advertisement


Ditch those Vit. D pills.

Sugarman

Postmember
As a healthy middle aged adult, after having a blood test a few years ago, I was slightly shocked to find my Vit.D levels were very low. Since being prescribed high dose supplements by the doc, the recorded levels in my blood were back up to well within normal, but I now wonder how much that actually benefits me, after reading an article in today's Times (paywall so only subscribers can read it), but I'll paste first few paragrahs. The article states Vit. D supplements have no effect on preventing Cancer, or bone disease, heart disease, etc, in a word, they are useless, it recommends large doses of daily sunshine. But, as someone who is outdoors for about 6 hours a day, I wonder why my own levels were so low.

Why real sunlight is better than the ‘sunshine vitamin’ | Times2 | The Times

"
For years we’ve been told of the wonders of vitamin D — the “sunshine vitamin” and how we need it so much that officials recommend we take it daily in pills. As a result, it has become Britain’s top-selling supplement, claiming a third of sales in a UK market worth more than £440 million each year, say the analysts Mintel.

Last week, however, a huge scientific study called Vital declared that it brings limited benefit, if that. The five-year study of some 26,000 midlife men and women who took the supplement daily reported in The New England Journal of Medicine that the pills do not prevent bone fractures, even among people who had low levels of the vitamin or the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis.

This is a surprise, since our bodies need the vitamin for our guts to absorb the calcium that bones need to grow and stay healthy. Furthermore, the US government-funded study has also found that the supplements don’t bring the benefits that getting the vitamin naturally from sunshine or foods such as oily fish, eggs and red meat are thought to provide: the pills don’t prevent cancer or heart disease, improve brain function or protect our joints and eyes.

This is particularly concerning given that the Department of Health estimates that one in six people in the UK has vitamin D levels below government recommendations, while new statistics from NHS Digital this week suggest that the number of people being admitted to hospital and rated as deficient in vitamin D have risen by more than 50 per cent since before the pandemic – thanks not least to lockdowns and WFH.

To remedy such low levels, the Department of Health recommends that all adults and children should consider taking a daily 10 microgram supplement between October and March — but the new Vital study isn’t the only research to cast doubt on such advice.

This is particularly concerning given that the Department of Health estimates that one in six people in the UK has vitamin D levels below government recommendations, while new statistics from NHS Digital this week suggest that the number of people being admitted to hospital and rated as deficient in vitamin D have risen by more than 50 per cent since before the pandemic – thanks not least to lockdowns and WFH.

To remedy such low levels, the Department of Health recommends that all adults and children should consider taking a daily 10 microgram supplement between October and March — but the new Vital study isn’t the only research to cast doubt on such advice.
 
Are there actually any people around with ‘normal’ vitamin D levels ? From what I hear around me I doubt it. This fact alone made me wary when my new GP (first visit) wanted to sell me vitamin D pills. I never went there again.

What sounded most fishy to me was when she told me that, after taking the pills for a few weeks, my vitamin D level would be ‘normal’ as it should, and even after stopping the treatment, levels would remain up there. My arse.

Cavemen didn’t have any vitamin D pills at hand, they were doomed.

All this hype reminds me of the spinach/iron episode two or three decades ago.
 
I'll carry on with the multivitamins thanks. About 2p a day, when I remember. Your study suggests limited benefit. That's interesting. This is against years of evidence to the contrary, and fortification of some foods required by law. I've always taken the view that the supplements may or may not be effective, but they cost almost nothing and are likely to be better than nothing.
 
I've never taken a vitamin tablet in my (adult) life. Though we used to get dosed with Haliborange when I was a nipper, so maybe that was enough to keep me going.
 
As a healthy middle aged adult, after having a blood test a few years ago, I was slightly shocked to find my Vit.D levels were very low. Since being prescribed high dose supplements by the doc, the recorded levels in my blood were back up to well within normal, but I now wonder how much that actually benefits me, after reading an article in today's Times (paywall so only subscribers can read it), but I'll paste first few paragrahs. The article states Vit. D supplements have no effect on preventing Cancer, or bone disease, heart disease, etc, in a word, they are useless, it recommends large doses of daily sunshine. But, as someone who is outdoors for about 6 hours a day, I wonder why my own levels were so low.

Why real sunlight is better than the ‘sunshine vitamin’ | Times2 | The Times

"
For years we’ve been told of the wonders of vitamin D — the “sunshine vitamin” and how we need it so much that officials recommend we take it daily in pills. As a result, it has become Britain’s top-selling supplement, claiming a third of sales in a UK market worth more than £440 million each year, say the analysts Mintel.

Last week, however, a huge scientific study called Vital declared that it brings limited benefit, if that. The five-year study of some 26,000 midlife men and women who took the supplement daily reported in The New England Journal of Medicine that the pills do not prevent bone fractures, even among people who had low levels of the vitamin or the bone-thinning condition osteoporosis.

This is a surprise, since our bodies need the vitamin for our guts to absorb the calcium that bones need to grow and stay healthy. Furthermore, the US government-funded study has also found that the supplements don’t bring the benefits that getting the vitamin naturally from sunshine or foods such as oily fish, eggs and red meat are thought to provide: the pills don’t prevent cancer or heart disease, improve brain function or protect our joints and eyes.

This is particularly concerning given that the Department of Health estimates that one in six people in the UK has vitamin D levels below government recommendations, while new statistics from NHS Digital this week suggest that the number of people being admitted to hospital and rated as deficient in vitamin D have risen by more than 50 per cent since before the pandemic – thanks not least to lockdowns and WFH.

To remedy such low levels, the Department of Health recommends that all adults and children should consider taking a daily 10 microgram supplement between October and March — but the new Vital study isn’t the only research to cast doubt on such advice.

This is particularly concerning given that the Department of Health estimates that one in six people in the UK has vitamin D levels below government recommendations, while new statistics from NHS Digital this week suggest that the number of people being admitted to hospital and rated as deficient in vitamin D have risen by more than 50 per cent since before the pandemic – thanks not least to lockdowns and WFH.

To remedy such low levels, the Department of Health recommends that all adults and children should consider taking a daily 10 microgram supplement between October and March — but the new Vital study isn’t the only research to cast doubt on such advice.
I'm not sure why you extrapolate from study of midlife adults to children.Youre writing a crock of shoite.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...nutrition-nhs-hospital-admitted-a8795686.html
 
This guy looked after my wife for several years. He strongly recommended Vit D tablets and even went on local radio a couple of times to explain why. All of the other specialists that we came across agreed so I will keep taking them
professor_dinos_missouris
 
Honestly, @Dogberry, does this headline really sound believable to you

Reminds me of the ‘huge difference’ heard after adding a hicap.
I think I'd rather accept college of Paediatrics advice.
Tbh not sure I chkd that link but the OP's proposition is nonsense.
 
I was advised to take it by my consultant post hip surgery, I had a bone density test & it wasn’t great.

Unfortunately we do have an inactive population who don’t spend enough time outside.
 
Honestly, @Dogberry, does this headline really sound believable to you ?

Reminds me of the ‘huge difference’ heard after adding a hicap.


The article cites a 24% increase, that is certainly significant enough to cause alarm.

Journalists use hyperbole in headlines - who knew :D
 
A study showing an annual increase from one to two cases of whatever would never be published in a good journal. The sample size is way too small to conclude anything.

Joe
 
I'll carry on with the multivitamins thanks. About 2p a day, when I remember. Your study suggests limited benefit. That's interesting. This is against years of evidence to the contrary, and fortification of some foods required by law. I've always taken the view that the supplements may or may not be effective, but they cost almost nothing and are likely to be better than nothing.

For healthy people eating reasonably nutritious diets the only thing nutritional supplements do is generate unusually rich and expensive urine, and nice profit margins for the supplements industry.
 
For healthy people eating reasonably nutritious diets the only thing nutritional supplements do is generate unusually rich and expensive urine, and nice profit margins for the supplements industry.
I thought the same until I had some blood tests as part of a medical exam a few years ago. As for making nice profits, I reckon I can spare 1-2p a day.
 
Vit D became quite the thing to take during the pandemic. All sorts of claims.
I take a moderate dose all year as my skin is damaged from years in the sun but I don’t bore people about it unless asked.
 


advertisement


Back
Top