A recent Cochrane Review summarizes several experiments that measured the effect of Vitamin D on mortality. Here is a summary:
This systematic review analysed the influence of different forms of vitamin D on mortality. In the 50 trials that provided data for our analyses a total of 94,148 participants were randomly assigned to either vitamin D or no treatment or a placebo. All trials came from high-income countries. The mean age of participants was 74 years. The mean proportion of women was 79%. The median duration of vitamin D administration was two years. Our analyses suggested that vitamin D3 reduces mortality by about 6%,
Vitamin D3 helped; Vitamin D2 and other forms of Vitamin D did not. The doses of Vitamin D3 were usually low: less than 800 IU/day.
Stimulated by Primal Girl’s discovery, I have been taking Vitamin D3 at about 7 am in the morning, slowly increasing the dose to see if there are any clear effects on my sleep (or anything else). I am up to 4000 IU/day.
Be careful with Vitamin D3 Seth. I started getting heart palpitations.
I have since stopped the d3 (I was taking 4000ui a day), but maybe I’ll start again and supplement with magnesium. I’m thinking about it. It’s strange that I never got palpitations with sun exposure, since they’re supposed to be the same thing — and you can get as much as 10,000ui from just being outside for a while in the summer.
There are D3 deficiency tests out there, but I haven’t taken one.
https://www.inspire.com/groups/national-osteoporosis-foundation/discussion/heart-palpitations-with-vitamin-d3/
Are you still calling PrimalGirl’s personal finding a discovery? I will be looking for the studies where this has already been accomplished within the scientific community and posting the links right here for you to see. Credit must be given to where credit is due.
Off-topic, Seth, but you may be interested in Paul Jaminet’s post on fermenting vegetables:
https://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=5165
That’s odd that D2 doesn’t work. That’s the form I take. Any ideas about why D3 would show the effect, but not D2?
Any ideas about why D3 would show the effect, but not D2?
I’ve heard this (“take D3 not the others”) before. I forget the reasons given.
Are you still calling PrimalGirl’s personal finding a discovery? I will be looking for the studies where this has already been accomplished within the scientific community and posting the links right here for you to see.
I don’t know of any studies “within the scientific community” showing or even hinting at what Primal Girl found. If you can find such studies, I’d love to learn about them. Practically all Vitamin D studies look at blood concentrations of the vitamin, as if that is what matters. The blood concentration is quite constant with time of day.
You seem to disparage Primal Girl’s discovery by calling it “a personal finding”. Several other people have reported similar results — changing the time of day that they took Vitamin D changed their sleep. I’ve seen thousands of recommendations to take Vitamin D that say nothing about time of day. Millions of people take Vitamin D. Primal Girl’s discovery can help all of them.
Hi Seth,
I was wondering if you had seen this article/study from 2010 and what your thoughts about it might be.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100310164011.htm
-Rob
Hi Seth, keep an eye (pun intended) on your vision as you increase your D3 intake.
Increasing your D3 may create a Vit A deficiency (or imbalance). Paul Jaminet speculates that a healthy A to D ratio is 3 IU to 1 IU. Paul also suggest 1mg K2 per day as Vitamin D is known to deplete Vitamin K2.
The Vit A, Vit D subject was discussed recently on PaleoHacks in relation to Night Blindness, see here; https://paleohacks.com/questions/77024/creaky-knees-night-blindness-what-am-i-missing/80528#80528
I changed the time of day when I consume my 8k IU of daily D3. I now take it between 7am and 8:30am. Within 2 days I noticed that I was waking up earlier than usual (5am). I wonder if this is the “breakfast effect” that Seth has written about before.
I don’t mind the early rising. I need to get going early anyway, so it’s not a burden. I just thought I would document this n=1 result.
I changed the time of day when I consume my 8k IU of daily D3. I now take it between 7am and 8:30am. Within 2 days I noticed that I was waking up earlier than usual (5am).
Thanks. More evidence that the time of day you take Vitamin D matters. As I’ve said, none of the several hundred million Vitamin D bottles says what time of day to take it.
This is extremely interesting. I take D3 in winter and will move it to the morning – insomnia has been a lifelong companion, I’ve practically given up on curing it, but there are a lot of things that help me not be a zombie all day, maybe this will improve things further?. Worth a try. One of my lecturers is doing a lot of vitamin D research, so I’ll have a look and see if she is investigating circadian rhythms at all. I think her focus is bone health.
I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but this vitamin can be toxic. In fact, Cholecalciferol is used as a pesticide here in NZ. Overdose (acute or chronic) can lead to dangerous arrythmia and hypercalcaemia. Please be careful, especially the person taking 8000 IU a day.. you’re scaring me a bit.
“The case against vitamin D2″
Posted on August 11, 2009 by Dr. William Davis
https://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog/2009/08/the-case-against-vitamin-d2.html
Sara, I appreciate your concern and do not mean to frighten you.
Based on my reading of Vitamin D research, Vit D toxicity generally comes from an imbalance of A, D and K. Therefore, I also take a Vitamin K supplement to avoid that imbalance.
The human body produces 15k-20k IU of Vitamin D from 30 minutes of direct sunlight (assume shirt off). That little nugget of info should help ease your unease.
Seth said “I’ve heard this (take D3 but not the others) before, but I forget the reasons given.”
Seth, here’s one explanation given by Dr. William Davis which may be useful, quoted below:
“Vitamin D is measured in the blood as 25-OH-vitamin D and is distinct from 1,25-diOH-vitamin D, a kidney measure, a test you do not need unless you have kidney failure. The human form of vitamin D is cholecalciferol and is usually obtained via activation of a precursor molecule in the skin on activation by the sun. You can also take cholecalciferol and it increases blood levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D reliably.
However, there is a cheap, plant-sourced, alternative to vitamin D3, called vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol. D2 has far less effect in the body. Taking D2 or ergocalciferol orally is an extremely inefficient way to get D. Unfortunately, it’s the form often used in milk and many supplements, even the prescription form of D. About half the multivitamins and calcium supplements I’ve looked at contain ergocalciferol rather than cholecalciferol. Taking vitamin D2 yields very little conversion to the effective D3. “
@wcb: But see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080102122306.htm
I don’t take D3 because it’s animal-derived.
Vitamin D is the effect that the sun is giving u?/ what is in Vitanin D3
Vitamin d2 has a very short life in the body. D3 stays in the body for weeks, whereas D2 maybe half a day.