Hi all,

I've been taking 10,000 IU of D3 daily and as part of my continuing research have come across this article. https://bacteriality.com/2007/09/15/vitamind/

I was wondering if any of you experts could comment on the damning views expressed, I can't see why the author would gain financially as in the like of drug company "research" papers. It seems to be negative with regards taking an unnatural supplement and not too opposed to being exposed to the sun for the natural form of D3

I'm rather worried as I have three young children taking D3 too.

TTB

I do not know how much credence to give to what is basically "the Marshall point of view" on Vitamin D, but it mostly applies to diseases that possibly could be made worse by vitamin D supplementation.

Lyme disease being the main one that may not respond well to vitamin D supplementation. Even that is controversial and not proven to my knowledge.

Since the jury is out on this, I neither recommend D supplements to someone with Lyme, other than the small amounts in a multivitamin. I also do not recommend staying out of the Sun to prevent vitamin D production. It is a middle of the road approach until more information becomes available.

If your children are healthy now, vitamin D has more pluses than minuses in my opinion. It may even prevent future autoimmune diseases. I would not worry about it, if I would have known about the importance of low D years ago, I may have been able to prevent the autoimmune diseases that plague my family now.

Dan

If you go to the blue menu bar at the top of page and type "marshall" in the box that comes up when you press the "search" button, you will come up with all the previous lengthy discussions on this topic.

Quote from article above:

The American Heart Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all agreed that a sufficient number of studies had been done to prove that HRT was unequivocally helpful in helping older women ward off heart disease and osteoporosis. By 2001, 15 million women were taking HRT, including 5 million elderly women.

It is common knowledge that HRT causes cancer, stroke, heart attack, and dementia. Therefore, to say that HRT was/is "helpful" to women is a myth.

Author: Amy Proal is an idiot. That is the only possibility of such a poorly researched article.

Nearly all of what we know about vitamin D has been learned over the past 10 years, and some certain facts show absolutely that most disease is greater the further you go from the equator. That 30ng/ml is not normal, 60 to 90 ng/ml is more like the optimal level. And although D is a hormone and not a vitamin, it boosts immune function, rather than supress it like the article states.

The basic fact is that every cell in the body has receptors for D and that wouldn't be the case if only a small amount was needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--NqqB2nhBE

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Let Food Be Your Medicine And Medicine Be Your Food.(Hippocrates)

I just quicky reviewed the article. The author lost me in the first few paragraphs and I knew her for an ill informed jerk right there.

Yes, HRT did kill many women, but thats what you get for taking horse piss pills, imbalanced, without natural progesterones.

Her arguements are riddled with false interpretations and she uses the word steroid like it is a feared plague.
All hormones are steroids.
And all steroids are made out of cholesterol.
Scary stuff!....

I thought I would argue all her numbered points but its late and I'm just not up for it.

Basically I would consider Vitamin D not immunosuppressant but as an immune modulator.... big difference.

I would not supplement my children with vitamin D unless tests showed them deficient. At a young age the skin is most capable of producing all the vitamin D needed for most people. You just need to make sure they spend time outside most days. If they test deficient really look at how much time they are outside and try to correct it by changing their activity first.

Just wait till Ted sees this this article!

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I have discussed the reasons why this idea is contrary to common sense several times on this board.
If you search this site for Marshall you will find previous replies.
I'm not sure if I've linked to this evidence before.

The MP > Does Exogenous Vitamin D Really Dock & Deactivate the VDR and Innate Immunity?

If the science is beyond you then Mercola provides a readable summary.

Mark London's refutation is both up to date and accurate

Remember in practice people with higher D3 levels live longer, suffer less chronic illness, less pain and less mental illness. If Marshall was correct none of this would happen.

Vitamin D is one of the essential vitamins for the human body. I suffer from eczema and I find that when my immune system is down or I am stressed my eczema has a tendency to flare up. That is why is its important for me to make sure that my diet is good so that my body is supplied with enough vitamin D as well as other vitamins and minerals. I have found that a combination of small amounts of exposure to the sun and the intake of vitamin D in my diet is one of the eczema cures or treatments I use for myself. I find that even a small amount of sun exposure has a great positive effect on my overall well being. This in turn improves my immune system, reduces my stress and as a consequence my eczema calms down or even clears. My concluding thought is that vitamin D is not an immunosuppressive but in actual fact an immunity enhancer.

If you take supplements, such as fruit extracts, resveratrol, and several antioxidants, you will find that you can tollerate more time in the sun without doing damage. Then, the more sun you get, the better your immune system will be, creating better health.

Your last sentence is right on.

Does anyone have (reliable) information on whether St. John's wort interferes with D3 supplementation?
Thanks.

St John's Wort may cause Photosensitivity (sensitivity to light) So people using St John's Wort may be best advised to be particularly alert when spending time outdoors. It's a pretty rare occurrence, The same may happen if you consumed Buckwheat greens. The answer is to cut back on the St John's wort.
Vitamin D3 is a natural anti inflammatory agent that works all over the body including in the brain. It's generally the case that those with the lowest vitamin D levels are most likely to be depressed and increasing vitamin D status reduces symptoms of depression.

Going into bright light also resets you circadian rhythm and melatonin production and this also has an important role particularly with regard to seasonal depression. It's therefore MORE important to get out into the sunlight than persist with that level of intake of St John's wort

I'm not aware of any evidence that oral supplementation with both St John's Wort blocks or enhances Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) uptake or the reverse, I can't think of any reason why that should happen. St John's Wort is used (and has been for many years) very extensively as the anti depressant of choice in Germany so if it was the case that it depressed Vitamin D status it would be on record by now.

Hi folks,
I'm just about to order D3 from iherb.
Whilst looking at order information I came across this:

Good News for customers ordering from: Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, and Switzerland: As of Jan 2010, all orders going to these destinations have been delivered without any customs issues.

Can anyone confirm if orders over �18 will get through without being charged duty etc.
Regards,
Mike

I haven't risked it. I keep my orders below the �18 threshold. It may be worth using IHERB's Contact us via Live Chat: or email them to find out what is happening with UK customs.
Please post back here when you know as there are times when I'd rather order a larger pack (costing more than �18) or even take advantage of the bulk buy discounts but haven't because that takes me over the �18 Customs threshold and that results in a drive to the local sorting office which is a huge nuisance for me and the �8 PO handling charge is simply extortion.

I use iHerb for most of my supplements and cant be bothered with the �18 limit and a series of small parcels. The reference to not having any 'customs issues', merely means they dont object to you actually importing dietary supplements, it doesnt mean you wont be charged VAT on parcels above �18 if you live in the UK.

I choose to use DHL for shipping as their rates are 50% below the others.

I think they are doing it 'at cost' as the recession has hit international air freight hard. You get tracking and email notification of all stages of delivery and the admin fee is only �1-25. They ring you before delivery to your door for you to pay the VAT. Delivery is usually within 3 working days.

Reply from IHERB
So as liverock said it's nothing to do with the Customs threshold, it's simply that UK customs don't refuse or return IHERB packages.

I may give ordering a large amount, and paying Customs a go as it could work out cheaper taking advantage of bulk purchase discounts and the DHL low price Delivery.