Vitamin D

19 October 2020, 09:34 AM

Steve Miller

Vitamin D

My doc says I’m low on Vitamin D and has me supplementing it. He told me it seems to help with fending off Covid. I’m a little skeptical but it’s easy enough, and cheap.

Here’s an article:

https://www.zergnet.com/news/5...ease-your-covid-risk

19 October 2020, 09:42 AM

rontuner

I tested low a couple of years back and have been supplementing too...

19 October 2020, 09:44 AM

wtg

I tested very low years ago. My ophthalmologist was goofy about vitamin and mineral supplementation and she wanted me to take megadoses to build up my vitamin D levels. I took one capsule and got a headache (which never happens to me) and waves of nausea. I ditched the rest of the capsules and life moved on.

I've been out in the sun a lot more in the last couple of years, but read about a possible connection between vitamin D deficiency and COVID and decided that taking 2000 IU (way less than the eye doc was giving me) was probably a good idea.

I haven't been retested to check my levels.

19 October 2020, 10:34 AM

QuirtEvans

My GP in Massachusetts stopped testing people's Vitamin D banks, because she said everyone was low. (Maybe because of the northern climate.). She just recommended a supplement to all patients. I've been taking one daily for years.

19 October 2020, 10:55 AM

Mary Anna

I get a reasonable amount of sunshine when it's warm outside, given that it's only supposed to take about fifteen minutes of skin exposure to do the trick. Still, my Vitamin D is often low and I've had doctors prescribe short courses of high-level supplements. They work on the short term, but the levels creep down.

I'm sure different people produce it at different levels, and I'm sure that our ability to produce it degrades as we age. I'm currently taking a multivitamin that includes Vitamin D, but I'm not sure whether it's enough.

19 October 2020, 11:38 AM

ShiroKuro

We've been taking vitamin D supplements for years. I choose to believe it helps.

19 October 2020, 11:54 AM

Steve Miller

quote:
Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
My GP in Massachusetts stopped testing people's Vitamin D banks, because she said everyone was low. (Maybe because of the northern climate.). She just recommended a supplement to all patients. I've been taking one daily for years.

I’ve noticed that when talking with friends, even in CA. Everyone seems to be low.

I wonder why that is.

19 October 2020, 11:57 AM

wtg

Are people using more sunscreen?

19 October 2020, 12:12 PM

jodi

I’m outside a lot, but ever since I read about the possible protection, I’ve been supplementing. Been taking a B complex too. (Mostly because those come in gummy form and they taste good

) I’m having a health screening done, and they will check virgin D along with a Covid antibody test (though I imagine those are long gone by now)

19 October 2020, 01:33 PM

jon-nyc

There is lots of evidence that vitamin D can actually help prevent COVID, though no large-n RCT as of yet. Still, Fauci started taking it.

I took it anyway, now I take more and my wife and kid take it too. There is potential upside and no down side (we’re not taking crazy amounts).

19 October 2020, 03:29 PM

ShiroKuro

quote:
Everyone seems to be low.

I wonder why that is.

My guess is, we are all just spending too much time inside, and when we do go out, we wear sunscreen etc.

In my case, I know it's too much time inside.

19 October 2020, 03:44 PM

Nina

My GP tests for vitamin D as part of our regular annual checkup/blood work. I am always fine because I take calcium supplements with D. Mr. Nina is usually low, but I don't know if he does much about it.

This was never an issue when we lived in Arizona.

20 October 2020, 01:53 AM

piqué

I've been told that everyone in Montana is chronically low, even though Montanans spend more time outdoors than most Americans. I take 5,000 i.u daily in summer, and 5,000 i.u. twice a day in winter--doctor's orders as i have osteopenia

21 October 2020, 06:49 AM

Daniel

quote:
Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
quote:
Everyone seems to be low.

I wonder why that is.

My guess is, we are all just spending too much time inside, and when we do go out, we wear sunscreen etc.

In my case, I know it's too much time inside.

This.

My Dr. advised me to take D3 (after screening and finding it low). I'm happy to do it.

Actually, I've decided to work outside today, and I've decided to do everything I need to get done. I'm going out at sunrise, and even so, I'll probably get plenty of sun.

25 June 2022, 02:11 PM

wtg

Another take on vitamin D...

quote:
Everyone loves D, the sunshine vitamin. Doctors, patients and the media have been enamoured with vitamin D supplements for decades. As well as their clear benefit in curing severe vitamin D deficiencies, endless headlines hail their magical ability to reduce a vast range of conditions from dementia to cancer.

Medical specialists such as myself have been promoting supplements to our patients with osteoporosis and other bone problems for decades. Many food products contain artificially added vitamin D with the aim of preventing fractures and falls and improving muscle strength although the vitamin also has been claimed to boost the immune system and reduce ageing. I used to sometimes take vitamin D myself and recommended it to my family to survive sun-starved winters.

However, a new paper on the risks that vitamin D may pose finally has convinced me that I was wrong. My view on vitamin supplements and the multi-billion dollar industry behind them altered radically after I began researching my book, The Diet Myth, in 2013. The industry and its PR is supported by celebrities who reportedly have high-dose vitamins drip fed into their veins, and around 50% of Americans and Britons take them regularly. But surprisingly, there is a lack of evidence to support the health benefit claims of virtually all vitamin supplements on the market.

https://theconversation.com/th...ted-supplement-52725