D is for Debacle - The Crucial Story of Vitamin D and Human Health
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters point to it in vitamin D threads as a thorough walkthrough of why deficiency may matter.
What it is
Ivor Cummins gives an 82-minute presentation on the history and science of vitamin D and human health. He draws on expert interviews to argue that sun exposure and vitamin D status are linked to many chronic diseases.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2017 to 2020.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec mtgx · 2018-01 · on “High doses of vitamin D rapidly reduce arterial stiffness”
Proper supplementation (read: not what is currently recommended) of Vitamin D was found to reduce all-mortality causes (including cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, etc) by as much as 50%-70%. To get to that level of 40-50 ng/ml 25(OH)D, you need around 8,000-12,000 IU per day (depending on body mass). It was also found to reduce flu occurences by as much as 70%. This is starting to look like a super important vitamin, even for "healthy individuals that work outside" - let alone everyone else that stays all-day indoors. It also seems to have a huge effect on sleeping well, as it's apparently what the body needs to repair itself properly at night. I highly recommend these videos: [this video] [LINK]
Recommends sitkack · 2017-12 · on “The Big Vitamin D Mistake”
One of the many great videos on the subject D is for Debacle - The Crucial Story of Vitamin D and Human Health, [this video]
Recommends mtgx · 2020-08 · on “Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]”
More studies referenced here, also showing ~55 ng/ml being optimum for maximum health benefits. The current recommendations are way below that. Well worth to watch the whole video: [this video]
Recommends mitko · 2020-08 · on “Vitamin D, part 2: Shannon's story”
Few months ago I head how vitamin D is associated with COVID-19 outcomes and went into a rabbit hole to find more information about wtf is Vitamin D, and how our bodies use it/need it. There are two videos I found particularly informative. 1. [LINK] Cost/Benefit of Optimal Health with Sunshine Vitamin D William B. Grant, PhD 2015 2. [this video] D is for Debacle - The Crucial Story of Vitamin D and Human Health Ivor Cummins BE(Chem), CEng MIEI 2014
Cites mtgx · 2018-03 · on “Is vitamin D really a cure-all, and how should we get our fix?”
According to the study in the other HN link here, they made an error in calculating how much Vitamin D you need. The medical community also seems to think that 20 ng/ml is when the deficiency starts, when in reality it's more like 40. Some studies have shown that you can see benefits upwards of 60 ng/ml. Other research has shown that Vitamin D helps with sleep in the 60-80 ng/ml range. I've seen many people on Reddit say that their blood tests level came out at 5-10. That's crazy. Get your 25(OH)D level checked. Some of the studies that have shown "no improvement" from Vitamin D saw that result mainly because they were still prescribing far too little Vitamin D (yet still higher than the RDA