Deseret News | Low in vitamin D? Beware heart disease, depression

Reader comments
Low in vitamin D? Beware heart disease, depression

Evets | 12:20 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Just get outside you really don't need the suppliments. It takes very little sun exposure to get enough vitamin D. Kids spend too much time watching TV or Video games. Adults have turned into workaholics sitting behind a desk for too many hours only to go home and watch TV or something. No one gets out anymore.
Go for a walk, work in your yard, play a sport, or do something else outside. You will get enough sun exposure (assuming you don't cover up every patch of skin on your body with cloths or sunscreen) to get way more than your share of vitamin D.
I worked in Preventive Medicine and Health Promotion for more than 25 years and I have seen this work time and time again. Unfortunately we look instead for a quick fix of a pill or something.

Well... | 12:24 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

I have poor circulation, always have, and I take a supplement, especially in the winter. I'm not about to go freeze outside every day all winter.

Shelley | 12:32 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

It is vitamin D3 that we are lacking. Bottles that say Vitamain D is usually D2. Look specifically for D3.
In the area we live, we do not get enough Vit. D3 from the sun. ALOT of skin needs to be exposed for a good amount of time to get what we need. So, unless you live in a bathing suit or shorts/tank tops year around in Hawaii, you are not getting it.

Comments continue below

Anonymous | 12:37 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

People are different. I believe getting outside is always the best option for getting vitamin D, but in highly deficient people it will take more than 30 minutes outside without sunscreen in order to get it. I know...I am deficient. LOL

Matthew | 1:11 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

I was purposefully walking 30 minutes a day with no hat and short sleeves in addition to just normal outdoor activity. I was also taking a 500 unit supplement of vitamin D. When I went in for my biennial physical, the blood test showed me on the low side of the "low" category. I've upped my supplement on my doctors advice. Now there is less sun this time of year so I'm going to get tested again. The test is relatively cheap people. It is very hard to live in the US and get the right balance of everything. Modern life isn't healthy, but one needs a job and can't afford a really exotic diet. Society as a whole needs to start moving in a different direction with regards to lifestyles, diet and health.

RE: Evets | 1:18 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Unfortunately at our latitude in SLC it is IMPOSSIBLE to get enough Vit D from the sun during the winter months. There was a study done in Boston (very close to our latitude)where grad students sat on the roof of one of there buildings without shirts or sunscreen for days and days...it did not raise there serum Vit D 25-OH (the active form)levels one iota. I don't care how much time you are spending outside in Northern Utah, you aren't walking around without your shirt. Take supplements during the winter!

Scare tactics... | 3:23 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

to sell drugs.

Dick of the NW | 4:01 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

The NW has had higher incidence of MS. It has been linked to the lack of exposure to the Sun. In the Seattle area, with at least 150 days of cloud cover, increased usage of vitamin D3 is recommended. The problem is how much of an increase above 400 I.U.s is needed. However, increase your dosage to at least 2000 I.U.s per day and then consult your doc. "Scare tactics"...you are wrong all the way to your poor health. A 300 tablet bottle of D3 can be purchased for about $10. A cheap way to better health.

Francis | 4:53 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

My husband has been an umpire for years and spends months in the sun. He still had a Vitamin D deficiency this year and ended up on pills.

Wilting mold | 5:13 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Stop worrying about freckles. GET OUT AND GET SOME SUN EXPOSURE! We are all like plants and need sunlight.

metamoracoug | 8:06 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

you can also drink milk folks . . .

No Cows Milk Please | 10:09 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Except Vitamin D in cows milk is added. And cows milk is for baby cows, not human consumption.

heartburn | 10:13 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

I started taking a 5000 gm Vit d supplement and started getting heartburn. Anyone else had that problem?

Just take it | 11:10 p.m. Nov. 16, 2009

Vit D is a major building block for your entire immune system. By far the most important vitamin you can take. The lack of it is directly linked to major diseases like cancer, diabetes and other chronic illnesses and lessor problems like your inability to fight colds and the flu properly.

Get your level checked. Lab Corp has the best test. You should be between 50 and 65 mg/ml. Take at least 5000 iu--the new standard and adjust until you are at optimum level.

Costco has the best deal. Look for the Kirkland brand with 2000 iu D3 pills.

Do not get a shot!! They use Vit. D2--not nearly as effective.

Maybe | 7:51 a.m. Nov. 17, 2009

Maybe those folks who get outside and are more active get more sun and are happier and get less heart disease. This was not a prospective study just a look at levels and events.
Maybe activity AND supplimentation would be best.

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