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The Big Vitamin D Mistake

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

71–80 of 459 posts

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very caucasian centric viewpoint. The fact is that if you live in higher latitudes and have dark skin, you physically cannot absorb enough vitamin D from sunlight during the winter months. While it is physically possible during the summer, it is not practical to spend hours sunbathing.

That's a very coloured centric viewpoint. The fact is that the majority of people of planet earth can go out in the sunshine at the right time of day and get 80-90% the vitamin D they need and get the rest from a balanced diet.

No that is not true at all. In today's world people of all races are living everywhere, so we should give recommendations based off a person's individual health. It is simply not true that a brown skinned person can absorb enough vitamin D from the sun in the northern latitudes.

I said the above viewpoint was caucasian centric because it assumed that everyone could get enough vitamin D from the sun. My response is not 'coloured'-centric because I did not say that no one could get enough from the sun, only that your absorption depends on your skin color. My response was not a generalization, unlike the comment I replied to.

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a very caucasian centric viewpoint. The fact is that if you live in higher latitudes and have dark skin, you physically cannot absorb enough vitamin D from sunlight during the winter months. While it is physically possible during the summer, it is not practical to spend hours sunbathing.

That's a very coloured centric viewpoint. The fact is that the majority of people of planet earth can go out in the sunshine at the right time of day and get 80-90% the vitamin D they need and get the rest from a balanced diet.

Majority? Are you sure about that?

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#74
Low levels of vitamin D can also increase your risk of getting dementia later on in life.

This risk can be reduced by supplementing with vitamin D, improving diet and getting outdoors more. Interesting article below:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/25098535/

We are promoting brain health at:

https://memoraid.co.uk

Check us out!

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#75
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because of impaired kidney function, I get my vitamin D levels monitored every month. Yes supplements can take 2-3 months to increase the levels. The sun actually works pretty good if you can stay outside 15 minutes in noon sun. But that's difficult in the winter months.

I've read varying reports of how much sun you need to generate a day's supply of vitamin D, but rarely do they mention how much skin needs to be exposed. Face only? Face and arms? Entire upper body? Entire body? Is there some online resource for this with time of year and latitude corrections? I imagine there's quite a difference between vitamin D production in noon sun in Fairbanks Alaska versus Miami Florida.

I did some searching...

"John Jacob Cannell, MD, executive director of The Vitamin D Council, notes that the skin makes 10,000 IU of vitamin D after 30 minutes of full-body sun exposure. He suggests that 10,000 IU of vitamin D is not toxic."

https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/the-truth-about-...

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#76

Has anyone had experience ordering blood work (e.g. the vitamin d 25 hydroxy test) without visiting a doctor? I've seen very few references to the set of sites that pop up first online [0, 1, 2, 3] when I've gone looking for reviews in the past. Any suggestions? I'm in CA. [0]: https://www.privatemdlabs.com [1]: http://www.directlabs.com/ [2]: https://www.walkinlab.com/ [3]: https://www.health-tests-direct.com/

I've tried DirectLabs, WalkInLabs, and Life Extension, and have been happy with them all. All of those companies are basically just "doctor ordering resellers" for the two big test labs (LabCorp and Quest), so you generally don't have to worry about the quality of the testing.

I specifically use Life Extension for vitamin D because they're the cheapest one I'm aware of.

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#77
post #23

This supports my lived experience. Found to be incredibly low in vitamin D, and diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis. Doctor said to supplement with 2000 IU being the max per day. After seeing no improvement whatsoever in vitamin D levels, and after talking with others with the same issue, I self medicated to 10000 IU / day. Lo and behold my vitamin D levels went back up and my auto-antibodies went back down.

I've got a nice doctor. I was also incredibly low (getting muscle twitches) and he put me on 15000 IU a day. Did wonders. :)

Can you explain muscle twitches vs Vitamin D?

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#78
post #44

This is one of the reasons I hate dermatologist's panic against sun exposure. Vitamin D deficiency kills way more people than skin cancer.

My dermatologist actually told me to get more sun, but then I have psoriasis.

I believe his exact recommendation was one beach vacation every early Feb.

Re: The Big Vitamin D Mistake

#79
post #15

Throwing in my two cents. I used to suffer from seasonal mood swings, since taking a daily multivitamin this has been the best winter of my life.

I have very severe anxiety attacks which I finally have under control partly through vitamin B and fish oil supplements.
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