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Should everyone be taking vitamin D?

The supplement, after all, has been touted as a near-miracle. Both vitamin D2 and D3 supplements are available over-the-counter without a prescription and have been linked to improving immunity, tiredness and muscle weakness, bone pain, and depression. They’ve also been said to help stave off cancer and the consequences of ageing. But the debate over whether all adults need to take vitamin D supplements is contentious. Few doubt the role that vitamin D plays in our bone health to regulate calcium and phosphate in the body, which is why those who have a vitamin D deficiency are particularly encouraged to address it. And that may be more people than you think: one study estimates that around…

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 Expert Advice: The Dynamic Duo D3 + K2

When you see vitamins D3 and K2 together in a single supplement, it’s meant for keeping your bones strong and healthy...

 Vitamin D Supplementation Is A Double-Edged Sword

A new randomized trial shows it can reduce the risk of cancer, while increasing the risk of heart disease. OK you want some findings. Here’s the top line results. Those randomized to Vitamin D and Calcium supplementation had a 7% reduction in the rate of death from cancer, driven primarily by a reduction in colorectal cancer. This was statistically significant. Also statistically significant? Those randomized to supplementation had a 6% increase in the rate of death from cardiovascular disease. Put those findings together and what do you get? Stone cold nothing in terms of overall-mortality.

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

The doctor most responsible for creating a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry.

Articles of Interest

Do You Need to Take Vitamin D?

Most healthy adults do not need to take vitamin D supplements. Extra vitamin D does not improve health in those without bone disease. Get your vitamin D the old fashioned way •Sun exposure (in limited quantities) •Healthy diet, including foods fortified with vitamin D

If you’re taking vitamin D, you’re probably taking too much

You might have a deficiency, but overdosing isn’t the answer.

The Vitamin-D controversy

In my humble opinion, Vit-D is the most misunderstood, but over-recommended supplement on the Planet. What is worth noting is that it is, in fact, a Hormone — not a Vitamin, and it is also the FIRST hormone to exist on Planet Earth. Hmmmm.

A Tortured Love of Vitamin D

Why it may never be possible to recommend that everyone take a supplement—as much as people want to believe.

Can Vitamin D Help Fight Covid-19?

Studies under way around the world are examining whether the ‘sunshine vitamin’ can help prevent or treat the new coronavirus.

Do You Need to Take Vitamin D?

Most healthy adults do not need to take vitamin D supplements. Extra vitamin D does not improve health in those without bone disease. Get your vitamin D the old fashioned way •Sun exposure (in limited quantities) •Healthy diet, including foods fortified with vitamin D

Does vitamin D have a dark side?

When it comes to vitamin D, it's possible to get too much of a good thing, say the authors of a new study. We talked to the study's lead author to get the scoop.

Don’t trust the internet on vitamin D

Even world-class medical organizations are down on vitamin D pills, including Britain's National Health Service. In its advice, the body says that "most people don't need to take vitamin supplements and are able to get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating a healthy, balanced diet." The British Heart Foundation agrees, saying that "there are no shortcuts when it comes to nutrition -- supplements are not a replacement for healthy food." They're right, and those snake-oil peddlers down at the drugstore are wrong, right? Not so much.

How Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 Help Osteoporosis

The researchers found that bone mineral density was significantly higher in the groups given vitamin D3 alone and vitamin K2 alone compared to the group that received only calcium. In addition, they found that the group that got the combination of vitamin D3 and vitamin K2 had the highest bone mineral density.

If you’re taking vitamin D, you’re probably taking too much

You might have a deficiency, but overdosing isn’t the answer. Vitamins seem like something you can’t have too much of. Like too much ice cream on a sticky summer day—sure, you can technically go overboard, but the limit is so high, and what’s the worst thing that happens anyway? And unlike ice cream, we know that vitamins help keep us healthy. But just like ice cream, vitamin D can have negative side effects when taken in large doses, the impacts can really sneak up on you, and obesity is a concern. Really.

Medical Panel: Don't Go Overboard On Vitamin D

The panel also found no national epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. Many proponents of high-dose supplements believe there is one, and many of the IOM experts thought it might be true. "It was very surprising," Rosen says. "I think there were a lot of us who came in thinking that requirements should be much higher or that [average American] blood levels were not nearly as high. But it's very good news for the general population." The new report says people's blood levels of vitamin D don't need to be higher than 20 nanograms per milliliter of blood. Leading proponents aim for a blood level of 30 or even 40.

Millions of Americans take vitamin D. Most should just stop

Outside of rare cases, rigorous studies of the supplement don’t find any health benefit.

Most People Don’t Benefit From Vitamin D Supplements. Here’s Who Might.

Personalized dosing may be the key to improved health outcomes, especially in those with heart disease, new research suggests

The dark side of daily vitamin D supplements...

People tend to have a positive association with vitamins, so the idea they can be toxic is difficult to grasp, says Joanne Slavin, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota.

The health benefits of sunlight: Can vitamin D help beat coronavirus?

We’ll learn more from randomised, controlled clinical trials that are currently under way, but for now the evidence that vitamin D supplements can prevent severe illness is pretty weak. But the importance of vitamin D for our bones isn’t in doubt and many of us simply aren’t getting enough.

The Man Who Sold America on Vitamin D—and Profited in the Process

The doctor most responsible for turning the sunshine supplement into a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry, according to government records and interviews.

The Synergistic Interplay between Vitamins D and K for Bone and Cardiovascular Health: A Narrative Review

Vitamins D and K are both fat-soluble vitamins and play a central role in calcium metabolism. Vitamin D promotes the production of vitamin K-dependent proteins, which require vitamin K for carboxylation in order to function properly.

The Vitamin D Debate

There’s been a lot of controversy lately about vitamin D recommendations. If you’re confused about how much you should be taking, you’re not alone.

Vitamin D Myths 'D'-bunked

You may have heard every vitamin D myth under the sun—so many, in fact, that you might be at the point of throwing your hands up in the air in frustration. Why can’t there be a simple answer?

Vitamin D Supplementation: To D or Not to D?

Vitamin D was once considered a panacea for a variety of ailments but now is considered by some to be unimportant. As is often the case, the pendulum swings widely from one extreme to the other.

Vitamin D supplements are widely overused, doctors warn

Doctors are warning about vitamin D again, and it’s not the “we need more” news you might expect. Instead, they say there’s too much needless testing and too many people taking too many pills for a problem that few people truly have.

Vitamin D supplements aren’t living up to their hype

Recent studies say taking extra amounts of the nutrient may not be a boon for every body.

Vitamin D Toxicity

In healthy individuals, vitamin D toxicity can result from taking excessive vitamin D supplementation, knowingly or accidentally. Prescription errors without frequent monitoring of vitamin D levels can also result in toxicity.

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

The doctor most responsible for creating a billion-dollar juggernaut has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the vitamin D industry.

Vitamin K2: The Most Important Yet Underrated Vitamin for Your Heart and Bones

When it comes to vitamins, we hear a lot about C, our Bs, and D. But rarely do we ever hear anyone hype up the merits of vitamin K along the lines of, “Eat your greens Jimmy. They have lots of vitamin K!”

Your vitamin D tests and supplements are probably a waste of money

“Unless you really are truly symptomatic,” Rosen summed up, “it might not be worthwhile to measure vitamin D, and tag you with the diagnosis of deficiency, when it’s not clear those levels make you deficient and you’re not at risk for disease.” In other words, beware of the vitamin D test.