
Have we been wrong about the benefits of Vitamin D? - rjknight
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/the-sun-goes-down-on-vitamin-d-why-i-changed-my-mind-about-this-celebrated-supplement-a6800191.html
======
gwern
Funny, I was just looking at the vitamin D literature
([http://www.gwern.net/Longevity#vitamin-d](http://www.gwern.net/Longevity#vitamin-d))...
The short answer: No. If vitamin D were all that harmful, Spector would be
able to point at increases in _all-cause mortality_ from the meta-analyzed
RCTs, the same way he could point at some other vitamins I won't mention, not
grab a few cherry-picked endpoints like fracture from a few small studies
while ignoring the implications of consistently lower all-cause mortality in
vitamin D groups.

For a great overview of all the vitamin D endpoints, I'd suggest the mega-
review/meta-analysis Theodoratou et al 2014, “Vitamin D and multiple health
outcomes: umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses of
observational studies and randomised trials”
[http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2035.full](http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2035.full)

------
bobajeff
This article is about Vitamin D supplements. (Not the vitamin in general.)

I remember looking up Vitamin C supplements and found similar articles on the
harms of those and similar supplements.

Turns out that the vitamins found in foods and created by our bodies are more
complex than RPG stats. There are complex combinations of vitamins and
minerals that need to be taken together. You can't just up a Vitamin level and
it not effect other chemicals in your body.

~~~
xlayn
On one side as you mention the body need to get certain combinations, let's
imagine the fuel to air relationship for proper combustion. On the other side
sometimes you also need certain combinations just for the mater of absorption,
Curcumin and peperine for absorption or calcium and vitamin D.

~~~
DrScump
Should "or calcium" above read as " _of_ calcium"?

------
codeshaman
>The billions we waste on these products, assisted by the poorly regulated but
rich and powerful vitamin industry should be spent on proper healthcare – and
people should be educated to go in the sunshine and eat a diverse range of
real food instead.

There are so many question marks in this advice..

What exactly is "proper" healthcare ?

In nutrition, the scientific approach is quite problematic I notice.. This
very article is an example of how science changes it's course dramatically
every decade or so. The scientist now thinks that his favorite vitamin is not
so good after all !

What about the damage done to the body after years of following the scientific
advice given 10 years ago ?

Then there is the "real" part of the "real food" in our high tech society...
The rabbit hole goes pretty deep in the food industry and very few people
actually want to know how their food is produced. Really, isn't it better to
just not know what's in that sausage ? It makes us sad when we think about
these things..

And finally, what he really suggests is not to worry about vitamin D after all
..

Just live a good life and nutrition will come after it... Or is it the other
way around ...

------
moonchrome
>Virtually no vitamins or supplements have actually been shown to have any
benefit in proper randomised trials in normal people without severe
deficiencies.

Does this mean vitamin/mineral/iron supplements work for covering vitamin
deficiencies ?

So say I want to start a basic diet where I just eat whey + oat + seed/nuts to
easily control my macros and have an easy to prepare diet - is there evidence
that I will not have deficiencies if I take a "daily formula" supplement ?

I've done this on my previous job for 6 months - it worked great for losing
weight/gaining strength - I never felt weak, exercise recovery was as fast if
not faster than when I was previously working out with a normal protein heavy
diet (only downside was digestion adjusting for the firs two weeks - after
that had 0 problems). When I changed jobs I lost my routine and stopped
working out - been a hectic year. I'm thinking of start this again and staying
on it - I'm wondering if there's any research if vitamin supplements work for
people with deficiencies.

------
rdlecler1
Here's the thing. Just like markets, it's harder to differentiate good and bad
cells in resource rich environments. I keep seeing a correlation between
vitamin use and cancer and I can't help think that the cancerous cells become
the biggest beneficiaries. This is natural selection working at the somatic
level.

------
chrisbennet
_" One study based on the large SELECT trial suggested that supplements such
as vitamin E and selenium actually increased prostate cancer in some men. And
last year massive analyses combining 27 studies on half a million people
concluded that taking vitamin and mineral supplements regularly failed to
prevent cancer or heart disease. Not only are they a waste of money for the
majority of us – but if taken in excessive quantities they can actually hasten
an early death, increasing your risk of heart disease and cancer.

Virtually no vitamins or supplements have actually been shown to have any
benefit in proper randomised trials in normal people without severe
deficiencies. Rare exceptions have been lutein nutrients for macular
degeneration, a common cause of blindness – and vitamin D, the golden boy of
vitamins."_

------
fishnchips
Having witnessed as a new parent the religious zeal of healthcare
professionals about Vitamin D I couldn't but wonder how come did our ancestors
even survive without buying these supplements ;)

~~~
mkaziz
They didn't. The mortality rate for kids used to be insanely high.

~~~
dllthomas
They likely also got more sun.

