4 ms·

I think the "boost your immune system" things are just common deficiencies in modern people. If most people don't get enough vitamin C or D in regular life, th

I think the "boost your immune system" things are just common deficiencies in modern people. If most people don't get enough vitamin C or D in regular life, then the advice to boost their immune system with a sufficient does to be non-deficient would function to boost their immune system to a normally healthy level.

Dalewyn 4y ago
Milk sold in the US almost always has vitamin D added to it, because presumably Americans don't get enough sunlight to produce sufficient amounts. Instant noodles sold in Japan almost always have vitamins B1 and B2 added to them, for presumably similar reasons.
- bayindirh 4y ago
  > because presumably Americans don't get enough sunlight to produce sufficient amounts. UHT denatures vitamin D, hence UHT and Pasteurized milk has lower vitamin D levels before the sterilization process.
- yucky 4y ago
  I don't know any adults who drink milk. I'm sure some do, but I wouldn't count on that as the solution to Vitamin D deficiency.
- walthamstow 4y ago
  White bread and processed grain products in the UK always have things like iron, calcium, vitamins, riboflavin added. I think it's to replace the loss of the nutrient-rich germ from milling. Never known what riboflavin is, still don't today, but I saw it on the side of a cereal box every day as a child and the word is etched in my mind
  - jerf 4y ago
    Riboflavin is one of the vitamin B complex. I remember it because deficiencies are extremely rare, and there appears to be no practical upper limit on how much you can take, it is virtually impossible to overdose on. I mean, obviously, there is some limit, but it's sky high. Which makes the supplementation of it a particular joke, in my opinion. That it was discovered as a "vitamin" at all is probably more to do with it being easy to spot (very brightly colored) and easy to chemically handle and a few other accidents of history more than anything else: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin#History (I am editorializing that a bit and I freely admit that.) It certainly doesn't stick out like, say, iron, which has recognizable deficiency symptoms and plenty of people in the real world with them.
treeman79 4y ago
You will want k3 if you take d2. Highly recommend getting tested for D deficiency. Source. I used to have crippling migraines almost every day. I don’t anymore.
- robg 4y ago
  I used to get crippling Seasonal Affective Disorder every year, got tested, was badly deficient, and now don’t anymore.
  - bigcloud1299 4y ago
    How did you all resolve the deficiencies? Can you link any product you took? I am in need of Vitamin D.
    - jeremyt 4y ago
      See Dr Berg: https://youtu.be/NFxQJmvgXOQ https://youtu.be/NFxQJmvgXOQ
      - idiocrat 4y ago
        I watched the 4 min video. Unfortunately Dr Berg seems not to consider the concept of biological half-time. I am sure he know the concept, just forgot to put it into his calculation formula. He basically assumes that if his patient consumes 2000 IU vitamin D today, then tomorrow his patient has depleted all 2000 IU and has zero vitamin D in patient's blood. This is obviously wrong.
      - hombre_fatal 4y ago
        That guy is a scientologist quack btw. Here's one example of how incompetent he is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKNzLRmzLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKNzLRmzLg He basically turns low quality listicle nutrition pointers into videos with a whiteboard.
    - robg 4y ago
      1. Get tested 2. If low, start taking D3 with K 3. Keep taking D3 with K 4. Get tested again 5. Take more if no improvement I take 5000 IU most days.
cullenking 4y ago
I recently got a broad panel of tests done, and found out I was Vitamin D deficient. This was a big surprise to me because I live in the high desert of central oregon, which gets lots of sun even in the winter. I am very active and outside everyday. It is cold however, so my arms are always covered. We are 45 degrees north of the equator. I was at 20 ng/mL which is considered deficient. 3 weeks of 5,000 IU a day supplementation (162lbs, fit, active male) brought me up to 31 ng/mL, which is just barely up from deficient. I upped to 10,000 IU a day for 1 week, dropped back to 5,000 IU a day, and will test again in two weeks. Everyone is different, but hopefully this gives some helpful numbers for anyone considering supplementing, and whether or not the paltry 1,000 IU commonly advised is adequate for people living at a higher latitude in the winter.
simonh 4y ago
I don’t think that’s what a lot of people think boosting means. Certainly the family member I’m talking about, and the circle of people she associates with and sends breathlessly excited emails about, think these supplements will protect them from pretty much everything. That they don’t just have healthy immune systems, but boosted ones that literally will protect them from coronavirus, flu, even cancer. That’s why I don’t like that term, it’s become a cult byword.

Dalewyn 4y ago

Milk sold in the US almost always has vitamin D added to it, because presumably Americans don't get enough sunlight to produce sufficient amounts. Instant noodles sold in Japan almost always have vitamins B1 and B2 added to them, for presumably similar reasons.

bayindirh 4y ago
> because presumably Americans don't get enough sunlight to produce sufficient amounts. UHT denatures vitamin D, hence UHT and Pasteurized milk has lower vitamin D levels before the sterilization process.
yucky 4y ago
I don't know any adults who drink milk. I'm sure some do, but I wouldn't count on that as the solution to Vitamin D deficiency.
walthamstow 4y ago
White bread and processed grain products in the UK always have things like iron, calcium, vitamins, riboflavin added. I think it's to replace the loss of the nutrient-rich germ from milling. Never known what riboflavin is, still don't today, but I saw it on the side of a cereal box every day as a child and the word is etched in my mind
- jerf 4y ago
  Riboflavin is one of the vitamin B complex. I remember it because deficiencies are extremely rare, and there appears to be no practical upper limit on how much you can take, it is virtually impossible to overdose on. I mean, obviously, there is some limit, but it's sky high. Which makes the supplementation of it a particular joke, in my opinion. That it was discovered as a "vitamin" at all is probably more to do with it being easy to spot (very brightly colored) and easy to chemically handle and a few other accidents of history more than anything else: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riboflavin#History (I am editorializing that a bit and I freely admit that.) It certainly doesn't stick out like, say, iron, which has recognizable deficiency symptoms and plenty of people in the real world with them.

treeman79 4y ago

You will want k3 if you take d2. Highly recommend getting tested for D deficiency. Source. I used to have crippling migraines almost every day. I don’t anymore.

robg 4y ago
I used to get crippling Seasonal Affective Disorder every year, got tested, was badly deficient, and now don’t anymore.
- bigcloud1299 4y ago
  How did you all resolve the deficiencies? Can you link any product you took? I am in need of Vitamin D.
  - jeremyt 4y ago
    See Dr Berg: https://youtu.be/NFxQJmvgXOQ https://youtu.be/NFxQJmvgXOQ
    - idiocrat 4y ago
      I watched the 4 min video. Unfortunately Dr Berg seems not to consider the concept of biological half-time. I am sure he know the concept, just forgot to put it into his calculation formula. He basically assumes that if his patient consumes 2000 IU vitamin D today, then tomorrow his patient has depleted all 2000 IU and has zero vitamin D in patient's blood. This is obviously wrong.
    - hombre_fatal 4y ago
      That guy is a scientologist quack btw. Here's one example of how incompetent he is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKNzLRmzLg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvKNzLRmzLg He basically turns low quality listicle nutrition pointers into videos with a whiteboard.
  - robg 4y ago
    1. Get tested 2. If low, start taking D3 with K 3. Keep taking D3 with K 4. Get tested again 5. Take more if no improvement I take 5000 IU most days.

cullenking 4y ago

I recently got a broad panel of tests done, and found out I was Vitamin D deficient. This was a big surprise to me because I live in the high desert of central oregon, which gets lots of sun even in the winter. I am very active and outside everyday. It is cold however, so my arms are always covered. We are 45 degrees north of the equator. I was at 20 ng/mL which is considered deficient. 3 weeks of 5,000 IU a day supplementation (162lbs, fit, active male) brought me up to 31 ng/mL, which is just barely up from deficient. I upped to 10,000 IU a day for 1 week, dropped back to 5,000 IU a day, and will test again in two weeks. Everyone is different, but hopefully this gives some helpful numbers for anyone considering supplementing, and whether or not the paltry 1,000 IU commonly advised is adequate for people living at a higher latitude in the winter.

simonh 4y ago

I don’t think that’s what a lot of people think boosting means. Certainly the family member I’m talking about, and the circle of people she associates with and sends breathlessly excited emails about, think these supplements will protect them from pretty much everything. That they don’t just have healthy immune systems, but boosted ones that literally will protect them from coronavirus, flu, even cancer. That’s why I don’t like that term, it’s become a cult byword.