
Consumption of ‘Longevity’ Vitamins Could Prolong Healthy Aging, Scientist Says - vimota
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2018/10/412016/perspective-adequate-consumption-longevity-vitamins-could-prolong-healthy-aging
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stevenjohns
Slightly off-topic, but related to a vitamin mentioned in here:

For Vitamin D, I read a post on Reddit a while back on a subreddit that was
intended for older people. Someone asked a question along the lines of 'what
is something you wish you were told earlier' and at least one person mentioned
Vitamin D deficiency.

They said that for most of their life they were deficient and that it had a
significant impact on their life-long depression, and their stress and focus
if I recall correctly. Once they began taking Vitamin D supplements it
drastically changed everything and completely changed their mood: it turned
out that they had Vitamin D absorption issues and never picked up on it. They
said they take 12,000 IU/day, now, and it has changed their life.

Most Vitamin D supplements seem to come (in Australia at least) at anywhere
from 300 IU to 1000 IU. I looked into safe Vitamin D levels and it appears
that you can take up to 50,000 IU a day before you start seeing adverse
affects, and just being in direct sunlight for an hour or so is about 15,000
IU for my skin type.

With this in mind, I've began taking 7,000 IU a day (I get about an hour of
direct sunlight a day at least on most days). I can't say for sure that it has
an effect on my mood, but on the days where I feel a bit worse than usual it's
usually because I haven't taken my supplement stack for a couple of days (i.e
ran out and hadn't yet bought supplies).

~~~
lultimouomo
Please be aware that vitamin D being fat-soluble you can actually overdose on
it (while with water-soluble vitamins you simply pee them away). Excessive
dosage of vitamin D can have very nasty effect (e.g. severe kidney damage).
Your skin stops synthesizing vitamin D when you have enough so you can't
overdose by staying in the sun, but you can by taking supplements.

~~~
mark_l_watson
Best to have your doctor check vitamins D levels first. That said, over 60,
many people have vitamins D deficiency -- well worth getting a simple test to
measure it.

~~~
Scoundreller
The test may be simple, but was costing the government about US$40 equivalents
per test.

Because everyone was asking for it, they’ve stopped making it so easy to get
free tests based on lack of cost-benefit.

If in doubt, or at risk, just supplement.

~~~
lultimouomo
The test costed me less than 20€ in a private lab in Italy, I assume the price
is similar in most western countries. Is it such a high price not to fuck your
kidneys?

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clumsysmurf
The full list is not in the article, and the paper is behind a paywall, but
most of the 'vitamins' seem to be listed in the supplemental materials which
are still free:

[http://www.pnas.org/highwire/filestream/831622/field_highwir...](http://www.pnas.org/highwire/filestream/831622/field_highwire_adjunct_files/0/pnas.1809045115.sapp.pdf)

Some things I thought would be there are missing, like carnosine.

~~~
autojoechen
In case anyone else is also going through the article for the list:

Vitamin K, Selenium, Vitamin D, Taurine, Ergothioneine, Pyrroloquinoline
quinone, Queuine, Carotenoids, Lutein and Zeaxanthin, Lycopene, alpha and
beta-Carotene, Astaxanthin

~~~
nikkwong
Does the paper also talk about proper dosages if one wants to supplement with
these vitamins? I know it says 4000 UI for vitamin D but don't see any mention
for dosages of vitamin K.

~~~
baccheion
10 IU D3 : 2 mcg+ MK-4. Vitamin K2 MK-4 becomes active at 1.5 milligrams, with
some taking 5-9 mg daily:
[https://examine.com/supplements/vitamin-k/](https://examine.com/supplements/vitamin-k/).

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mistrial9
The linked cover article has no talk of proportions, timing and cycles.. which
are fundamental to real life. The text reads, intentionally or not, as if some
pill containing everything, all at once, would be the route to longevity.

A closer reading says roughly.. that some crucial nutrients are not on an
ordinary "daily requirements" list because their effects have not been
sufficiently observed over long time scales, and conversely that the contents
of an ordinary "daily requirements" list are there because their absence makes
a person ill relatively quickly. The note at the end says that the medical
author has more than four decades of research experience, and is well-
respected.

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Havoc
Meanwhile apparently 80% of diet and weightloss supplements are tainted [1] so
as sound as the science no doubt is I'm currently leaning towards the "let's
not take pills if we don't have to" mindset.

[1]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/9ocr6y/80_of_diet_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/science/comments/9ocr6y/80_of_diet_weight_loss_and_sex_supplements_are/)

~~~
zaphod4prez
That study looked at the weight loss "supplements" they sell in gas stations
and delis... not at vitamins that probably the vast vast majority of readers
here buy. It's really not applicable here at all.

A good source for info on this sort of thing is
[Labdoor]([https://labdoor.com](https://labdoor.com)), they're not funded by
any vitamin company and they perform rigorous testing on samples taken from
consumer outlets.

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baccheion
The main thing seems to be ensuring nutrient/hormone sufficiency. For example,
keeping everything on a NutrEval + hormone + thyroid panel in range. Diet
alone can maintain, but supplements are usually required to achieve
sufficiency. A vitamin D (and magnesium) supplement is often needed either
way.

Aging (rather than longevity) usually refers to vitality and skin quality.
Wrinkling/Sagging isn't normal at any stage of development (up to menopause),
though it is common. Sagging is usually due to poor lymph movement and muscle
tone. Wrinkles are usually due to poor hydration. Both can be made worse by
declining collagen/progesterone.

Maintaining nutrient sufficiency, following iodine protocol, and applying MSM
lotion does a lot to slow "aging."

~~~
knight17
What is an iodine protocol?

~~~
baccheion
Higher amounts of iodine and companion nutrients. It's better to look it up,
as it can be dangerous if not done/followed properly.

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dawhizkid
is fasting really not enough?

~~~
trukterious
Fasting is very relevant here because it puts the body deeper into repair and
maintenance mode. My guess is is periodic fasting plus a modest regimen of
longterm repair supplements would be the optimum strategy.

