Vitamin D Supplements Don't Help Your Health: Review

[IDemo]

FRIDAY, Jan. 24, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- There's little evidence that vitamin D supplements offer substantial health benefits, and several ongoing studies are unlikely to change that, according to a large new review.

Vitamin D supplements are taken by nearly half of American adults, according to the researchers.

The review authors analyzed the findings of 40 studies and determined that taking vitamin D supplements does not reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer or bone fractures in the general population by more than 15 percent.

That result suggests that vitamin D supplements likely provide few, if any, health benefits, said Dr. Mark Bolland, of the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and colleagues.

http://www.philly.com/philly/health/HealthDay684171_20140124_Vitamin_D_Supplements_Don_t_Help_Your_Health__Review.html

[snooper2]

1. So at my next physical I should take this to my doctor

Screw you, I'm not low on D3

[IDemo]

2. I contacted my doctor about the recent AMA re-definition of high blood pressure

He agreed that I was well within the guidelines and that I should quit taking the Lisinopril unless otherwise indicated at the next checkup. So yes, you might want to bring it up.

[Chuuku Davis]

53. I don't think it was

The AMA
The AMA is a political and financial organization
The few docs in it usually do not actually practice medicine

[IDemo]

57. It was the AMA

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1791497#tab1

While they do engage in 'Advocacy', that is hardly their only mission or even the primary one.

Why the American Medical Association?

The AMA is in a unique position to reach physicians in all practice settings and specialties. Our work to improve the health of the nation positions us to bring physicians together with communities and public and private sector organizations to prevent—and to achieve measurable improvements in health outcomes for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

[hlthe2b]

3. Doesn't follow that you are not actually low on D3...

while I personally am not convinced that we should conclude supplements are not effective, it follows that other sources (e.g., sunlight) may be better--not that vitamin D deficiencies aren't real, nor that "effective" supplementation from other sources might not be helpful.

[tammywammy]

9. This is about people taking vitamin D that aren't deficient.

From the link:

Unless used in people with vitamin D deficiency, there is legitimate concern that taking vitamin D supplements might actually cause harm, professor Karl Michaelsson, of Uppsala University in Sweden, wrote in an accompanying journal editorial.

[frazzled]

15. Not entirely

More than three years ago a select committee convened by the Institute of Medicine at the request of the US and Canadian governments did an extensive study, which was reported on the front page of the New York Times. (I remember reading it, because my doctor had prescribed Vitamin D for me.) It stated some of the findings mentioned above (the unnecessariness, the unhelpfulness, the potential harm), but it also discussed the fact that, because doctors were routinely ordering tests of Vitamin D levels, it was being prescribed like wildfire. Yet, the levels used to determine who was deficient were often way off. So don't necessarily believe it if your doctor says you are deficient.

And these days more and more people know their vitamin D levels because they are being tested for it as part of routine physical exams.

“The number of vitamin D tests has exploded,” said Dennis Black, a reviewer of the report who is a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco.

At the same time, vitamin D sales have soared, growing faster than those of any supplement, according to The Nutrition Business Journal. Sales rose 82 percent from 2008 to 2009, reaching $430 million. “Everyone was hoping vitamin D would be kind of a panacea,” Dr. Black said. The report, he added, might quell the craze.

...

Some labs have started reporting levels of less than 30 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood as a deficiency. With that as a standard, 80 percent of the population would be deemed deficient of vitamin D, Dr. Rosen said. Most people need to take supplements to reach levels above 30 nanograms per milliliter, he added.

But, the committee concluded, a level of 20 to 30 nanograms is all that is needed for bone health, and nearly everyone is in that range.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/health/30vitamin.html

[djean111]

4. I'll take that 15%, thank you.

I'll sure as fuck take the 15% reduction of D3 instead of the killer crap prescribed for osteoporosis.
Of course, those drugs seem to be recalled with great regularity.
Are the anti-supplement peeps just going through the alphabet now, casting aspersions as they go?

[Rex]

16. Their outrage over woo has blinded them to what woo is.

Or they just love prescription drugs!

Dam Big Pharma cartels and their woo pets!

[Squinch]

29. Yes! If we say that taking vitamin D reduces fractures by 15%, then we are saying the same thing,

as the OP, but 15% it is enough for me to think it's worth taking.

[laundry_queen]

52. That's what a doctor/researcher was saying on tv tonight

that they set the bar impossibly high for a study, and then when it didn't *quite* meet the ridiculously high bar, they declared the vitamin was useless.

He said there are a lot more studies on vit D coming out in the next few years that should be more clear.

I'll keep taking it, as I have a confirmed deficiency.

[dipsydoodle]

5. Odd then

that my daughter who has bulk D jabs needs those as well and my elderly mother haa D supplements as well - all on NHS prescriptions.

[tammywammy]

7. This is not about people that are deficient.

This is about people that are not deficient taking vitamin D.

From the link:

Unless used in people with vitamin D deficiency, there is legitimate concern that taking vitamin D supplements might actually cause harm, professor Karl Michaelsson, of Uppsala University in Sweden, wrote in an accompanying journal editorial.

[dipsydoodle]

17. You reject it if you don't need it.

You get most from being the sun which most would agree isn't harmful.

[AngryAmish]

39. No. There are 4 fat soluble vitamins, K, A, D and E

(Thank you Kevin Keogh).

You can only process so Much fat soluble vitamins or you can OD, not like heroin but you can get ave problems.

All others, take the megadoses. All it will do is make your pee expensive but won't harm you.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

50. Dipsy, please read my post below.

Ta

[Vashta Nerada]

6. Don't tell that to the woo crowd.

They like to throw their money out the window.

[JustAnotherGen]

8. Unless . . .

Unless used in people with vitamin D deficiency, there is legitimate concern that taking vitamin D supplements might actually cause harm, professor Karl Michaelsson, of Uppsala University in Sweden, wrote in an accompanying journal editorial

.


This makes sense for those of us with Auto Immune Diseases . . .

Previous research has shown that vitamin D deficiency is associated with poor health and early death. But recent evidence suggests that low levels of vitamin D are a result, not a cause, of poor health, according to a journal news release.

I can't wait for the summer. Or our vacay in March - I need the sun. Like seriously need the sun -and with the anti sun bed/faking baking crowd - you can't win if you have A.S.

I belong to an IRL and Online support group for my A.S. - and I don't think I've encountered anyone who has that perfect storm inside their body that is not D Deficient.


What I've never understood - why take big amounts of ANYTHING unless you HAVE to. Blood work. Blood work by one's physician before we pop pills for anything.

[nashville_brook]

10. vit D bloodwork cost me $200 to find out I'm deficient - $2.34 cost of 3/mos Vit D

I would have been way better off just taking the damn Vitamin D.

[JustAnotherGen]

14. Ahh

It's part of your quarterly check ups (at least mine) for my Ankylosing. They watch that, vitamin b, c-r protein, white blood cell count, etc. etc. Consistently I'm borderline but due to the additional stress of two miscarriages last year my body was in a bit more distress - so I've been upped on my kind of uppers!


Truthfully -I KNOW it's bad - I feel like I do better when I just go bake in the tanning booth three times a week all winter. *hides head in paperbag*

[nashville_brook]

56. since unused vitamin D is just flushed out, I'm skipping the bloodwork from now on

and just taking the cheap vitamin. i can't afford this nonsense.

i'm D-deficient, even though i live in FL and spend a LOT of time outside w/o sunscreen.

[etherealtruth]

60. vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, it is not "flushed out"

Fat soluble vitamins, once they have been stored in tissues in the body, tend to remain there. This means that if a person takes in too much of a fat soluble vitamin, over time they can have too much of that vitamin present in their body, a potentially dangerous condition called hypervitaminosis (literally, too much vitamin in the body).

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10736

Noting that NO ONE has stated that someone that is vitamin deficient should not take a supplement

[Number23]

23. JAG, what is A.S.?

[JustAnotherGen]

24. Ankylosing Spondylitis

http://www.spondylitis.org/about/as.aspx

And I have creaky joints today!

ETA: And this is when race and ethnicity matters - because you know my ethic background - I have the HLB-27 gene. Dayum my great grandfather Georges! Came off the boat from France and gave me this little souvenir from Marseilles. . . he had it too!

[MissB]

26. Dh has this too

And his has progressed quite far (fusion isn't "complete" but farther along than the dr had previously guessed).

From what I'm reading into your previous post, you are a woman with AS, right? If so, I have some questions I'd like to pm you if you're willing (and if not, totally understand!)

[JustAnotherGen]

31. Feel free

Gets better - appearance black woman - we just don't get this. I'm very lucky I had a Rheumy who dug into my ethnic background and took my symptoms seriously enough to get me the right test. I'm freezing straight up - mid spine.

[Number23]

34. Creaky joints are like my speciality

You should hear my knees when I go up a flight of stairs. It sounds like Rice Krispies.

Are you doing okay? Are you on some type of program, exercise?

[JustAnotherGen]

40. I'm okay

But it will eventually do me in. When I first flared I couldn't even hold my head up. My rib cage closed around my chest by about an inch. Because of where and how I'm freezing - its a long slow suffocation. But I'd rather have this the scleroderma or ms. And right now there are people fighting cancer and babies struggling with birth defects. I'm a very very lucky woman.

[Number23]

41. Oh my goodness, I had no idea

I have an aunt with scheloderma. It's a ravaging disease. Though again, it's not nearly as cruel as MS.

I'm a very very lucky woman.

With your brilliance and that attitude, I have no doubt you will outlive us all. You are in my prayers.

[JustAnotherGen]

45. Many thanks for all of it

[tridim]

11. That doesn't leave us many other options during the Winter.

Apparently UVB light gets filtered out in the winter unless you live on the Equator.

I know that whole milk doesn't have enough vitamin D, and the added vitamin D in foods is just like the supplement, so what do we do now? Suffer?

[SidDithers]

12. DU Rec...

And if you do buy Vitamin D supplements, make sure as hell that you don't buy them from Gary Null.

Gary Null, woo purveyor and supplement peddler extraordinaire, overdosed himself on Vitamin D, while taking his very own name brand Vitamin D supplements.

And yes, he did sue himself (sort of) for the damage he caused to himself.

True story.

http://www.loweringthebar.net/2010/05/gary-nulls-ultimate-power-meal-almost-killed-me-says-gary-null.html

What's really funny, is when certain DUers use Gary Null as a reputable source for their woo claims.

Sid

[DeadLetterOffice]

13. Wait... what?

Why the negative pitch? The article says:

The review authors analyzed the findings of 40 studies and determined that taking vitamin D supplements does not reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer or bone fractures in the general population by more than 15 percent.

Let's change the wording a wee bit and see what happens:

A review of forty studies found that vitamin D supplements reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, and bone fractures by up to 15%.

Same ingredients, totally different aftertaste.
Since when did a 15% risk reduction translate to "doesn't help your health" -- wtf?

[frazzled]

19. The question is, 15% of WHAT.

In most cases, a 15% reduction in risk is statistically insignificant. And the risks from taking too much Vitamin D offset any benefit. In fact, the risks, according to more recent expert reports, outweigh the benefits.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/health/30vitamin.html

[GeorgeGist]

27. Wow that some special kinda stupid they're teaching a MedU Biostatics 101.

[frazzled]

28. Um, no

But whatever.

Think about what 15% of a 2% risk is.

[DeadLetterOffice]

32. You're quite right...

...to point out that a 15% change cannot be evaluated for true clinical (or statistical) significance without knowing the base rate.
My bad.

I still find it fascinating, though, how this kind of information is spun -- I can easily imagine the same data being presented as "Vitamin D supplements drop cancer risk up to 15%!!!" instead of "Vitamin D supplements don't reduce cancer risk any more than 15%." No wonder people get so confused about what the hell research actually means...

I take vitamin D at my MD's recommendation, after blood-work showed a deficiency several years ago. I'm looking forward to reading the actual study when it's published.

[phleshdef]

18. Supplements help when you have a deficiency. If you aren't deficient in something, you don't...

...need to add extra.

Take me for example, my vitamin D was checked in last year's blood work and it was LOW, like single digits low and that can lead to health problems, and I believe it had a lot to do with general achiness I'd been having.

So I took supplements, per doc's orders for about 6 months. My next blood work showed that my level had increased to a healthy level and the doctor then told me to discontinue the Vitamin D supplement and take a multivitamin or try to add more Vitamin D rich foods to my diet (I don't eat/drink dairy, don't like it).

If your body is in need of something because its low in that something, its painfully obvious that taking a supplement that provides that something is going to help you. That's pretty much inarguable fact. If you don't need it though because your body is absorbing enough of it from your regular diet, then taking the supplement likely won't do much for you.

[marions ghost]

20. Mushroom soup-esp in winter...

#10: Mushrooms
More than just a high vitamin D food, mushrooms also provide Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) and copper. Lightly cooked white button mushrooms provide the most vitamin D with 27.0IU (7% DV) per 100 gram serving, or 7.6IU (2% DV) per ounce.

Read more at http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-vitamin-D-foods.php#GI61ELrFkdLwAhZg.99

[flamingdem]

21. How big was the study?

Did I miss some link or something?

[Armstead]

22. I long ago decied that there arew so many conflicting claims and studies about food that....

I'm going to eat what I feel like, and accept the consequences.

One day you read this is good for your health. The next day it's bad for you.

[GeorgeGist]

25. 15% is better than most big pharma drugs.

The review authors analyzed the findings of 40 studies and determined that taking vitamin D supplements does not reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer or bone fractures in the general population by more than 15 percent.

[Dollface]

30. Unless you have a vitamin D deficiency

[think]

33. The end of the article links to a Harvard article

which includes a section on vitamin D and cancer:

Vitamin D and cancer

Nearly 30 years ago, researchers noticed an intriguing relationship between colon cancer deaths and geographic location: People who lived at higher latitudes, such as in the northern U.S., had higher rates of death from colon cancer than people who live closer to the equator. (26) Many scientific hypotheses about vitamin D and disease stem from studies that have compared solar radiation and disease rates in different countries. These can be a good starting point for other research but don’t provide the most definitive information. The sun’s UVB rays are weaker at higher latitudes, and in turn, people’s vitamin D levels in these high latitude locales tend to be lower. This led to the hypothesis that low vitamin D levels might somehow increase colon cancer risk. (2)

Since then, dozens of studies suggest an association between low vitamin D levels and increased risks of colon and other cancers. (1,27) The evidence is strongest for colorectal cancer, with most (but not all) observational studies finding that the lower the vitamin D levels, the higher the risk of these diseases. (28-38) Vitamin D levels may also predict cancer survival, but evidence for this is still limited. (27) Yet finding such associations does not necessarily mean that taking vitamin D supplements will lower cancer risk.

The VITAL trial will look specifically at whether vitamin D supplements lower cancer risk. It will be years, though, before it releases any results. It could also fail to detect a real benefit of vitamin D, for several reasons: If people in the placebo group decide on their own to take vitamin D supplements, that could minimize any differences between the placebo group and the supplement group; the study may not follow participants for a long enough time to show a cancer prevention benefit; or study participants may be starting supplements too late in life to lower their cancer risk. In the meantime, based on the evidence to date, 16 scientists have circulated a “call for action” on vitamin D and cancer prevention: (27) Given the high rates of vitamin D deficiency in North America, the strong evidence for reduction of osteoporosis and fractures, the potential cancer-fighting benefits of vitamin D, and the low risk of vitamin D supplementation, they recommend widespread vitamin D supplementation of 2000 IU per day. (27)

Read more: vitamin D trials for cancer prevention

From:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/#vitamin-d-and-cancer

Notice the "Read more" links to Vitamin trials for cancer prevention. From that link there is information regarding early studies, more recent studies, and new on going ones:

Vitamin D Trials for Cancer Prevention

The randomized controlled trial evidence on vitamin D supplementation and cancer prevention has been mixed to date. The Women’s Health Initiative trial, which followed roughly 36,000 women for an average of seven years, failed to find any reduction in colon or breast cancer risk in women who received daily supplements of 400 IU of vitamin D and 1,000 mg of calcium, compared to those who received a placebo. (1, 2) But that study had several limitations, chief among them the relatively low dose of vitamin D. (3, 4) Also, some people in the placebo group decided on their own to take extra calcium and vitamin D supplements, minimizing the differences between the placebo group and the supplement group, and about one third of the women assigned to vitamin D did not take their supplements. (5)


A more recent trial among nearly 1,200 postmenopausal women found significant reductions in overall cancer incidence among those randomized to receive 1,100 IU of vitamin D plus 1400-1500 mg calcium. (6) The Vitamin D and Omega 3 Trial (VITAL) study, which is testing 2,000 IU of vitamin D per day, should offer more answers on the role of vitamin D in cancer prevention, although it could be affected by some of the same limitations as the Women’s Health Initiative.

Entire article:
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d-cancer-trials/

The new ongoing study is called Vital and involves studying 20,000 individuals who are given Vitamin D and Omega 3's.

Welcome to the VITAL Study

Welcome to the Web site of the VITamin D and OmegA-3 TriaL (VITAL) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts. VITAL is a research study in 20,000 men and women across the U.S. investigating whether taking daily dietary supplements of vitamin D3 (2000 IU) or omega-3 fatty acids (Omacor® fish oil, 1 gram) reduces the risk for developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people who do not have a prior history of these illnesses. Please click on Study Q&A to learn more about this important research endeavor.

http://www.vitalstudy.org/

Will be interesting to see what kind of results come out this study.....

[pnwmom]

35. Thanks!

[think]

37. yw :) Just noticed that there is also a link

to another recent article on Vitamin D at the bottom of the Philly.com page for the article posted at the top of this thread:

Vitamin D Levels Linked to Parkinson's Symptoms
Posted: Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 5:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 22, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Higher vitamin D levels are associated with better thinking and mood in people with Parkinson's disease, a new study suggests.

The finding may lead to new ways to delay or prevent the onset of thinking problems and depression in people with the progressive neurodegenerative disease, the researchers said.

Their analysis of nearly 300 Parkinson's disease patients revealed that higher blood levels of vitamin D -- the "sunshine vitamin" -- were associated with less severe physical symptoms, better thinking abilities and lower risk of depression....

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/health/mental-health/HealthDay683996_20140122_Vitamin_D_Levels_Linked_to_Parkinson_s_Symptoms.html#jIzGdY3zc8Khk7Mj.99

Kind of ironic....

[pnwmom]

38. I'm wondering why some people are so eager to push the meme that supplements are worthless

instead of understanding that different people have different physiologies and that a supplement that might not help the general population might be critical for a subgroup.

[Yo_Mama]

44. Exactly! n/t

[RebelOne]

47. I can attest to that.

For years I had leg cramps at night, and someone suggested Vitamin E. I take two Vitamin E capsules at night before going to bed and no more legs cramps.

[pnwmom]

48. I have a b-12 deficiency, but that doesn't mean everyone should get the shots.

Just people with certain conditions.

I don't understand who is behind all this push against vitamins lately. Especially here on DU.

[siligut]

54. I take the shots for B6, B12 and Thiamine

I agree, people are different, genetic disorders and malabsorption may predispose one to nutrient deficiencies.

I was so tired and finally just decided to try the injections, I am so glad I did.

[tandot]

51. Well ... my level was 13 the last time they tested in 2013

I'll stick with the supplement

I don't take a lot of supplements but Vitamin D is the exception.

[pnwmom]

36. Except the study doesn't apply to people with low blood levels, people who are actively

or inactively avoiding the sun, and people with dark skin, especially in northern latitudes.

[Matariki]

42. What a bunch of BS

cured my migraines. Or rather vitamin D deficiency was causing them in the first place.

[greymattermom]

58. love hearing that

I'm a migraine researcher. Our proposal to study vitamin D and migraine was turned down, like almost all of our other proposals. Now I'm studying BPA and migraine.

[Matariki]

59. Interesting! Is there an increase in people suffering migraines?

I was getting really bad and long lasting migraines at least twice a month. Vitamin D was incidental to the cure. My annual check-up turned up a serious vitamin D deficiency (not at all uncommon here in the Pacific NW) and my doctor proscribed a supplement. I wasn't taking anything for the migraines (didn't want the side effects of the common migraine medicines and just tried to manage triggers). But since taking vitamin D - I don't get them anymore, even when over-indulging in any of the things that used to cause them.

[Rex]

61. Of course it is, a certain group here always pushes FUD and hides behind

the science like they even understand it. The title to the OP is disingenuous, but typical.

[Yo_Mama]

43. If you are really low in Vitamin D they definitely do

for some patients. We see strong benefits in certain patients that had quite low Vitamin D levels and associated dysfunctions, esp. of the thyroid.

I wouldn't think that just randomly taking them would do the same thing - better to get out a bit more and get some sun and exercise.

[Jasana]

46. I hardly think this study takes chronic low D into account.

I have multiple sclerosis. I have had 3 vitamin D deficiencies in the last four years. My levels were so low that I had to take emergency 10,000 IU D supplements 1 per week for 6 weeks. My neurologist said she sees this in her MS patients a lot. In fact it has been observed so much that they are now doing studies on MS and vitamin D.

After the third deficiency I experienced, my neurologist told me to take 1000 IUs per day of vitamin D. I'm taking her advice. Thank you.

[Boudica the Lyoness]

49. Vit D can be dangerous. It has been for me.

I avoid the sun and all foods with added Vit D. I have a deadly dysfunction of vitamin D metabolism. The 'regular' 25D (vitamin D) test your doctor gives you, can be low, but your 1,25D might be high. Like mine is. Get tested for 1,25D if you are bound and determined to take supplements.

Please read this;

High Levels of Active 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Despite Low Levels of the 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Precursor - Implications of Dysregulated Vitamin D for Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Disease

Authors: J. C. Waterhouse , Trevor G. Marshall, Belinda Fenter, Meg Mangin and Greg Blaney (The Stillpoint Project, Vancouver, Canada)

Abstract:
The active secosteroid hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D (1,25D) often reaches excessive levels in normocalcemic patients suffering from chronic Th1 inflammatory illnesses, including sarcoidosis and rheumatoid arthritis. This is due to unregulated production of 1,25D in the mitochondria of activated macrophages. Phagocytic cells parasitized by cell wall deficient (CWD) L-forms of bacteria drive this dysfunction of vitamin D metabolism. The paracrine levels of 1,25D rise and the level of substrate 25-D falls. If studies measure only the 25D precursor, a low 25D may be misinterpreted as indicating the patient requires vitamin D supplementation. Our data show that active 1,25D hormone may be elevated, even with a low level of 25D substrate because of the inflamed macrophages’ hyperactive conversion to the active hormone. In sarcoidosis, for example, this dysregulated vitamin D conversion can mean that even a moderate intake of vitamin D through ingestion or solar exposure can cause the 1,25D hormone to become high enough to stimulate osteoclastic action, and bone resorption. Data presented here suggest that this extra-renal synthesis of 1,25D is more widespread than previously thought and because it leads to vitamin D hypersensitivity, has important implications for research, diagnosis and treatment of chronic disease..

More here;

https://www.novapublishers.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5380

[dipsydoodle]

55. I saw your note above.

I meant in general terms.

I'll show that article to my daughter - she's 44. She definitely needs the bulk injections D into a muscle which are provided by our NHS. They're not given as a matter of routine : always preceded by blood tests to check current level.

Stay well.