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Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

npr.org

11–20 of 248 posts

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#11
This headline is quite misleading (and arguably very biased toward white readers). It describes a marked improvement in outcomes for African American study participants.

So perhaps NPR views this as "disappointing" but the headline suggests broadly that everyone should stop taking those supplements, when in fact the results are far more nuanced.

HN's absurd title policy is using a clickbait (and misleading) title chosen by NPR and amplifying it.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#12

Why do we keep looking for some magic pill and ignore diet and exercise, especially when we talk about cancer and cardiovascular disease? Expecting a pill to counteract a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in sugar and carbs is lunacy.

Diet and exercise have considerably higher costs than pills. Seems like that should be apparent.

I don't see it as lunacy. Some chemicals we put into our bodies kill us, some cure our illnesses, some keep us awake or put us to sleep. It's lunacy to believe that some can benefit our health?

Regardless, this isn't zero-sum. I don't think people are advocating for a pill to replace diet and exercise, but it seems obviously worthwhile to pursue other avenues of living a healthy life.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#13

Been taking 10k IU of D3 for a few months now, managed to get my measurement from the teens or 20s into the 90s of whatever unit that's in. I believe 100 is the max of the healthy range. Can't tell the difference, but allegedly you're going to feel "worse" if you're low on this stuff. It would be amusing to find out that it actually makes no difference at all and it's all placebo.

Long-term health risks associated with low D include cancer and heart disease. I tested very low a few years ago and get tested every 6 months now. 10k for me as well. Who figured 12-14 hours a day at a computer would be unhealthy.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#14

Why do we keep looking for some magic pill and ignore diet and exercise, especially when we talk about cancer and cardiovascular disease? Expecting a pill to counteract a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in sugar and carbs is lunacy.

Of course, a decade ago, the lunacy was expecting something to counteract a diet high in fat.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#15

Why do we keep looking for some magic pill and ignore diet and exercise, especially when we talk about cancer and cardiovascular disease? Expecting a pill to counteract a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in sugar and carbs is lunacy.

Why can't we take supplements AND have a healthy diet and exercise.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#16

Why do we keep looking for some magic pill and ignore diet and exercise, especially when we talk about cancer and cardiovascular disease? Expecting a pill to counteract a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in sugar and carbs is lunacy.

These pills are part of your diet.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#17

Been taking 10k IU of D3 for a few months now, managed to get my measurement from the teens or 20s into the 90s of whatever unit that's in. I believe 100 is the max of the healthy range. Can't tell the difference, but allegedly you're going to feel "worse" if you're low on this stuff. It would be amusing to find out that it actually makes no difference at all and it's all placebo.

Are you taking it to prevent musculoskeletal disorders or cancer/heart disease? Works for the former

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#18

Been taking 10k IU of D3 for a few months now, managed to get my measurement from the teens or 20s into the 90s of whatever unit that's in. I believe 100 is the max of the healthy range. Can't tell the difference, but allegedly you're going to feel "worse" if you're low on this stuff. It would be amusing to find out that it actually makes no difference at all and it's all placebo.

We have plenty of data on the effect of D3 supplementation in rickets and iron-deficient anemia as well as mechanistic data that supports these conclusions.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#19

Why do we keep looking for some magic pill and ignore diet and exercise, especially when we talk about cancer and cardiovascular disease? Expecting a pill to counteract a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in sugar and carbs is lunacy.

Because magic pills don't require lifestyle changes, and lifestyle changes are quite difficult to do for many people.

Re: Long-Awaited Study Results on Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements

#20

Why do we keep looking for some magic pill and ignore diet and exercise, especially when we talk about cancer and cardiovascular disease? Expecting a pill to counteract a sedentary lifestyle and a diet high in sugar and carbs is lunacy.

Diet and exercise have considerably higher costs than pills. Seems like that should be apparent. I don't see it as lunacy. Some chemicals we put into our bodies kill us, some cure our illnesses, some keep us awake or put us to sleep. It's lunacy to believe that some can benefit our health? Regardless, this isn't zero-sum. I don't think people are advocating for a pill to replace diet and exercise, but it seems obviou…

If you want to lose weight, spending hours in the gym is a waste of time if you change nothing about a bad diet high in carbs and sugar. I think the same goes with vitamins or supplments...if you change nothing about your lifestyle and are at risk of developing a cardiovascular disease taking a vitamin probably won't do anything. If you make significant lifestyle changes that are already proven, or at least more proven, to reverse symptoms of cardiovascular disease and then take certain vitamins as part of that change then the vitamins might have the impact of slightly speeding up the recovery time and/or slightly reducing the chance you'll be diagnosed in the first place.
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