New study on Vit D/Calcium supplements as useless - here's to LCHF/Keto!

#1

This news report is on a meta-analysis showing that Vit D/Calcium supplements do not aid strong bones/joints - and that Vit D may even increase fractures! They don’t seem to specify Vit D2 vs. D3, or whole foods calcium (such as coral calcium or bone meal) though.

It does make me all the more thankful for the natural body recomposition of LCHF/ketogenic living - as well as the benefits of weekly, brief, weight-bearing strength training when one is at the right stage of fat loss and stress management to do so. LCHF/keto utilizing good fats and power foods strikes me as a win-win in a big way. Collagen/bone broth, regular liver via capsules or raw frozen homemade pills, plus things like fermented foods.

Important, massive sidenote:

Melanin enhances the body’s production & processing of Vit D - and the pineal gland is involved in melatonin production. So, for pale skinned people, I think it’s important to not just spend time in the sun, but to actually look at the rising sun for a few seconds with eyes open if you’re an early bird - or - at some point in the day close the eyes and look at the strong sun through the eyelids and let the light in to stimulate the pineal gland for a minute or two (plus, it’s very enjoyable and banishes gloom). Am not a huge fan of Dr. Mercola but he has an older article on how this combined with fasting is especially potent - which is really interesting. Personally, I try to get in a closed-eyes sunbath for a few minutes a day both on and off IF - but weather and work schedules can interfere with it quite a lot!

This was apparently an ancient practice among indigenous/peasant white people in the northern hemisphere that goes back to the origins of humanity and got lost with colonization and/or urbanization. Lack of this apparently explains how some white people who work outside or exercise a lot outside can still have low blood levels of Vit D - because the pineal gland is not actually getting much stimulation via the pupils if one is wearing sunglasses or even if one isn’t but is not having a couple minutes a day of soaking the sun in through closed eyes.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in modern Caucasians calcified pineal is visualized in about 50% of adult skull radiographs after the age of 40 years (Wurtman et al, 1964); other scholars argue that Caucasians, in general, may have rates of pineal gland calcification as high as 60-80% (King, 2001) which in turn has deleterious effects on Vit D levels.

Anyway… when you think of all the money spent and hassle and anxiety around nutrition depletion and taking these supplements to prevent fractures - this is quite money saving. Also, super slow/slow burn weight lifting just once a week has amazing strength development and joint protection capacities for midlife people and elders. Doug McGuff MD reports on amazing studies of elder muscular-skeletal revitalization in the book Body By Science.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

The abstract can be found here.

(Dameon Welch-Abernathy) #3

While I definitely prefer more “natural” Vitamin D, I live in the Seattle area, not known for much natural sunlight :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

#4

Obviously the best source of vit D is sunlight, but for those living in geographically challenged areas that isn’t an option. I’ve read that tanning booths might be beneficial. At least in theory it makes more sense than a pill.

Of course, there are other advantages to moving to Hawaii…

#5

Well the point of the sunlight exposure via the eye pupils is just a couple minutes a day, which can be had maybe half or 1/3 the year in such places as the Pacific Northwest and Ireland/UK, northern europe this is true. Due to its unpredictability of sunny moments however, it can be challenging to catch the rays when they’re happening - and the advent of high carb/low fat industrial foods in such climates have had their effects… thus the high use of alcohol for coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder!

If Vit D supplementation is useless for bone & joint health - and if one is on a ketogenic diet - there could be an argument that there is a metabolically improved (inner sunshine?) uptake of the Vit D in food in the committed LCHF keto way of life, eh?

High Vit. D foods:

Fatty fish, like wild tuna, mackerel, and sockeye salmon
Beef liver
Cheese
Egg yolks

(Todd Allen) #6

Note, the study was looking at bone fractures and was more focused on calcium. As for vitamin D it was found there was no additional protection against fractures once ones level of vit D was above 20 ng/ml.

This is much different then saying these supplements are useless as they both have many other roles than promoting bone growth. And many now believe that vitamin K2 is vital to combine with D and calcium for promoting bone growth and there was no mention of K2 in the linked article.

(Bunny) #7

WHAT CAUSES MELANOMA SKIN CANCER? “… Melanoma is clearly linked to sugar intake. … Further evidence of sugar as the culprit includes the fact that diabetics have a 15% higher risk than non-diabetics, per a meta-analysis of 11 studies (3). When you have diabetes, your risk of cancer, dementia, and heart disease are higher. Feb 26, 2017 …” https://www.thedrswolfson.com/causes-melanoma-skin-cancer/

Glycaemic index, glycaemic load and risk of cutaneous melanoma in a population-based, case–control study https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/div-classtitleglycaemic-index-glycaemic-load-and-risk-of-cutaneous-melanoma-in-a-population-based-casecontrol-studydiv/98FE2970F966F87A95614E70EE623C8D

Get some sun :sun_with_face:

THE ANSWER TO CANCER IS BECOME A SUN DANCER Yes, dance in the sun along with walking, jogging, hiking, and biking. Embrace the energy from the sun. Let the solar radiation come in to your eyes and trigger pathways linking the eye to the brain. This sequence leads to melatonin release from the pineal gland, vitamin D production1 from the skin, and the release of nitric oxide. All of these actions will lead to extraordinary health, and of course, a lower risk of melanoma. https://www.thedrswolfson.com/causes-melanoma-skin-cancer/

1Vitamin D is Synthesized From Cholesterol and Found in Cholesterol-Rich Foods (sunshine in the UV-B spectrum strikes the skin, it converts a substance in the skin called 7-dehydrocholesterol into vitamin D3.2) http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Vitamin-D.html

(KCKO, KCFO 🥥) #8

My n=1 experiment with D3 supplements resulted in me no longer being extremely low in vit D3, made my dr. and me pretty happy. I live in CO where you do get sunshine through out the winter, but I always went downwards on D3. Keeps my mood elevated, so it does benefit me. I just supplement during the winter months.

(Todd Allen) #9

Another factor might be a “healthy” low fat diet reducing absorption of vitamin D supplements. Or maybe its the statin drugs that are prescribed to almost everybody.

Intestinal absorption of vitamin D: a systematic review.
Silva MC, Furlanetto TW.
Nutr Rev. 2017 Aug 17. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nux034. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 29025082
Abstract
Vitamin D is frequently prescribed as a supplement, yet its absorption remains poorly understood. This systematic review was performed to evaluate data on mechanisms involved in the intestinal absorption of vitamin D. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were searched. The following studies were included: experimental laboratory studies of vitamin D absorption through the enterocyte brush-border membrane; absorption tests that used radiolabeled vitamin D; and clinical trials in adults that investigated a single dose of cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol and reported at least 2 measurements of serum cholecalciferol, ergocalciferol, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D. From 2069 articles identified, 46 met the inclusion criteria. Different methods were employed to evaluate vitamin D absorption. Recent research suggests that vitamin D absorption is not an exclusive simple diffusion process. Vitamin D was better absorbed when it was consumed with fat-containing meals, but absorption also occurred without fat or oily vehicles. Factors that modified cholesterol absorption also altered vitamin D absorption. Vitamin D is probably absorbed through passive diffusion and a mechanism involving membrane carriers, especially cholesterol transporters, although data remain scarce. Some data suggest that fat, when consumed concomitantly with vitamin D, improves vitamin D absorption.
KEYWORDS:
absorption; bioavailability; enterocyte; membrane transport; vitamin D

#10

That’s really interesting - makes perfect sense.

High fat + sunshine for Vit D processing was the ancient human aboriginal & indigenous culture, that’s for sure.

And for modern city folks, high fat + Vit D3 supplements may be lifesaving and useful! Food for thought…