The discussion about the general lack of vitamin D3

[Trenchfriend]

I'm following this topic since 2016 and meanwhile, I believe in the general lack of Vitamin D3 in the northern-hemisphere, too. To me, it's absolute plausible.

And in old Germany, we know, that the US-medical research is really going forward! They say seemingly, the daily supplementation should be even up to 4.000 I.U.

But, for the next time, I will be carefully, always remembering the patient-information-leaflet and not risk anything and hold on my daily 1.000 I.U with "Vigantoletten"-pills.

What do you think about the topic on vitamin D3? I think, this topic is actual finally coming up more and more.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

If people spent more time outdoors they wouldn't need vitamin D supplements.
Strange though Trenchy, you who often criticize the pharmaceutical industry, should consume a completely unnecessary synthesized product from them.

 

[Trenchfriend]

If people spent more time outdoors they wouldn't need vitamin D supplements.
Strange though Trenchy, you who often criticize the pharmaceutical industry, should consume a completely unnecessary synthesized product from them.

I critize the pharma-industrial-complex generally, but this topic is a special thing, I think.

And here, with our so damn outdated and really stupid german medicine, we are looking absolutely tensed to medical research in North America! They seem to be a decade forward! And especially with the vitamin D3-research!

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I think you worry too much. Varied diet & long walks are all you need to keep your vitamin levels up to scratch.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I think you worry too much. Varied diet & long walks are all you need to keep your vitamin levels up to scratch.

Generally yes, but in Europe, with the lack of classic summers, since 2004, the people are always clothed and no one gets to an healthy vitamin D3-level, anymore. That's the basic problem!
And the general cocooning-trend on clothing, you know.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I'd be interested to know how many people today work in offices with no windows. I've been working in such an environment for eleven years now and I most definitely do feel the lack of Vitamin D. I take supplements, but I'd rather get sunshine. Florescent lights just don't cut it.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yes, Lizzie, that's exactly the thing! Light alone is just not helping. That's just old believe, not more.
Only UV-B-radiation seems to work, but we are all not walking around naked and real classic summer is not more happening, here in Germany, since over ten years. So, the masses are just not coming to an healty level of V. D3, anymore. The masses are even walking around in the summertime, with a lack of V. D3.

But, the supplements are working really, too. That's generally proven. People were helped on depressions, pain in the limbs and so on. It's fact. No one today can say, it's a myth.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Endocrinologist Michael Holick from the Boston University Medical Center recommends to supplement vitamin D3 all year long.

 

[Paisley]

Even living in sunny Colorado--with over 300 sunny days a year--my level was at the low end of normal when I had it tested a few years ago. But like most people, I don't work outdoors. Being almost entirely of northwestern European stock, according to a DNA test, spending my days in the North American sunshine might not be very good for me, anyway. I eat some oily fish and eggs and take 5,000 IU of vitamin D per day. It keeps my vitamin D levels right, and my skin not looking like a Gucci handbag.

 

[Paisley]

Back in the early 20th century, people took cod liver oil for vitamins A and D:

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil-basics-and-recommendations/

 

[Trenchfriend]

Back in the early 20th century, people took cod liver oil for vitamins A and D:

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil-basics-and-recommendations/

Yep, loooooooong before my time (born in 1984).

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Vitamin deficiency is a problem but toxicity from over consumtion of vitamins is a danger too, which can easily happen when taking supplements & consuming foods that have been artificially enriched with vitamins. Also Synthetic vitamins don't react in the body like those naturally occurring in food stuffs (or sunlight in the case of Vitamin D) as chemical isolates lack the necessary cofactors or polynutrients to regulate their absorbtion.
Unless someone has specific medical needs which reduces their ability to absorb vitamins from their food & so need a boost under medical supervision , it is always better to find your vitamin needs in your diet rather than resort to synthetic suppliments, at least then you have a better chance of finding the correct chemical associations needed for the optimal metabolization of the vitamins.
Vitamin supplements are far from harmless & then there are the carcinogenic preservatives & additives to worry about.

 

[Paisley]

Back in the day, people did get vitamin and mineral deficiencies: beriberi was rampant in Asia, pellagra was the scourge of the South, and the Midwest had the goiter belt. Weston A. Price traveled the world documenting the effects of a modern diet high in flour and sugar: people's teeth rotted and their children ended up with narrower jaws and smaller chins. Hence, the efforts of the US government to get people to eat balanced diets of meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy and fat and limit sweets. They also required B vitamins to be added to flour and iodine added to salt.

Some of us do need supplements. I eat red meat daily--I feel unwell if I don't--and still need to take zinc and iron. The iron deficiency anemia was diagnosed by a doctor; I go by how I look and feel to stay on track. I get acne without my skin vitamins that provide zinc and vitamin A (among other things), and without iron, I can barely prise myself out of a chair. And as mentioned, my vitamin D level was low even though I lived in the land of eternal sunshine. When I was a kid, doctors said that vitamins were for kooks and that food had nothing to do with acne. That's simply not true. If you read up on vitamins and minerals, you're probably better educated on the subject than your doctor.

What's rarely mentioned is foods that are vitamin and mineral antagonists. Grains contain phytates, which bind to certain minerals and prevent their absorption. Iron from non-animal sources has a very a very low absorption rate--you can eat leaves like a giraffe without getting enough iron in your system. Iron and zinc are absorbed through the same pathways and therefore should be taken separately. Dairy inhibits iron absorption, and taking larger doses of vitamin D might deplete magnesium. Fat soluble vitamins (A, E, D and K) need fat to be absorbed. A salad with non-fat dressing provides virtually none of those vitamins.

Back when people were encourage to get enough nutrients, most of them probably got sufficient nutrients through food. But with the low-fat, grain-based idea, certain deficiencies have become common.

 

[kaiser]

I was tested way below the lower limit of the scale and have been taking suppliments for 18 months now. This really surprised me as I am an avid cyclist and get a good deal of exposure to natural sun light.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Back in the day, people did get vitamin and mineral deficiencies: beriberi was rampant in Asia, pellagra was the scourge of the South, and the Midwest had the goiter belt. Weston A. Price traveled the world documenting the effects of a modern diet high in flour and sugar: people's teeth rotted and their children ended up with narrower jaws and smaller chins. Hence, the efforts of the US government to get people to eat balanced diets of meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy and fat and limit sweets. They also required B vitamins to be added to flour and iodine added to salt.

There's a reason why it was a common, normal thing for my mother's generation to lose most or all of their teeth by the time they were fifty. If you had all, or even most of your teeth at that age you were considered exceptional.

 

[Paisley]

For people who insist on getting dietary advice from a medical professional, I tell them to ask their dentist. Dentists are generally slim, trim and in good health. They spend all day looking at the effects of the modern diet and advise people to avoid flour and sugar. Most doctors, nurses, and especially dietitians, OTOH, look like they need to lose 50 pounds.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Vitamin deficiency is a problem but toxicity from over consumtion of vitamins is a danger too, which can easily happen when taking supplements & consuming foods that have been artificially enriched with vitamins. Also Synthetic vitamins don't react in the body like those naturally occurring in food stuffs (or sunlight in the case of Vitamin D) as chemical isolates lack the necessary cofactors or polynutrients to regulate their absorbtion.
Unless someone has specific medical needs which reduces their ability to absorb vitamins from their food & so need a boost under medical supervision , it is always better to find your vitamin needs in your diet rather than resort to synthetic suppliments, at least then you have a better chance of finding the correct chemical associations needed for the optimal metabolization of the vitamins.
Vitamin supplements are far from harmless & then there are the carcinogenic preservatives & additives to worry about.

Our producers here say in their package-leaflets, not to take more than daily 1.000 I.U., without medical supervision. And I personally think, that this advise is probably correct. I will hold on the 1.000 I.U.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

I tell them to ask their dentist. Dentists are generally slim, trim and in good health. They spend all day looking at the effects of the modern diet .

I thought dentists spent all day trying to improve their swing & lower their handicap.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

What's rarely mentioned is foods that are vitamin and mineral antagonists.

Good point, flouride in water & toothpaste for example, reduces the absorbtion of Vitamin D....... Another misconception is the need for daily intake of vitamins. It isn't necessary to consume every vitamin every day but over a short period, which is just as well since the medical profession & dietary advisers can't agree on what constitutes a recommended daily requirement.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

and their children ended up with narrower jaws and smaller chins.

I think you'll find that was due to inbreeding.