# The power of vitamin D



## twilyth (Jul 24, 2011)

This is an excellent article in an excellent publication (Science News).

It catalogs the current controversy about the amount of D we need in our diets (or from sun exposure) and lists the huge number of bodily functions that it is critical for.

Here is just a sampling.



> Another study in the United States showed that substantially more people with low vitamin D develop upper respiratory infections than do people with more of the vitamin, and taking up to 2,000 IU a day reduced such infections by two-thirds in one trial. A Dutch research team also reported online in May in Pediatrics that babies with low levels of vitamin D at birth were several times as prone to develop a severe respiratory viral infection in the first year of life as were newborns with ample amounts.
> 
> Fighting infection is all well and good, but too much immunity can be a terrible thing. Ask anyone with an autoimmune disease, in which crossed-up immune defenses attack a person’s own tissues. Even milder immune missteps such as asthma and allergy can be difficult to endure.
> 
> ...



Try to read the whole article if you're at all interested.  I guarantee you will be amazed.



> Vitamin D differs from other vitamins in one major way: It is nearly impossible to get enough of it in the diet naturally. Instead, the sun provides it.
> 
> After the ultraviolet rays of the sun trigger the synthesis of vitamin D in the skin, the body modifies the vitamin into a steroid hormone. Such hormones are heavy hitters in molecular biology, which probably explains the vitamin’s seemingly broad benefits — ranging from maintaining bone strength to sharpening mental acuity.
> 
> ...



The infection fighting ability was discovered inadvertently a century ago when doctors treated tuberculosis patients with rest in the sun.  Except no one understood why the cure worked.  Now we do.


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## The Witcher (Jul 24, 2011)

Well, this topic is really important for us basement dwellers  

I hardly go out that's why my bones and especially my back hurts me sometimes. 

I try to stay outside for 5 minutes every day at 2:00 PM but man the sun here is really scorching, it's like sitting with a massive hair dryer on your whole body, you can literally feel your skin tightening


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## Shihab (Jul 24, 2011)

The Witcher said:


> I try to stay outside for 5 minutes every day at 2:00 PM but man the sun here is really scorching, it's like sitting with a massive hair dryer on your whole body, you can literally feel your skin tightening



 Same. except that with the insane prices on the electricity down here, no one dares to leave an AC unit turned on the entire day. Doubt any one here has a vit D deficiency. Hell, I think I'm OD'ed


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 24, 2011)

I thought vitamin D is a fundamental component of DNA synthesis?

EDIT: nope just remembered that that is B6.


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## twilyth (Jul 24, 2011)

The Witcher said:


> Well, this topic is really important for us basement dwellers
> 
> I hardly go out that's why my bones and especially my back hurts me sometimes.
> 
> I try to stay outside for 5 minutes every day at 2:00 PM but man the sun here is really scorching, it's like sitting with a massive hair dryer on your whole body, you can literally feel your skin tightening



That's part of the problem with the huge divergence in opinion.  One group that sets the standard for minimum daily allotment (Institute of Medicine, IOM) thinks that raising it from 200IU's to 600IU's is adequate but the Endocrine Society thinks it should be 1500-2000IU's.  Part of the reason is that the amount people get from sun exposure varies tremendously.

I get burned too easily so I'm content to take the supplement.  At 400IU's per day, I was way, way under the lower end of the normal range.  Now I'm on 1000IU and I have to get tested again, but this is the first year I didn't get sick over the winter - I had gotten sick every single year for at least a decade before that.  So I'm a believer.


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## Thatguy (Jul 25, 2011)

I find the prevelance of immuno disease higher in countrys with high infant vaccination rates. is this a wierd statistic ?


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## erocker (Jul 25, 2011)

twilyth said:


> That's part of the problem with the huge divergence in opinion.  One group that sets the standard for minimum daily allotment (Institute of Medicine, IOM) thinks that raising it from 200IU's to 600IU's is adequate but the Endocrine Society thinks it should be 1500-2000IU's.  Part of the reason is that the amount people get from sun exposure varies tremendously.
> 
> I get burned too easily so I'm content to take the supplement.  At 400IU's per day, I was way, way under the lower end of the normal range.  Now I'm on 1000IU and I have to get tested again, but this is the first year I didn't get sick over the winter - I had gotten sick every single year for at least a decade before that.  So I'm a believer.



I've been taking 2000IIU's a day for about 9 months now and I haven't been sick, I didn't even have any seasonal allergies this year, plus I have more energy and don't feel run down as often. I really don't get a lot of sun either.


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## Mussels (Jul 25, 2011)

interesting stuff


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## Wile E (Jul 25, 2011)

I have allergic reactions when I have too much vitamin D. It's especially bad in the sunlight. I get pretty severe Eczema and hives if I'm out in the sun for more than 30 minutes or so. I'm fine when I drink things like milk tho. I only drink it in my coffee, so maybe the dose is low enough? Who knows?


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## Easy Rhino (Jul 25, 2011)

go outside. novel idea...


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2011)

Wile E said:


> I have allergic reactions when I have too much vitamin D. It's especially bad in the sunlight. I get pretty severe Eczema and hives if I'm out in the sun for more than 30 minutes or so. I'm fine when I drink things like milk tho. I only drink it in my coffee, so maybe the dose is low enough? Who knows?



Do you have any parathyroid problems or bone breakages? Just out of curiosity


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## MilkyWay (Jul 26, 2011)

Make sure you use skin protection, i get burnt in even light sun and also i get headaches ect from the heat. Also you can take too much vitamin D but its unlikely to get too much from direct sunlight.

I know dark skinned people need a lot of sun light to get vitamin D, a family member works in the bio chem lab offices here and sees all the records and most of the time you see Asians with vitamin D deficiency because they cant get enough from the sun here.

Something to do with melanin and skin tone, i am pale because i need to be to take in more vitamin D from the sun because of a lack of sunlight in Scotland. Thats why in like Nigeria the people are mostly very dark skinned its like a natural form of skin protection. Pigmentation is determined by melanin, everybody knows this though or should i imagine.

I knew vitamin D was beneficial but its interesting to see that they say people get sick in winter due to lack vitamin D through sunlight.


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## Respect2Glory (Jul 26, 2011)

I believe it's important to get at least 15 minutes of sun a day. I don't think it matters when and we should avoid the hottest part of the day especially during hot days. Also, don't forget to stay hydrated, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine.


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## DonInKansas (Jul 26, 2011)

Respect2Glory said:


> I believe it's important to get at least 15 minutes of sun a day. I don't think it matters when and we should avoid the hottest part of the day especially during hot days. Also, don't forget to stay hydrated, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine.



It's ideas like this that are keeping our country obese and lazy.  Only 15 minutes outside?  Really?  I remember being outside all day during hot California summers and having no ill effects past being tired and dirty.  Now we're trying to talk our kids into going outside for an hour a day with commercials with football players.  Fifteen minutes is chump change.


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## twilyth (Jul 26, 2011)

I think the point was for sun exposure to produce vitamin D, not for general exercise or overall well-being.  Anyway, you have to try to be nice to the new members.


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## WhiteLotus (Jul 26, 2011)

MilkyWay said:


> Asians with vitamin D deficiency because they cant get enough from the sun here.



That's most likely because they cover themselves up in accordance with their religion/culture.

Not trolling, it's a fact.


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## Captain.Abrecan (Jul 26, 2011)

DonInKansas said:


> It's ideas like this that are keeping our country obese and lazy.  Only 15 minutes outside?  Really?  I remember being outside all day during hot California summers and having no ill effects past being tired and dirty.  Now we're trying to talk our kids into going outside for an hour a day with commercials with football players.  Fifteen minutes is chump change.



I agree.  I can spend all day outside.  Or more than a whole day, depending on fireside entertainment.  When I was a kid, I used to wake up at 5, and make sandwiches to bring on a hike.  My friends and I would take the power lines across the next few towns, and then turn around and come home at about 8pm.  We did that every day for summer vacation, for about 7 years in a row. Explored the woods of the entire county, mapped every trail in every zipcode.

I don't see kids outside anymore.


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## Easy Rhino (Jul 26, 2011)

Captain.Abrecan said:


> I agree.  I can spend all day outside.  Or more than a whole day, depending on fireside entertainment.  When I was a kid, I used to wake up at 5, and make sandwiches to bring on a hike.  My friends and I would take the power lines across the next few towns, and then turn around and come home at about 8pm.  We did that every day for summer vacation, for about 7 years in a row. Explored the woods of the entire county, mapped every trail in every zipcode.
> 
> I don't see kids outside anymore.



why go outside when you can do it virtually in WoW ?


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## HossHuge (Jul 26, 2011)

WhiteLotus said:


> That's most likely because they cover themselves up in accordance with their religion/culture.
> 
> Not trolling, it's a fact.



Here in Taiwan they cover up because they don't want to be though of as labours.



> the original reason behind the obsession with the lighter skin has more to do with social class differences than 'want what you don't have' syndrome. It was believed that a lighter complexion is associated with wealth and higher education levels, whereas darker skin alludes to a life of outdoor labor toiling in the sun.



source: http://uniorb.com/ATREND/asianwhite.html


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## Wrigleyvillain (Jul 26, 2011)

Captain.Abrecan said:


> I don't see kids outside anymore.



Come to my neighborhood in the summer. They're out there until 11PM. Of course this is partly because it's colder than a witch's tit around here 9 months a year.


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## msgclb (Jul 26, 2011)

Several years ago we had grass fires here that caused real bad air quality. I developed a breathing problem that finally put me in the ER. I had a severe respiratory viral infection and pneumonia was mentioned. My primary physician saw the xrays and got me an appointment with an endocrinologist. She at first thought I had a calcium or thyroid problem but after a couple of blood tests it turns out that I had a vitamin D deficiency. So my trip to the ER got me help for muscle and back pains.

I started out taking a 50,000 IU capsule each week then one a month and now one every two weeks. I started out with blood tests every 3 months but now every 6 months. I do feel a lot better when I take these capsules every two weeks.


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## Loosenut (Jul 26, 2011)

twilyth said:


> ON THE MAPScientists who study vitamin D can't help but notice that a host of diseases seem to vary with latitude. Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and *even some cancers appear to be more common in areas that get less sun* -- meaning less opportunity for the body to produce vitamin D. The maps above illustrate the apparent link between solar radiation and *breast cancer mortality rates*.Source, from top: D. M. Harris and V.L.W. Go / /J. of Nutrition 2004; National Cancer Institute



This is a serious subject and I apologize if I offend anybody but...

If I read between the lines, does this mean we should be seeing more topless women?

For health reasons of course


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## [H]@RD5TUFF (Jul 26, 2011)

I knew that you were supposed to take vitamin D if you use sun screen, just didn't know why, now I do, thanks a bunch.


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## Drone (Jul 27, 2011)

mmm I like fishes.


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## Wile E (Jul 28, 2011)

WhiteLotus said:


> Do you have any parathyroid problems or bone breakages? Just out of curiosity



Not afaik on thyroid issues, but I haven't been tested. What would I be looking for in terms of symptoms? And no bone breakages that are out of the ordinary (aka: all bone breakages happened in situations where bone breaking would be an expected outcome).

Why, do you have ideas that will get me back out in the sun? lol


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## msgclb (Jul 28, 2011)

About a year before I visited the ER I tripped and fell in a grass area. I was sure that I had broken something. I eventually was sent to an orthopedic surgeon. I broke a bone in my upper left arm. Luckily the break was something called inline so I didn't need a cast or the doctor's surgery skills. I was put in a sling that kept my arm from moving for about 6 months.

My primary physician knew this when he got my appointment with an endocrinologist.

Some of my other symptoms were muscle aches in my legs and back. I don't have these problems when I take my capsules.

Before you would need to take the amount of vitamin D that I have to take you should have a doctor's prescription and follow up blood tests to assure that your vitamin D is acceptable or abnormal.


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## CDdude55 (Aug 1, 2011)

I usually go for a walk for about 30-40mins a few days a week. It's pretty hot down here in VA, but i still go for walks, just take your time..

It's really good to have your heart rate up and get your blood circulating at least once a week if not more.


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## The_Ish (Aug 1, 2011)

It depends on where you live.. In Northen Sweden the sun doesn't even rise for much of December.
Where I live, I get maybe 1-2hrs of proper daylight during the winter months. Not because it's not there, but rather having job that doesn't allow you to be outside. So when the clock strikes 4pm and it's time to go home. You get in your car and drive the 30min home only to get maybe an hour of daylight some days. It's not uncommon for people to get really down, and depressed here during the winter. I actually thought about it just yesterday. I think I'm gonna get some vitamin-D supplement added to my daily diet.


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