Live data from Hacker News

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

npr.org

21–30 of 248 posts

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

#21

In my opinion, the best benefit of fish oil and Omega threes and vitamin D are in combating depression. This article did not touch on that. There is pretty good evidence that fish oil is one of the best supplements for combating depression because it is used directly in construction of neurotransmitter pathways. I highly recommend reading Dr Mark Hyman's book the Ultramind Solution. It's loaded with great info regard…

omega-3 fatty acids are used to build your brain and other cells

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

#22
post #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 cho…

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

Maybe NPR is just playing to their audience?

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

#23

In my opinion, the best benefit of fish oil and Omega threes and vitamin D are in combating depression. This article did not touch on that. There is pretty good evidence that fish oil is one of the best supplements for combating depression because it is used directly in construction of neurotransmitter pathways. I highly recommend reading Dr Mark Hyman's book the Ultramind Solution. It's loaded with great info regard…

Fairly recent Cochrane review concludes:

> ... we do not have sufficient high quality evidence to determine the effects of [omega-3] as a treatment for [major depression]. Our primary analyses suggest a small-to-modest, non-clinically beneficial effect ... compared to placebo; however the estimate is imprecise, and we judged the quality of the evidence on which this result is based to be low/very low.

https://www.cochrane.org/CD004692/DEPRESSN_omega-3-fatty-aci...

Also, I'd be careful with Mark Hyman. He's controversial at best and associated with some fairly quacky organisations. I'm also automatically wary because his bibliography is wonder-fix followed by magic-cure - and medicine is never that simple.

I'm a student doctor. If the answer was easy we'd have found it, and we'd tell you about it.

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

#24
post #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 cho…

Without reading the article, if you're dark skinned you need to be really aware of your vitamin D levels when living away from a tropical sun.

Just like super white people need to be careful about sun screen when away from northern European climates.

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

#25

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.

That's sort of like asking why we keep using antibiotics when you could just live in a bubble. Answer: Because not dieting and exercising is easier, cheaper, and more efficient.

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

#26
post #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 cho…

Does not matter. The effects on African American populations were probably not part of the pre defined endpoints, so yes, it is perfectly acceptable to say the study is negative. Looking at subgroups a posteriori is essentially what leads to p hacking and this is the behavior that we want to discourage in sciences.

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

#27
post #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 cho…

I don’t know, the findings about African Americans seem to be a case of “outcome switching” [0] since it does not appear that this trial was specifically designed to test against that group.

[0] https://www.vox.com/2015/12/29/10654056/ben-goldacre-compare...

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

#28

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1809944 Abstract: 'It is unclear whether supplementation with vitamin D reduces the risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease, and data from randomized trials are limited. Methods We conducted a nationwide, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, with a two-by-two factorial design, of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) at a dose of 2000 IU per day and marine n−3 (also called omega-3…

I'm curious as to whether 2000 IU per day is considered a large dose by the HN community. I've a bottle of 5,000 IU.

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

#29

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.

The evidence suggests that "quite difficult" is actually closer to "practically impossible". It's not just willpower, it's social and economic also!

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

#30
"At this point, if one is thinking about supplementation, either omega-3s or vitamin D, talking to your physician or healthcare provider is the next step" Does anyone actually talk to their doctor before taking a vitamin? What information could they possibly provide
Post reply on HN