And health authorities have started recommending everyone to take supplements doing winter. And elderly all year around.
  - treeman79 5y ago
    That was My experience. Was stuck in bed 22 hours a day for a year, unable to even look at phone or tv. Few months after lots of Vit D I was kayaking every weekend.
Angostura 5y ago
It's the only vitamin or supplement that the NHS advises to be taken by large segments of the population.
- jwally 5y ago
  Does the NHS say all other vitamin supplements are a waste; or is vit-d the only one they actively endorse? Can you share link if you have it? I would love to something from an authority like NHS about what vitamins are worthwhile.
  - TuringNYC 5y ago
    >> Does the NHS say all other vitamin supplements are a waste; or is vit-d the only one they actively endorse? I need to look for docs around this, but the message in the US (not sure about UK) is usually not that stark. Doctors usually say - "if you are eating a balanced diet, you dont need any supplements except Vitamin D".
  - fragmede 5y ago
    The vitamin D page is: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-... There are links to other vitamins from there, but those pages all say you should be able to get all you need from a balanced diet.
- timrichard 5y ago
  Their advice hasn't been updated for a long time, and is for 400 IU. During Covid, plenty of medics in the media were recommending about 2000 IU, perhaps a bit more. Studies are emerging, so time will tell I guess.
  - andy_ppp 5y ago
    I saw a paper somewhere implying the more body fat you have the more Vitamin D you need too.
  - stjohnswarts 5y ago
Shadonototra 5y ago
eat food, don't take supplements supplements will destroy your liver
- bil7 5y ago
  what foods would you recommend for vit d?
  - Shadonototra 5y ago
    anything you want that is source of vitamin D3 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3#TOC_TI...
    - TuringNYC 5y ago
      Below are "a few ideas" listed from the article (direct quote): 1- mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet light (11Trusted Source) 2- Take fish oil supplements such as cod liver oil 3- Eat fatty fish twice a week (12Trusted Source) 4- Choose milk or orange juice that’s been fortified with vitamin D 5- Eat some eggs and butter (13Trusted Source) 6- Spend at least half an hour in the sun daily, if possible My thoughts on their recco: Option 6 is the typical US doctor prescription before vitamin supplements and seems the most reasonable, though depends on your location. Options 3 and 5 are legit options and worth noting. Not sure if the portion sizes would be a financial detriment to many though. Option 2 and 4 essentially seem like taking Vitamin D supplements. Option 1 is huh? Who has a UV gun for mushrooms? Do stores do this automatically?
      - nkozyra 5y ago
        You simply let your mushrooms get 30 minutes of sun exposure daily.
      - drbw 5y ago
        Yeah, I've seen "Vitamin D enriched" mushrooms at the Coop supermarket in the UK.
2Gkashmiri 5y ago
i have had some sort of psoriasis in my feet and palm of my hands for the almost 16 odd years now. the feet used to have wide gashes that took years to heal. i would spend months lubricating with vaseline and a sarin wrap style plastic covering to keep the grease in contact with the skin... over time, the feet started to heal, one foot is completly fine, the second one still has a 2 inch square size piece below the ankle that gets super dry, starts to break and super exfoliation making me go "scratch scratch scratch". left hand, well same thing. i would get a gash in the palm and it would stay an open wound for 2-3 years, get better and then again on its own. for the past 6-9 years the hands had been pretty much fine but this year i am seeing signs for skin getting "patches" like you get if you just burn the top skin layer, just a tad bit dark. it gets scratchy very easily and so is the urge. for the first time in my life my right hand palm is showing "patches" which is totally new to me. i was diagnosed with "hyperhidrosis" back in 2012, got that aluminum chloride or whatever antiperspirant but that never worked. it made my skin super dry and the base problem got worse with it... they had told me that this is an autoimmune disease so "you gotta weather it out"... i will definitely try VitD because improvement in my hands and feet would definitely be a quality of life improvement for me personally. its been to a point i have a slight tilt in my left foot because of all the tip toe i had to walk for years because i could not put my heel down in school/road/etc ...
- themoop 5y ago
  For hyperhidrosis, if you can tolerate the discomfort, I highly suggest using Iontophoresis. It really changed my social life after trying many other solutions that did not work. There are now plenty of commercial machines available
dagurp 5y ago
Most people suffer from vitamin D deficiency so I would say that it's recommended for everyone. Vitamin D is also important when it comes to Covid https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8509048/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8509048/
legulere 5y ago
There’s a strong evidence base for correlation, the base for causation is much worse. Only few things like bone health in the elderly have been shown to be improved by supplementation.
- sooheon 5y ago
  This very post references a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial. It's an intervention over 5+ years that showed 22% reduction in autoimmune disease, not a correlative study.
  - legulere 5y ago
    It’s a study wether vitamin D prevents cancer and cardiovascular diseases: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01169259 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01169259 The results are negative: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30415629/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30415629/ What you see here is that combing through the data to see wether anything shows a publishable correlation. It’s better than a correlation in the general population, but can be also spurious. Here is the article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ It’s important to observe that “omega 3 fatty acid supplementation with or without vitamin D reduced the autoimmune disease rate by 15% (not statistically significant)”. If vitamin D reduced autoimmune diseases you would expect omega 3 + vitamin D to have similar results than just vitamin D
    - sooheon 5y ago
      > Here is the article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ It’s important to observe that “omega 3 fatty acid supplementation with or without vitamin D reduced the autoimmune disease rate by 15% (not statistically significant)”. There are two endpoints measured, and you chose to quote the statistically insignificant result, rather than the significant one. Though I agree, p-hacking is always an issue. OTOH, plenty of biological discoveries come from unintended observations. As long as they replicate, nothing's off limits -- you wouldn't disbelieve penicillin because it wasn't discovered in a pre-registered trial. > If vitamin D reduced autoimmune diseases you would expect omega 3 + vitamin D to have similar results than just vitamin D It did. D only hazard ratio: .68, D+omega3 hazard ratio .69
datavirtue 5y ago
Main ingredient: olive oil.

by yaseer 5y ago

glenngillen 5y ago

Would you mind elaborating on what specifically "tangible increase in quality of life" means in this context for the curious (i.e., me :) ?

yaseer 5y ago
Pre supplements: Feeling lethargic and often sick, not shaking off coughs. Our Doctor diagnosed Vitamin D deficiency. Post supplementation (and D levels returning to normal), sick far less often with lower severity + increase in energy levels [to normal] EDIT: Clarified energy increase is to normal.
- Broken_Hippo 5y ago
  Not everyone is going to get those benefits, though. I've been so deficient that I literally hurt. I had trouble sleeping due to the back/neck pain and had to take breaks while cooking food. Supplements took care of the pain and the extreme lack of energy, but I've never been "energetic". The best way to describe this, really, is that if I had taken supplements before, I'd have prevented undue lethargy and tiredness. What actually made me get sick less often was not working with the public nor with children, and I never really had trouble shaking off disease when I did get sick. (I ended up deficient due to moving to a northern climate). At best, supplements help me keep a level of normal.
  - yaseer 5y ago
    Yes, I think what you're describing agrees with my family's experience. When I said 'lethargic'->'increase in energy levels', I didn't mean increase above the baseline. I meant 'lethargic'->'normal'.
- kasperni 5y ago
  Pretty much the same experience. Have stopped taking supplements twice. And it took me right back to 4-5 colds a winter and no energy. I'm in Denmark. And health authorities have started recommending everyone to take supplements doing winter. And elderly all year around.
- treeman79 5y ago
  That was My experience. Was stuck in bed 22 hours a day for a year, unable to even look at phone or tv. Few months after lots of Vit D I was kayaking every weekend.

Angostura 5y ago

It's the only vitamin or supplement that the NHS advises to be taken by large segments of the population.

jwally 5y ago
Does the NHS say all other vitamin supplements are a waste; or is vit-d the only one they actively endorse? Can you share link if you have it? I would love to something from an authority like NHS about what vitamins are worthwhile.
- TuringNYC 5y ago
  >> Does the NHS say all other vitamin supplements are a waste; or is vit-d the only one they actively endorse? I need to look for docs around this, but the message in the US (not sure about UK) is usually not that stark. Doctors usually say - "if you are eating a balanced diet, you dont need any supplements except Vitamin D".
- fragmede 5y ago
  The vitamin D page is: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-d/ https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-... There are links to other vitamins from there, but those pages all say you should be able to get all you need from a balanced diet.
timrichard 5y ago
Their advice hasn't been updated for a long time, and is for 400 IU. During Covid, plenty of medics in the media were recommending about 2000 IU, perhaps a bit more. Studies are emerging, so time will tell I guess.
- andy_ppp 5y ago
  I saw a paper somewhere implying the more body fat you have the more Vitamin D you need too.
- stjohnswarts 5y ago

Shadonototra 5y ago

eat food, don't take supplements supplements will destroy your liver

bil7 5y ago
what foods would you recommend for vit d?
- Shadonototra 5y ago
  anything you want that is source of vitamin D3 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6 https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3#TOC_TI...
  - TuringNYC 5y ago
    Below are "a few ideas" listed from the article (direct quote): 1- mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet light (11Trusted Source) 2- Take fish oil supplements such as cod liver oil 3- Eat fatty fish twice a week (12Trusted Source) 4- Choose milk or orange juice that’s been fortified with vitamin D 5- Eat some eggs and butter (13Trusted Source) 6- Spend at least half an hour in the sun daily, if possible My thoughts on their recco: Option 6 is the typical US doctor prescription before vitamin supplements and seems the most reasonable, though depends on your location. Options 3 and 5 are legit options and worth noting. Not sure if the portion sizes would be a financial detriment to many though. Option 2 and 4 essentially seem like taking Vitamin D supplements. Option 1 is huh? Who has a UV gun for mushrooms? Do stores do this automatically?
    - nkozyra 5y ago
      You simply let your mushrooms get 30 minutes of sun exposure daily.
    - drbw 5y ago
      Yeah, I've seen "Vitamin D enriched" mushrooms at the Coop supermarket in the UK.

2Gkashmiri 5y ago

i have had some sort of psoriasis in my feet and palm of my hands for the almost 16 odd years now. the feet used to have wide gashes that took years to heal. i would spend months lubricating with vaseline and a sarin wrap style plastic covering to keep the grease in contact with the skin... over time, the feet started to heal, one foot is completly fine, the second one still has a 2 inch square size piece below the ankle that gets super dry, starts to break and super exfoliation making me go "scratch scratch scratch". left hand, well same thing. i would get a gash in the palm and it would stay an open wound for 2-3 years, get better and then again on its own. for the past 6-9 years the hands had been pretty much fine but this year i am seeing signs for skin getting "patches" like you get if you just burn the top skin layer, just a tad bit dark. it gets scratchy very easily and so is the urge. for the first time in my life my right hand palm is showing "patches" which is totally new to me. i was diagnosed with "hyperhidrosis" back in 2012, got that aluminum chloride or whatever antiperspirant but that never worked. it made my skin super dry and the base problem got worse with it... they had told me that this is an autoimmune disease so "you gotta weather it out"... i will definitely try VitD because improvement in my hands and feet would definitely be a quality of life improvement for me personally. its been to a point i have a slight tilt in my left foot because of all the tip toe i had to walk for years because i could not put my heel down in school/road/etc ...

themoop 5y ago
For hyperhidrosis, if you can tolerate the discomfort, I highly suggest using Iontophoresis. It really changed my social life after trying many other solutions that did not work. There are now plenty of commercial machines available

dagurp 5y ago

Most people suffer from vitamin D deficiency so I would say that it's recommended for everyone. Vitamin D is also important when it comes to Covid https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8509048/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8509048/

legulere 5y ago

There’s a strong evidence base for correlation, the base for causation is much worse. Only few things like bone health in the elderly have been shown to be improved by supplementation.

sooheon 5y ago
This very post references a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial. It's an intervention over 5+ years that showed 22% reduction in autoimmune disease, not a correlative study.
- legulere 5y ago
  It’s a study wether vitamin D prevents cancer and cardiovascular diseases: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01169259 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01169259 The results are negative: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30415629/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30415629/ What you see here is that combing through the data to see wether anything shows a publishable correlation. It’s better than a correlation in the general population, but can be also spurious. Here is the article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ It’s important to observe that “omega 3 fatty acid supplementation with or without vitamin D reduced the autoimmune disease rate by 15% (not statistically significant)”. If vitamin D reduced autoimmune diseases you would expect omega 3 + vitamin D to have similar results than just vitamin D
  - sooheon 5y ago
    > Here is the article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35082139/ It’s important to observe that “omega 3 fatty acid supplementation with or without vitamin D reduced the autoimmune disease rate by 15% (not statistically significant)”. There are two endpoints measured, and you chose to quote the statistically insignificant result, rather than the significant one. Though I agree, p-hacking is always an issue. OTOH, plenty of biological discoveries come from unintended observations. As long as they replicate, nothing's off limits -- you wouldn't disbelieve penicillin because it wasn't discovered in a pre-registered trial. > If vitamin D reduced autoimmune diseases you would expect omega 3 + vitamin D to have similar results than just vitamin D It did. D only hazard ratio: .68, D+omega3 hazard ratio .69

datavirtue 5y ago

Main ingredient: olive oil.