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Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

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Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#111

I struggle to believe that a physician told her to take 5000 IU of vitamin D daily for 5+ years. This is nearly 10x canada's recommended winter time dose for adults under 70. After years of struggling with severe joint pain and mental fog/depression, among other things it was discovered that I had critically low vitamin D. They prescribed the 5000 dose but told me at least 10 times how I should NOT continue this high…

> I struggle to believe that a physician told her to take 5000 IU Believe it. When one of the most trusted vitamin companys (Nature’s Made) sells a 5000 IU single pill dosage that can be found at any drug or grocery store in the US - it nots surprising that people buy and believe 5000 is ok. https://www.naturemade.com/products/nature-made-extra-streng... If 4000 IU is the max dosage anyone should take, it shouldn’t b…

I am 6'4" (193 cm) and 240 lbs (108 kg). A big boy. I require supplementation at 5000IU to maintain ~48 ng/mL, which is just about normal.

It is impossible, at my latitude, to obtain adequate exposure to sunlight. I tried that.

My doctor said "hmmmm your vitamin d is 9... maybe that explains the all-appendage tendonitis and muscle soreness" and recommended supplementation. I really like being able to spend 10¢ per day on D3 and K2 from Amazon instead of paying for 200,000 IU injections every month or two.

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#112
post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t the issue made worse by the fact that Vitamin D absorption is way lower if not in conjunction with Vitamin K? Or is this a myth?

Vitamin K is needed so that calcium doesn't build up in the vessels but goes to the bones where it's supposed to be. But, taking D and K at the exact same time reduces the absorption of D.

So those combination vitamin D, and K products are scams?

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#113

I struggle to believe that a physician told her to take 5000 IU of vitamin D daily for 5+ years. This is nearly 10x canada's recommended winter time dose for adults under 70. After years of struggling with severe joint pain and mental fog/depression, among other things it was discovered that I had critically low vitamin D. They prescribed the 5000 dose but told me at least 10 times how I should NOT continue this high…

The fear of vitamin D overdose is GREATLY overblown, people recover even with overdose with ridiculous (2 MILLION) units over several weeks, anyway, it's strange how much fear has been manufactured over this particular "vitamin".

[deleted]

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vitamin K is needed so that calcium doesn't build up in the vessels but goes to the bones where it's supposed to be. But, taking D and K at the exact same time reduces the absorption of D.

So those combination vitamin D, and K products are scams?

[deleted]

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#115
post #73
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The widely used daily recommended amounts of Vitamin D (600 IU in the US and Canada) are wrong, by a factor of 10, and based on a math typo that no one caught until 2017: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5541280/ . I guess many still don't realize this fact. "We call public health authorities to consider designating as the RDA ... around 8000 IU for adults"

Isn’t the issue made worse by the fact that Vitamin D absorption is way lower if not in conjunction with Vitamin K? Or is this a myth?

As mentioned, K is more to make sure the calcium absorbed as a result of vitamin D can be properly put away instead of hanging around in the arteries.

Magnesium is very important cofactor for metabolism of Vitamin D (and many other things, it’s a cofactor involved with hundreds of enzymes and such), which people are also generally low on.

I think there may be another big cofactor or two, but they escape my offhand recollection.

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#116
post #80

This article was written by my wife a while back. It is part of a series she wrote to help people think about Vitamin D. She's actually doing a facebook live presentation (and taking questions) on Vitamin D next month if anyone is interested [1]. She's doing consults all day today and tomorrow but I'll let her know this is here. [1] https://fb.me/e/4WMVAXS9u

I remember she answered a bunch of HN questions about Vitamin D during the pandemic, it was great!

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#117

This is very confusing! Our skin can make lots of vitamin D. Lots if not more than this case describes. A quick search yields the following: "A whole body exposure to UVB radiation inducing the light pink color of the minimal erythema dose for 15–20 min is able to induce the production of up to 250 μg vitamin D (10,000 IU)"[1] Surely naked homo sapiens got a bigger dose wandering around the highlands of Ethiopia 100,…

In the case of sunlight exposure to UVB an equilibrium is reached where the amount vitamin D produced in the skin equals the amount destroyed by UVB. This does not happen if you pop vitamin D pills. I've recently written an app that calculates the time required to obtain adequate vitamin D by lying prone in the sun, with most of your clothes off, and using MED the minimal erythema dose as a guide to safe sun exposure. At the height of summer it is a surprisingly short amount of time that is required to get adequate vitamin D even for people with dark skins.

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#118

I struggle to believe that a physician told her to take 5000 IU of vitamin D daily for 5+ years. This is nearly 10x canada's recommended winter time dose for adults under 70. After years of struggling with severe joint pain and mental fog/depression, among other things it was discovered that I had critically low vitamin D. They prescribed the 5000 dose but told me at least 10 times how I should NOT continue this high…

The NHS in the UK recommends everyone takes vitamin D supplements in autumn and winter, but says "Do not take more than 100 micrograms (4,000 IU) of vitamin D a day as it could be harmful." and talks specifically about the risk of high calcium levels. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vitamins-and-minerals/vitamin-... This presumably has a lot to do with latitude though - there aren't many months in the UK where I regula…

[deleted]

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#119

This is very confusing! Our skin can make lots of vitamin D. Lots if not more than this case describes. A quick search yields the following: "A whole body exposure to UVB radiation inducing the light pink color of the minimal erythema dose for 15–20 min is able to induce the production of up to 250 μg vitamin D (10,000 IU)"[1] Surely naked homo sapiens got a bigger dose wandering around the highlands of Ethiopia 100,…

Vitamin D production from skin UV exposure is self-regulated.

UV irradiation converts 7-DHC to pre-D3, but continued exposure to UV-B converts pre-D3 to lumisterol and tachysterol.

As pre-D3 levels fall, lumisterol and tachysterol can be converted back into pre-D3 or shed with dead skin.

Pre-D3 is slowly converted to D3 with heat exposure.

Re: Story of Vitamin D Toxicity (2022)

#120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vitamin K is needed so that calcium doesn't build up in the vessels but goes to the bones where it's supposed to be. But, taking D and K at the exact same time reduces the absorption of D.

So those combination vitamin D, and K products are scams?

Not at all. Suboptimal, but far better than taking nothing at all.

There are loads of nutrients that technically compete for absorption, but generally it isn’t a concern unless you are taking a huge dose of one. Even then, it’s not like little dog is completely blocked. I’d have to look at the studies the above comment is referencing to determine how much of a concern it actually would be.

Even if taking both together was 30% less effective than taking them apart, in the context that getting people to take a single pill daily with regard to timing is hard enough, it’s still a overall win. That said, I would agree such a situation should be reflected on the label.

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