Do You Really Need Vitamin D?

[Elizabeth Anderson RD 669]

CAUTION! MEDIA HEADLINES MEAN TO SHOCK!

I was recently drawn into an online article with this tantalizing and provocative headline..

“Vitamin D Testing Not Recommended for Most People.”

This was the headline from the Harvard Health Blog. I HAD to read more, this surely couldn't be correct. Could it? Is all this ’vitamin D saves the world’ merely hype?

Not so fast. Remember, the media can’t sustain without an audience…even Harvard blog writers need readers. Flashy, conflict-building headlines do just that.

My beef here is that in today’s hurry-up world, there’s a good chance many people won’t read past the headline.

In fact, they may start thinking, “Hey, if Harvard says I don’t need Vitamin D, I probably don’t” and stop taking the supplements their surgical team has recommended.

Before anyone does that, here’s what I learned from reading the whole Harvard blog piece.

1. Many scientists don’t agree on what a ‘low’ level of Vitamin D is. 20 ng? 30 ng? 50ng?

2. Vitamin D research is at a crossroads because its not certain if there’s a solid relationship

between vitamin D levels and heart disease or cancer.

And……

3. Weight loss surgery patients are among the 3 groups of people that need to be

tested for vitamin D levels because of changes in fat absorption after surgery.

Will vitamin D prevent cancer, osteoporosis and heart disease? Not likely, on its own, but scientific research continues.

In fact, a clinical trial is underway involving 26,000 people that will provide some solid information on vitamin D’s role in our health. Look for the accompanying tabloid-type headlines in 2017.

Meantime, WLS patients, keep taking your prescribed supplements. You'll be glad you did.

[lisacaron 5,075]

You know it's a sad fact that we used to have nice healthy levels of Vitamin D from being outside. In today's world we have UV protection and need UV protection from everything when we are outside. Our windshields and car windows, our office windows, sun glasses, eye glasses make up everything has some kind of UV protection.

It's protecting us from the harmful ray's of the sun and yet it also prevents us from naturally converting that good old fashion sun shine into the Vitamin D our bodies need. So if you are someone like me that spends most of their day inside of something...home, car or office building you need some kind of Vitamin D supplement.

Our kids today don't hazard out the door for fear of the sun I think! Or maybe because they can't open the doors since their fingers are affixed to some type of device at all times...I haven't figured that out yet...but even kids now seem to have similar differences and that is worrisome when it starts so young, what happens when they are "old" like me??

I'm pro-vitamin D. No need to overdose, but take it and get outside every once in a while and smell the roses!! Even if you have to walk to the local floral shop to do it at least you got outside

[labwalker 1,177]

Mr. doctor had me tested for Vitamin D, and advised that I needed supplements. I took them, as prescribed. This was based on my bi annual blood work.

Personally, non peer reviewed information as presented above is pure BS! I listen to my doctor, not a wanna be internet specialist with no credentials. Sorry, but that is the bare truth. What the hell is a Nrd??? Goodgle searches bring up nothing! Is that a recognized medical degree??

Edited December 4, 2014 by labwalker

[borg/assimilated 576]

Maybe it is age related, but my Vit. D level has been low for years. When my Dr. told me the first time that my level was low I was astonished because I taught Environmental Ed. and was outside at least five days a week, and only used sunscreen on my face. So maybe as we age we are not able to manufacture enough D in our skin from exposure to the sun.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

Mr. doctor had me tested for Vitamin D, and advised that I needed supplements. I took them, as prescribed. This was based on my bi annual blood work.

Personally, non peer reviewed information as presented above is pure BS! I listen to my doctor, not a wanna be internet specialist with no credentials. Sorry, but that is the bare truth. What the hell is a Nrd??? Goodgle searches bring up nothing! Is that a recognized medical degree??

NRD? Where do you see this?

[bluesclues 49]

I don't believe that it's only from WLS, I've had low Vit D levels prior to the surgery and was taking a rx dose of it....and now, still do. That hasn't changed

[magoo 0]

I agree that peer reviewed information is valuable, but clinical decision making requires careful and precise thinking in the absence of comprehensive answers. Most medical disciplines accept and embrace the limitations of what we know, what we can know, and that we make the best recommendations we can based on that knowledge available in the era we are practicing. This clinician's advice clearly speaks to that, and the ongoing academic rigor of science. As a physician, adhering to the dictum 'primum non nocere," I view the risks of Vitamin D supplementation as minimal, whereas the potential benefits high. When more study evidence is available, I will look at it with healthy criticism of it's methodology and strengths and weaknesses. My clinical decision making will adjust to the quality of the information brought forth. I applaud the author for advising us to use prudent and thoughtful judgement.

[CanyonBaby 1,852]

It's also necessary to have the Vitamin D levels checked for hyperparathyroidism, which I had and have had serious repercussions from. I didn't know I had an issue (symptoms were very painful bones and bad lethargy), until AFTER I had a rib removed (it had broke by my sneezing-yes, sneezing) after a year of it not healing. One week after it's removal I broke another rib (by inhaling on my asthma inhaler-yes, it, too, is true). No one (except me) ever wondered why this was happening, until I went to an specialist after we moved to a different state 2 months later. He immediately guessed the cause (a tumor on one of my parathyroid glands). It was removed, but the damage to my bones remain, and it is now a blood test I have regularly.