Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

e2open.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 120 posts

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#21

Post by wamatt »

danielharan wrote: post #14
blackhole wrote: post #6

Taking supplements without assessing what your current daily intake of Vitamin D is can be dangerous; it is surprisingly easy to go over the recommended dosage, and there is such a thing as overdosing on vitamins [1]. You don't just get Vitamin D from the sun - it is also present in eggs, some seafood, and certain fortified dairy products. Because of this, you may not need to take a daily supplement at all. Programme…

It's really, really hard to overdose on Vitamin D, and most researchers working on this have been taking much bigger doses than what's officially recommended. IIRC, some researchers were taking 10,000 IUs/day. Overdosing requires doses orders of magnitude bigger. Those official levels were set to prevent people from getting rickets, NOT to prevent degenerative diseases or maintain optimum health. In fact those offici…

Well, I wouldn't say it's really hard to OD if one is not paying attention, although it's probably a very uncommon occurrence compared to deficiency rates. I have seen products with 50k IU available OTC and on the web, intended to be taken weekly.

One could see a scenario where this ends up getting consumed daily by mistake, and nutritionists would consider 50 000IU way to much in this case. (unless you have a specific condition, or post-op etc ad have been medicated in terms of therapy).

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#22

Post by danielharan »

wamatt wrote: post #21
danielharan wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really, really hard to overdose on Vitamin D, and most researchers working on this have been taking much bigger doses than what's officially recommended. IIRC, some researchers were taking 10,000 IUs/day. Overdosing requires doses orders of magnitude bigger. Those official levels were set to prevent people from getting rickets, NOT to prevent degenerative diseases or maintain optimum health. In fact those offici…

Well, I wouldn't say it's really hard to OD if one is not paying attention, although it's probably a very uncommon occurrence compared to deficiency rates. I have seen products with 50k IU available OTC and on the web, intended to be taken weekly. One could see a scenario where this ends up getting consumed daily by mistake, and nutritionists would consider 50 000IU way to much in this case. (unless you have a specif…

Try to find cases in the literature; you'll find cases of people taking orders of magnitude more than that for a month. But nothing serious from anyone taking 50k IUs/day, let alone per week.

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#23

Post by yen223 »

bmurphy1976 wrote: post #5

I have a better idea. Go outside. I have a garden. I have a deck. I have two kids who I take to the pool regularly. I have a lawn that needs maintenance. I like to go outside. Another thing. I work during the day. Problem solved.

As a guy who lives in a tropical, humid area, bringing my laptop outdoors to work may not always be practical.

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#24

Post by awolf »

There are many different types of vitamin D synthesized in our bodies which require sunlight to form. The many varieties of D are used in an enormous amount of different chemical processes in our bodies- many of which are quite complex and not fully understood.

Vitamin D supplements consist of (mostly) one type of Vitamin D. People are typically deficient in that specific type so mild supplementation is a reasonable option. Just don't kid yourself into thinking that taking Vitamin D is a replacement for spending adequate time outdoors. Compared to the first 100 million years of our species existence, hiding indoors all day is a relatively new invention. It will be a while before science produces a silver bullet in gelcap form.

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#25

Post by bane »

I actually have to avoid Vitamin D. I have a disorder (Hypercalcaemia) that causes me to build up calcium in my blood. Vitamin D can rapidly improve the body's ability to absorb calcium (hence Vitamin D enriched milk). Too much calcium in your blood can lead to various physical nervous disorders (I get facial ticks in the muscles around my eyes) but can also result in various psychologically similar problems like depression, anxiety, insomnia, fatigue and various other problems. In severe cases can lead to coma and death as it can interfere with heart rhythms and other central nervous functions.

It's a real pain in the tail as the number of food products fortified with calcium and vitamin D is remarkably high.

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#26

Post by mmagin »

qxcv wrote: post #20
bmurphy1976 wrote: post #5

I have a better idea. Go outside. I have a garden. I have a deck. I have two kids who I take to the pool regularly. I have a lawn that needs maintenance. I like to go outside. Another thing. I work during the day. Problem solved.

But for the love of $DEITY, please wear adequate sun protection. At the very least that means a hat and sunscreen, but you probably want to be using long sleeved clothing and sunglasses if you're outside for an extended period of time. Vitamin D deficiency is bad, but skin cancer is worse.

Well, UVB exposure is what causes the process of vitamin D synthesis in the skin, wearing sunscreen is going to prevent that.

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#27

Post by [deleted] »

wamatt wrote: post #7

Most Americans are deficient in Vitamin D, programmer or not. [1]. One of the few supplements that are actually is a good idea, but don't overdo it, as it becomes toxic at higher levels. You would not want to take more than 10 000IU per day and I'd probably recommend 2000IU-4000IU as a baseline. If you can afford the time and expense, the best is to close the loop and take a 25(OH)D blood test. You would want to have…

[deleted]

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#28

Post by Empact »

qxcv wrote: post #20
bmurphy1976 wrote: post #5

I have a better idea. Go outside. I have a garden. I have a deck. I have two kids who I take to the pool regularly. I have a lawn that needs maintenance. I like to go outside. Another thing. I work during the day. Problem solved.

But for the love of $DEITY, please wear adequate sun protection. At the very least that means a hat and sunscreen, but you probably want to be using long sleeved clothing and sunglasses if you're outside for an extended period of time. Vitamin D deficiency is bad, but skin cancer is worse.

Vitamin D has anti-cancer effects which apply more generally than skin cancer. In studies which assess all-cause mortality relative to UV-B exposure, higher UV-B exposure is correlated with lower all-cause mortality. That is, more skin cancer yes, but also less death because of improved overall health and lower overall cancer risks. Importantly, this is not an endorsement of artificial tanning, which correlates with greater all-cause mortality. E.g.: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21297041

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#29

Post by paulsutter »

awolf wrote: post #24

There are many different types of vitamin D synthesized in our bodies which require sunlight to form. The many varieties of D are used in an enormous amount of different chemical processes in our bodies- many of which are quite complex and not fully understood. Vitamin D supplements consist of (mostly) one type of Vitamin D. People are typically deficient in that specific type so mild supplementation is a reasonable…

Could you provide some references? I'm really interested to learn more

EDIT: I'm looking for backup to the claim that sunlight provides something that you don't get in a vitamin D3 supplement. It seems reasonable but has a big impact on the solution.

Re: Programmers Must Take Vitamin D

#30

Post by cincinnatus »

qxcv wrote: post #20
bmurphy1976 wrote: post #5

I have a better idea. Go outside. I have a garden. I have a deck. I have two kids who I take to the pool regularly. I have a lawn that needs maintenance. I like to go outside. Another thing. I work during the day. Problem solved.

But for the love of $DEITY, please wear adequate sun protection. At the very least that means a hat and sunscreen, but you probably want to be using long sleeved clothing and sunglasses if you're outside for an extended period of time. Vitamin D deficiency is bad, but skin cancer is worse.

So dont go out at noon, but sunscreen turns out to be a bad strategy. Some (most) may be more carcinogenic than the sun they block.
Post reply on HN