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Anyone taking Vitamin D3 supplements?
The 'sunshine pill' as it is known.
Seems we do not naturally receive enough of this vitamin in the UK; lack of sunlight and long winters being the main reasons.
I glean from the internet that it's worth taking much higher doses, 5000iu, than what is normally sold in health shops, 1000iu (iu means international units).
I take cod liver oil tablets in the winter. This is a natural source of vitamin D.
EU health guidelines are not convinced by very high doses. I've fully looked into the data, but I trust health authorities more than I do an industry that makes money from selling vitamins.
I have been taking vitamin D for a while now due to slightly low calcium levels which was down to vitamin d insufficiency. The amount of milk and fish I eat I should be overloaded but apparently having darker skin means more resistance to sunlight and not producing enough vitamin d. I got retested last month, calcium is normal now and vitamin d has increased slightly but still insufficient and have been asked to take higher dose. Was taking Boots 10ug which is 400IU.
http://www.vrp.com/bone-and-joint/vi...ealth-concerns
An interesting conclusion about Vit D3 in the above link...
A growing number of researchers who have widely studied Vitamin D3 are almost begging the general public to consume more of this important nutrient. Due to Vitamin D3’s high safety profile in doses up to 10,000 IU per day and because of the wide role it plays in our health, consuming 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day of this nutrient at times of the year when sunlight is scarce is a prudent way to improve overall health.
Like this oneQuote:
Originally Posted by noel
PS. I realise I missed the word "not" out of my original post.Quote:
Originally Posted by wharfeego
I've started today - with 5000iu - so I'll see how my body reacts over the next few months.
Good luck. I certainly think we weren't evolved to live in these winters. So anything we can do to help us through them can only be a good thing.
More, seemingly good advice here...
https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/abou...my-body-needs/
I've been on the same ones as you Andy since October and I think I've had a better winter.
Don't know if its with it being milder or the pills.
Not really bothered as long as it feels better.
Hope they work for you mate.
interesting. may I add another good advice here about vitamins: http://www.supplementstadium.com/Quote:
Originally Posted by wharfeego
Be aware:
"The Vitamin D Council receives grants from vitamin D manufacturer Biotech Pharmacal. (http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/sponsors.shtml; accessed 8/26/08)"
Sorry - link does not open.
Worth a look:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...8D771D9.f04t03
I'm familiar with Vitamin D for energy but I have not tried Vitamin D3. I researched about the latter's benefits and If I'm correct, It is for bone's health and immune function. This could really sounds great for the body and a good supplement.
I have been researching vit D for years. I generally get mine by taking 1000mg of Codliver Oil daily.... as the oil also confers other benefits.
The main (VitD) benefit seems to be (and this is just my experience...shared by others) that my immune system is good. I can share a bed with a snotty, sweaty, sneezing, coughing and otherwise lurgy ridden MrsMoors without suffering much more than a sniffle the following week.
There are cardio-vascular benefits, which are of interest to runners... chief among which is improved elasticity of blood vessels.
The other thing is that I make sure that if the sun is out...even in Feb, I will run with plenty of skin exposed.
If you are taking Vit D then you should ensure you get K2 as well - they work synergystically and without K2 the vitD may not be effect. it's all to do with how the calcium is shuttled around the body and how its kept in the cells so it can work where needed
Back on it for this winter.
Roll on 21 Dec and the start of lighter nights.
have you tried sharing your vit D supplements with MrsMoors too?Quote:
Originally Posted by manothemoors
My wife takes it as part of her MS treatment and it seems to help her, so I take a bit when I'm feeling a bit low from winter blues.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LincsFellRunner
Anyone taking/still taking Vit D3 supplements? If so, what daily dosages do you take (ug)?
Holland and Barrett's have a deal for 100 ug tabs
I take 10 micrograms daily throughout the year - my only medication - 100 micrograms is a big dose unless you are deficient. I had a blood test not that long ago and the level was just right - I clearly do not need to take a bigger dose. Being outside every day people might think I should get enough Vit D naturally, but I wear long sleeves year round to keep the ticks off, and in summer if/when I pull the sleeves up I have sunscreen on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mossdog
I take a 12.5 tablet daily. I recall them being £2.99 for 105 tablets from Aldi
I've no idea what that back to front y followed by a g dosage means.
I also take a 410mg Cod Liver Oil softgel capsule. Just noticed that it also contains 3.37 yg of Vit D
Your backwards y (μ) is a microgram i.e. μg.Quote:
Originally Posted by Llani Boy
I take a 1000mg omega 3 fish oil capsule daily primarily for EPA & DHA but this also has approximately 10μg vitamin D.
Yes, I take 400iu (10μg), which is 200 percent of the NRV (recommended amount), from the start of October until however long 180 tablets last. The rest of the year I spend as much time as possible outside with bare arms, bare legs, balding head etc, in the middle of the day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mossdog
It's been life-changing for me. Previously I put on over 10 percent of my body weight during the winter, and felt uninterested in anything and just wanted to hibernate until the spring. I must have been somewhere on the SAD spectrum, but without proper blood monitoring I've no idea where.
Although Vit D is fat soluble, and can be stored in the body, it has a short half-life (which varies from person to person) so a lot of exposure to the sun in September won't last the winter.
I would say that if you feel disinterested/depressed at this time of the year then it's worth giving it a go.
I am intrigued to hear that so many of you seem to be taking these supplements; have you all had advice from medical professionals that you should be taking them? While I do certainly notice some change in my mood, and a decrease in fitness, at this time of year, it is not severe enough to be diagnosed as SAD; and I just consider it to be a natural cycle, and something that I shouldn't artificially interfere with.
As for fish oil, I eat mackerel, herrings and fresh sardines when I can get them from our fishmonger. I have been known to scrape and eat the oil from the bottom of the grill pan after a meal of herrings.
I was once being treated by an oncologist.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
He asked if I took any general vitamin supplements and said that he did. I expressed surprise and he replied that his diet was probably sound but one never knew if there might be a deficiency so if you could afford it why would you not take a general vitamin supplement to be sure?
Presumably that counts as advice from a medical professional.
Indeed, I used to take glucosamine but my orthopaedic consultant told me that was a complete waste of money as there was very little in the way of clinical evidence for it having any affect on arthritis etc. He did say to carry on with omega 3 fish oil but 1000mg minimum a day for it to be beneficial in joint mobility.
The NHS recommends the taking of Vitamin D during the autumn and winter, and suggests that those with dark skin, living in care homes, or who wear clothes that cover the majority of their skin when outside, should consider taking it all the year.Quote:
Originally Posted by anthonykay
Until the NHS recommended it I wasn't taking it, but when I did I wished I'd done it years ago.
Fish oil supplements - 1,000 mg a day or more - may increase the risk of AF - atrial fibrillation - something that endurance runners are at increased risk of in the first place. Eating oily fish is not thought to have this effect.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
My physio swore by the befits of glucosamine and much else.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
My knee surgeon laughed and said I should save the money and spend it on a holiday!
So I dumped the glucosamine but take omega 3 on the basis that I have never heard a fish complain about knee problems.
And in gratitude I eat fish every day (hardly ever meat and nothing with wings) but since the fish are dead they tend not to hand out medical advice.:confused:
I am sure I have mentioned this before but some years ago at a medical meeting a Professor of Pharmacology - er - professed that the only studies that showed any benefit with glucosamine were those that had been funded by the manufacturers of the drug - all the other studies found no benefit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze