Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It

I'm a board-certified physician (anesthesiology). I read the OP and all the comments here. I've followed the subject of vitamin D supplementation and whether it's generally effective or overused for over 40 years, and I'm still uncertain.

Supplementing vitamin D has had a large impact on my life. A couple years ago, I frequently felt lethargic and was always getting sick. I randomly got a blood test, and it said that everything was fine except my vitamin D levels, which were at 7 ng&#x2F;ml (!!), when the recommendation is 20-30+ ng&#x2F;ml. Within the first two weeks of supplementing vitamin D, my health went back to normal.<p>The same thing happened to one of my friends earlier this year. He started getting all sorts of weird diseases when he used to never get sick. After getting a blood test and learning his vitamin D levels were low, he started taking it and he hasn&#x27;t gotten sick since.<p>So even if there is big money behind it, I think it&#x27;s worth getting tested if you spend a lot of time indoors.

The article makes the money sound evil, but I&#x27;m just not seeing the evil here. $1000&#x2F;mo to a doctor? So what?<p>The treatment is probably a little ahead of the science, but the answer to that is better science.<p>It makes sense to me that people get less sun than before, and therefore have lower and less consistent vitamin D levels. It doesn&#x27;t feel unnatural to me... I think of it more like a replacement of what we lose by staying indoors more.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, working an office job, it is quite possible to go 6 or 7 months and not have the sun touch your skin.<p>Taking a mid-winter break to someplace sunny gives a distinct feeling if physical wellness and energy.<p>Denying that vitamin D is important seems silly when people who are indoors so often feel remarkably better after spending even just a few hours outside in the sun.

I was tested for vitamins D two years ago and was found to be low. I was told to take an OTC supplement. That test was covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance. I&#x27;ve taken some here and there.<p>This year, my wife and I got tested again...new insurance (Aetna) and it wasn&#x27;t covered. We have different doctors, so to the point of the article, doctors are asking for the tests more now. My range is nornal. I don&#x27;t feel a huge difference, but admittedly I did at first, but could be placebo effect.<p>So three gripes.<p>1)Not knowing a test isn&#x27;t covered before a test is executed<p>2)Doctors performing test that may not be necessary (per the article)?<p>3) There is no medical consensus on what is &#x27;nornal&#x27;...and the range ised by Quest borders what can be doable?!<p>Also, my dad who is on medicare got tested too, for the first time last year. He was low. He lives in South Florida and gets plenty of sun from being outdoors.<p>Sigh.

Official health guidelines in the UK recommended an average daily intake of 10 micrograms of vitamin D to protect bone and muscle health.<p>These recommendations are based on a scientific review of the available evidence on Vitamin D and health published in 2016:<p>Vitamin D and Health: Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition [PDF]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;assets.publishing.service.gov.uk&#x2F;government&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;system&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;attachment_data&#x2F;file&#x2F;537616&#x2F;SACN_Vitamin_D_and_Health_report.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;assets.publishing.service.gov.uk&#x2F;government&#x2F;uploads&#x2F;...</a><p>The press release that accompanied the publication of the report states:<p>&gt; PHE (Public Health England) advises that in spring and summer, the majority of the population get enough vitamin D through sunlight on the skin and a healthy, balanced diet. During autumn and winter, everyone will need to rely on dietary sources of vitamin D. Since it is difficult for people to meet the 10 microgram recommendation from consuming foods naturally containing or fortified with vitamin D, people should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D in autumn and winter.<p>&gt; People whose skin has little or no exposure to the sun, like those in institutions such as care homes, or who always cover their skin when outside, risk vitamin D deficiency and need to take a supplement throughout the year. Ethnic minority groups with dark skin, from African, Afro-Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds, may not get enough vitamin D from sunlight in the summer and therefore should consider taking a supplement all year round.<p>From: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gov.uk&#x2F;government&#x2F;news&#x2F;phe-publishes-new-advice-on-vitamin-d" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.gov.uk&#x2F;government&#x2F;news&#x2F;phe-publishes-new-advice-...</a>

Another anecdotal account. I started practicing MMA and somehow in the first two month itself had minor fractures three times and not from doing something very dangerous. I was worried about my bone health, so I went to consult a doctor and he found my Vitamin D levels to be 9 IU. After supplementing for a few months the number shot up and I felt better overall(though this might have been just placebo effect).

The treatment of Tuberculosis involves long courses of antibiotics and drug resistant TB is becoming common. Often what helps is time in the sun. (This doesn&#x27;t always happen)<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC5684962&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov&#x2F;pmc&#x2F;articles&#x2F;PMC5684962&#x2F;</a>

My experience is that whenever I have tried to increase Vit D level above 30+ng&#x2F;ml I have got severe iron deficiency anemia. High dose vit D depletes Vit A, bio available copper, iron and potassium. Some info on the dark side of Vit D. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;mindbodynetwork.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;the-darker-side-of-supplementing-vitamin-d" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;mindbodynetwork.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;the-darker-side-of-suppl...</a>

Anecdotally, vitamin D has worked to eliminate or strongly moderate gout amongst a group of aquaintances. Definitely worth a try if you suffer from this.

One thing I discovered recently is that the most common vitamin D test significantly undercounts D2, although there is another test that is more accurate in that case (I&#x27;m guessing it is also more expensive). Since D2 is added to a number of processed foods these days, many people who test low with the common test may not actually be low.

I had been experiencing joint pain for months and had a vitamin D test done which showed my levels at 11. After taking an 8 week treatment of superdoses, my joint pain was gone and D levels were in normal (25) range. Vitamin D is very important for people who work in offices all day and don’t get enough sunlight.

Vitamin D is mainly problematic when low or insufficient, as is the case with many other nutrients. 40-60 ng&#x2F;mL 25(OH)D is a commonly preferred range. It can have positive effects at higher serum levels (&gt;70 ng&#x2F;mL, with &gt;90 ng&#x2F;mL being even better) when trying to heal.

The amount of faith in vitamin d is rather high. I&#x27;m not sure this reads nefariously yet, but it is hard not to think something is getting oversold when my doctor just assumes I need more of it. Didn&#x27;t even test, just recommended.<p>So, color me shocked that we are finding that it is no panacea. Shocked.

interesting this article doesn&#x27;t mention any of the history of how virtually all milk bought in stores (in the US at least...) has vitamin D added to it as well.

Why bother when there’s an easy alternative? I absolutely hate doctors when they see that you’re low on X, they advise you to take X supplement.