Comments on: The truth about vitamin D

By: Briansz

Briansz — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 23:20:00 +0000

I rather take vitamins than taking expensive allopathic horse medecins and other drug products and guessing how many side effects will affect me or even create another illness in the process to be treated with another drug with countless side effects ad nauseam. Of course drug companies prefer we debate publically and negatively about natural products and homeopathy rather than the population start a serious discussion about our use andd misuse of allopathic horse medecins and their list of side effects.

By: MostlyCivil

MostlyCivil — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:07:00 +0000

“It’s also been shown that people who develop MS symptoms have lower amounts of vitamin D’

No. It hasn’t.

“not to mention how it helps people who get S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder)”

No, it doesn’t.

By: MostlyCivil

MostlyCivil — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:06:00 +0000

If Vit D was the miracle cure yousuggest, a Government could save 30 to 40 percent of their spending, which would more than make up for any corporate/pharma kickbacks.

Your logic is faulty.

By: Nonamewwb

Nonamewwb — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

I’ve had the blood tests done, on my own accord, and found I’m deficient. Pale skinned, red hair, don’t get a lot of sun though I am out and about in the summer. So I just negated all of the supposed “expert” comments in this article. And the last “thank you” is garbage as well. The supplements are required to negate all the junk corporate America/Canada is putting into the food chain. HFCS is a prime example. A properly functioning FDA wouldn’t allow half the additives corporations put into processed food, but their bought by large corporates.

So offer the people like myself a way to pay for the test (at a reasonable cost) instead of billing the health system. The system is not set up to allow that.

BTW, if you take D supplements, make sure they are D3 !

By: Yatti

Yatti — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:40:00 +0000

You can find a podcast on Vitamin D here..
http://twit.tv/sn209

By: Yatti

Yatti — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:37:00 +0000

Somebody needs to call Steve Gibson @ GRC..

By: DGGC INTERNATIONAL

DGGC INTERNATIONAL — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:12:00 +0000

If you see a study done by a person which name start with Dr. you may be misled . They try to keep you away from vitamin D . If every adult person will take 10,000 I.U daily the Hospitals will be for Emergency purpose only . The harmful dose of the Vit. D is 50,000 I.U. daily . U.S . and Canadian governments ordered studies on vitamin D to scare people and keep them away of the miracle vitamin . You realize , all the money they get (not taxes) from the pharmaceutical companies aka drug dealers and medical equipment makers gone just because people take vitamin D .

By: Kodi

Kodi — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:21:00 +0000

If you worked in the field of pharmaceuticals you would know that herbal supplement are NOT tested. Why?? well let’s just say that it is a loosely controlled product and there is much more to that.
I am not going into the details of biochemistry here…you would need some chemistry knowledge to understand it; all I can say here is that vitamins in excess DO cause diseases and well… then you can die and no one will say that vitamins killed you because vitamins caused the disease and actually the disease killed you. In this sense vitamins play an INDIRECT role, causing a negative outcome.

By: Kodi

Kodi — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:03:00 +0000

Pregnant women SHOULD take D-vitamin every day. Newborns show much better bone development and research shows that after 8 years they are born, children have a more developed bone and teeth structure if their mother took this vitamin while they were pregnant. In addition, many child disease can be prevented too with vitamin D.
Just do the research on this topic and you’ll find out how necessary it is to take vitamin D when pregnant.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 17:44:00 +0000

What a fascinating world view you have. Have fun at your conspiracy of the week club.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 04:57:00 +0000

The reason I and my children take vitamin D is not due to the lack of sun exposure we receive up here, it’s to benefit our immune system. I found this out during the whole H1N1 scare. It’s also been shown that people who develop MS symptoms have lower amounts of vitamin D, not to mention how it helps people who get S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder).

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:34:00 +0000

In the US: annual vitamin D sales: $425 million in 2009. Testing for vitamin D levels: $129 million annually. (Both figures from this article)

Yeah, sure there’s no money in Vitamin D. It’s always amusing when the supplement lobby acts as if their billion-dollar industry is just a few kindly grandmothers hand-squeezing vitamins from wholesome organic vegetables to distribute out of the goodness of their hearts. “Be sure to take your Nana’s Olde-timey Vitamin D (tm*), sweetie.”

And this, James? “The reason people get sick in the winter is mainly because they don’t get any Vit D from the sun. This is just common sense.” That’s not common sense… that’s fantasy, without solid evidence. Even if Vitamin D supplementation is beneficial – and I’m quite willing to be convinced it is – that doesn’t lead logically to “this is the main reason for winter illness”.

* “Nana’s Olde-timey Vitamin D” is a registered trademark of Nanacorp. May not contain Vitamin D. No health benefits are claimed, for amusement use only.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:34:00 +0000

In the US: annual vitamin D sales: $425 million in 2009. Testing for vitamin D levels: $129 million annually. (Both figures from this article)

* “Nana’s Olde-timey Vitamin D” is a registered trademark of Nanacorp. May not contain Vitamin D. No health benefits are claimed, for amusement use only.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 23:28:00 +0000

The fact that this is sponsored by McMaster Health and Medical Post makes this sound like medical advice. We live in Canada, some of us north of the 49th parallel (at least those who do not live in Toronto) and cannot get vitamin D from the sun, from Sept to March due to the sun’s angle through the atmosphere. Ask any doctor here for a vitamin D test and they will respond, why test, everybody has low levels of vitamin D in Canada. As for the other 30% they say you get from diet, I don’t see that the majority of people eat large amounts of “foods such as fatty fish (salmon, tuna), cod-liver oil, and eggs.” And what is too much vitamin D, the average person can produce 20,000 IU in 10 minutes of sun exposure (in the SUMMER for Canadians) The accepted “too much” vitamin D is 150 nmol/litre which can only be determined by a blood test which is hard to have done in Canada. So my guess is that you would have to swallow a whole lot of vitamin D tablets (at 1000 IU each) to have “too much” vitamin D.The RDA is 600 IU which will prevent Rickets, which by the way is actually making a reappearance in North America along with Scurvy. Is it any wonder when we get advice like this discouraging Canadians from supplementing with vitamin D. Which industry makes the most money by keeping us sick?

By: Claremorrow

Claremorrow — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:52:00 +0000

coming from a farm family…you may have heard of the farmers tan…hats worn far down over the face meant only the lower portion was tanned and other than your hands , no other part of your body got sun…..interesting to go to a wedding in late summer and see the men and women with white faces from below the eyes and dark dark tans below that…we would have sweat running down our backs and legs…but we didnt uncover because of the insects and working with dust and dirt etc etc

By: james.dickie

james.dickie — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:33:00 +0000

The Canadian Cancer Society and the other organizations you cite are far more concerned with putting processed crap in pink boxes and staying employed than they are in finding cures for anything, but you keep on believin’.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:02:00 +0000

It is likely that behind every study and report is corporate money in the form of research grants or other financial assistance. That maybe why there are so many opposite recommendations that “more is good” and many that “less is good”.
The result is that no one knows for sure, not even your doctor. You have to decide who and what to believe, pay your money and take your chances.

By: Rosrycraig

Rosrycraig — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:07:00 +0000

4 mths ago doctor (kidney spec.) put me on vitamins D and told me to keep taking the drugstore D
400 IU as well. Pharmasist told me not to take my D anymore as it would be too much. Go to specalist yesterday, and he told me to start taking D @ 1000 IU as well as prescription D. Im confused. Im type 2 diabetes taking insulin. Who to believe?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:05:00 +0000

That’s a lovely theory, but it’s wrong. UV rays are a known human carcinogen. One hundred years ago, people didn’t spend all day at the beach in a bikini. They wore heavier clothing, even if they worked outdoors. Tans were considered ugly. There’s no evidence that chemicals in sunscreen cause skin cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society, the American Academy of Dermatology, and Canadian Dermatology Association have all released statements to that effect. I tend to trust their review of the literature over yours.

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 18:02:00 +0000

James: I think the key point is we only need about 15 min per day of sunlight on our arms and face to get all the sunlight we need for nutrition purposes. I am including a link to an interview with Dr. Michael Hollick on his book “The UV Advantage” http://www.yourhealthandmine.net/vit34.htm . If you search on the word “melanoma” you will see his views on this point.

By: GinaB

GinaB — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:42:00 +0000

I’m nearly 70 and have never been sick, and I attribute this to the fact that I’ve been taking supplements (Calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin C, Omega-3, glucosamine sulfate) in large doses for several decades.

By: GinaB

GinaB — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:42:00 +0000

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:41:00 +0000

James: The drug companies cannot make a dime from Vitamin D so it does not get the publicity it deserves. Every doctor should be asking his/her patients about their intake of Vitamin D but they don’t because they don’t know about it. Meanwhile their mail box is full of promotional material from the Drug Companies.

By: james.dickie

james.dickie — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:19:00 +0000

Have you ever heard of the expression “correlation does not imply causation”. Melanoma rates have risen with toxic-chemical containing sunscreens. To suggest that our population of fat, video-game playing, tv-watching, drive everywhere service industry workers spends more time outside in the course of a year than we did 50 or 100 years ago is, well, just plain ignorant.

Not so long ago, the majority of our population worked outside on a daily basis, and they didn’t get skin cancer.

By: james.dickie

james.dickie — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:19:00 +0000

Not so long ago, the majority of our population worked outside on a daily basis, and they didn’t get skin cancer.

By: james.dickie

james.dickie — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:14:00 +0000

Another lame attempt by the sickness industry to demonize vitamins.

Just thirty minutes in the sun in a bathing suit produces 10,000 IU of Vit D, and now they’re trying to tell me that I shouldn’t take the higher dose supplements? The reason people get sick in the winter is mainly because they don’t get any Vit D from the sun. This is just common sense. I take a minimum of 3000 IU a day in the winter.

As for skin cancer, the crap you put on your skin to prevent it, coupled with the associated blocking of Vit D. production is what causes that. I haven’t used sunscreen once in the last several years, and I have worked many full days in the sun without a shirt. In addition to my normal diet of fresh veggies from my garden, no GMOs and organic meat and eggs from the local market, I eat a full watermelon a week during the summer, which (at that rate of intake) massively reduces your propensity to sunburn. I have blue eyes and fair skin.

Almost 100, 000 Americans die every year from prescription drugs. How many people died from Vitamins (and mineral and herbal supplements) in the US in 2009? That would be ZERO. Vitamins do not hurt you. Why this is such a leap for people to believe is frustrating beyond belief.

http://www.foodmatters.tv/_webapp/View%20Film%20Online

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:08:00 +0000

I think there is a good deal of research that disagrees with Dr. Rosen. Most reports say that we need 4000 IU or more of Vitamin D to keep or serum levels high enough to make a difference. Here are some references:
Doctors Health Press 1 – http://www.yourhealthandmine.net/vit208.htm
Doctors Health Press 2 – http://www.yourhealthandmine.net/vit211.htm
UC San Diego – http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2011/Pages/02-22-vitamin-D-cancer-risk.aspx
UCLA – http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/581540/?sc=dwhn

By: Mike Smith

Mike Smith — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 17:08:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:34:00 +0000

Melanoma rates have risen with the popularity of outdoor activities, cheap vacation packages, skimpy clothing, and indoor tanning. UV exposure causes skin cancer, not lack of Vitamin D. That’s why Australia has the world’s highest skin cancer rates.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:34:00 +0000

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:40:00 +0000

You were doing so well until the last flu bit. Flu infection is determined by (1) lack of immunity to the (2) strain of virus you just rubbed into your eyeball / inhaled / shook hands with.

By: Charles Sangston

Charles Sangston — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:21:00 +0000

The double blind studies are designed to fail; what fool would consider 800, or even 1200 i.u., sufficient vitamin D?

How about at least 5000 i.u. per day?

Vitamin D supplementation works- providing one reaches repeltion levels (50-80 ng/ml, 25 OH).

What current vitamin D supplement taker in this range would EVER stop taking it?

Not one in a trillion.

Vitamin D, actually the body’s most potent steroid hormone, is an absolute requirement for health. It controls cell function, prevents bacterial and viral infection, and reduces telomeric aging.

Stop this absurd preoccupation with minute amounts, recognize the body will make up to 20,000 i.u. per day in sunlight, and recalculate research accordingly.

The only people I know who suffer early onset chronic disease are those who avoid the sun.

Skin cancer?

More people die from accidental drowning than from squamous cell carcinoma.

Melanoma rates have risen ONLY in the demographic of indoor workers and those who habitually wear sunscreens- look it up!

Flu infection is determined by blood levels (or lack thereof) of vitamin D. It is therefor a choice as to whether you allow yourself to be vulnerable to such viruses.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:42:00 +0000

I take low-dose Vitamin D simply because I avoid sun exposure. But I am very skeptical of the claims and hype surrounding this particular supplement at the moment, especially all the talk about Vitamin D preventing cancer. Also interesting that a study was released yesterday showing that men who take Vitamin E supplements are more at risk of developing prostate cancer than those who don’t. We tend to overlook the fact that supplements can be harmful, especially mega-doses.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:56:00 +0000

What about us northern-latitude Canucks? We’re scared of the skin cancer in the summer, and the sun disappears on us anyways in the winter. Many darker-skinned new Canadians also dress so wrapped up, even in summer, that there isn’t a whole lot of UV getting through.

So yeah, I am more than comfy with 1000 IU per day when I think of it (that would be 3, maybe 4 times a week). It is actually quite hard to take sooooo much that you’ve got hypercalcemia to contend with.

By: pcoq

pcoq — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:54:00 +0000

I have taken vitamin/mineral supplements regularly since the 1970s. My stance has been a rather cautious one in that I have avoided mega-potencies. I usually take a bit less than the manufacturer recommends. I normally alternate by taking some pills one day, others the next, or only taking 1/2 tablet etc. Taking them all on the same day seems overkill, since I think I am eating well.

Nevertheless, I have noticed that the potencies of even the regular strengths have steadily climbed over the years, giving me pause to reassess my supplementation regime, particularly in light of two recent studies, one about high potency vitamin E increasing the risk of prostate cancer, and another about fish oil/omega 3 actually accelerating ageing, due to its readiness to oxidize. I was taking 400 IU of vitamin E every other day, which I thought was relatively conservative, since the majority of the vitamin E on the market is 800 IU. It turns out that 400 IU is still 1300% of the recommended daily allowance! I am going to be much more attentive to the RDA in the future.

By: Rick Omen

Rick Omen — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:16:00 +0000

Personally, I take this stuff, but only in winter. This is mostly because I spend fewer than 10 minutes a day outdoors in winter (will go days on end without leaving the house, sometimes). I (and others) have noticed an observable pickup in my mood during the otherwise dreary winter months. I would be "pale skinned" too, but I think I get out enough in summer. I'd also heard you can easily take fatal doses of Vitamin D, but I've since been told this is pretty much impossible.