Vitamin D3 Supplementation: Useless or even Harmful? page 5

[Ferti]

Just bought some Carlson's drops from Iherb. 4,000 International Units per drop.

[Dave RN]

There can be harm from taking D3 as a suppliment. If, that is, you don't get enough K2 complex.

D3 makes calcium more bioavailable (among things).

The K2's "tell" calcium where to go. It should be going to bones. Without enough K2, calcium goes to soft tissues, like arteries.

Therefore, too much D3 without enough K2 complex to tell the newly bioavaialble calcium where to go can send that calcium to soft tissues instead of bone. And yo don't want that.

I beleive this is one reason why women have caught up with men in terms of heart issues. Women tend to take lots of calcium, but being that they're not getting any K2 complex (which comes from things like raw milk and butter from cows eating green grass) that calcium tends to go to the arteries. Ooops.

So, I do take 5,000 -10,000U of D3 a day. I also take a K2 complex. I also drink raw milk and use KerryGold butter.

[quelsen]

There can be harm from taking D3 as a suppliment. If, that is, you don't get enough K2 complex.

D3 makes calcium more bioavailable (among things).

The K2's "tell" calcium where to go. It should be going to bones. Without enough K2, calcium goes to soft tissues, like arteries.

Therefore, too much D3 without enough K2 complex to tell the newly bioavaialble calcium where to go can send that calcium to soft tissues instead of bone. And yo don't want that.

I beleive this is one reason why women have caught up with men in terms of heart issues. Women tend to take lots of calcium, but being that they're not getting any K2 complex (which comes from things like raw milk and butter from cows eating green grass) that calcium tends to go to the arteries. Ooops.

So, I do take 5,000 -10,000U of D3 a day. I also take a K2 complex. I also drink raw milk and use KerryGold butter.

true true, need the K.... isnt everyone taking it?

[Neckhammer]

I will say also that in this particular case the pharmaceutical companies are definitely reacting rather than creating the trend ( I absolutely agree that they "create"....hell they invent illnesses just to invent a drug to market). But, in this case there have been holistic practitioners getting their patients on vitamin D for years before pharma decided to jump on the band wagon. So what did pharma do? Slapped a prescription grade vitamin D (50,000 IU) on a pill and marketed it to allergists and immunologists who can have the patient report to the office once a week to get their dose and check in. Simply brilliant (at making money).

Anyhow, vitamin D test will run you about 90 dollars if you are really interested. I can say that I don't supplement through the summer, but I begin supplementing in september to have my levels up for the winter. Makes a noticeable change. I just don't get sick.

[DavidBrennan]

I will say also that in this particular case the pharmaceutical companies are definitely reacting rather than creating the trend ( I absolutely agree that they "create"....hell they invent illnesses just to invent a drug to market). But, in this case there have been holistic practitioners getting their patients on vitamin D for years before pharma decided to jump on the band wagon. So what did pharma do? Slapped a prescription grade vitamin D (50,000 IU) on a pill and marketed it to allergists and immunologists who can have the patient report to the office once a week to get their dose and check in. Simply brilliant (at making money).

Unbelievable. So now if some small businessman wants to sell Vitamin D3 in 50,000 IU portions....he'll have a SWAT team raid him and steal all his stuff, just like people selling raw milk. These people literally make the laws nowadays.

Anyhow, vitamin D test will run you about 90 dollars if you are really interested. I can say that I don't supplement through the summer, but I begin supplementing in september to have my levels up for the winter. Makes a noticeable change. I just don't get sick.

Although I won't be buying any tests because of the expense, all of the responses here have made me more certain to at least continue my current supplementation. So I'm no longer thinking that it's basically just a placebo.

[Wildrose]

All of the non-paleo sources I've heard advocating Vitamin D3 actually go one step further and say that endogenous D3 (from the sun) is bad, and supplementation is the only way you can get good Vitamin D3 (this is in direct contrast to Dr. Michael Eades, who noted that endogenous Vitamin D is much healthier and has a larger half-life)

All I'm going to say is that this is absolute tosh. The best place to get Vit D is the sun. Unfortunately, I live in Canada so the sun is gone and isn't coming back until spring. I'll be supplementing until then.

[quelsen]

All I'm going to say is that this is absolute tosh. The best place to get Vit D is the sun. Unfortunately, I live in Canada so the sun is gone and isn't coming back until spring. I'll be supplementing until then.

Assuming you can still make it from the sun, yes i agree

[Whitefox]

Vitamin D: 1 Billion People Worldwide Are Vitamin D Deficient or Insufficient - SuppVersity: Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

Suppversity has a lot of studies and data on vitamin D.

[Linny]

If you watch the Directlabs.com site they usually run a vitamin d test at discount a few times a year. $39 I think and then if you google for a coupon code you should be able to get 10% off or something like that.

[BlissfulWriter]

Although I trust the "consensus" among the paleo community that Vitamin D supplementation is critical - and myself and family members have been supplementing because of this - I've recently started to become a little dubious about the D3 supplements. My reasons for this odd feeling are:

1) No discernable change in my body since I began supplementing
2) The fact that D3 is, suddenly, being pushed by big pharma and the other usual suspects who advocate harmful things, and
3) All of the non-paleo sources I've heard advocating Vitamin D3 actually go one step further and say that endogenous D3 (from the sun) is bad, and supplementation is the only way you can get good Vitamin D3 (this is in direct contrast to Dr. Michael Eades, who noted that endogenous Vitamin D is much healthier and has a larger half-life).

...

You have to test your Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D. If it is not within normal ranges, you need to get sun exposure and or vitamin D3 supplements. The D generated from sun is superior because it is sulfated form of D3 and other beneficial stuff is generated in addition. But this only works if you are out in the sun midday when UVB rays are able to penetrate atmosphere and hits your skin. Depending on your geography, whether you work indoors, or season, you may not be able to get enough sun exposure, so supplementation is beneficial. Supplementation is harmful is you have high serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. That is why you need to test. You can order a test yourself at DirectLabs.com or there are home self-tests. Supplementation of D3 may also be harmful if it is not balanced by adequate vitamin A.

Just because you are seeing No discernable change in my body does not mean that vitamin D is not working. It works on a cellular level so you can not "feel" it. It works by modulating your immune system so that you do not get autoimmune conditions and part of its job description is to prevent cancer.

By the way, anyone with any autoimmune condition should have their vitamin D levels checked.