January 16, 2021 — In a more innocent time, Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous, was also the beer with sunshine vitamin D. “A priceless source of vigor,” claimed the advertising. Similarly sunny claims are bubbling up for vitamin D in this time of COVID-19. These claims are based on observed correlations. But thinking that vitamin D might […]
December 20, 2020 — As we struggle with this pandemic, cheap answers have great appeal. Some are absurd, like bleach for purposes other than cleaning. Others present a puzzle with many dimensions to resolve. Such is the case of vitamin D. This week three authoritative health groups in England sorted through all the evidence on vitamin D and COVID-19. […]
December 18, 2020 — What’s been on your mind this year? One way to answer that question is to look at what grabbed your attention here on ConscienHealth. It’s been a year of keen interest in what we’re writing about. Almost half a million of you have taken time to read what we’ve written so far this year – […]
December 2, 2020 — Let’s call it a flood – an overwhelming flood of information and misinformation about Vitamin D and COVID-19. But the volume is so great that distinguishing truth from fiction can be difficult. Furthermore, our knowledge is incomplete. So we have lots of speculation and relatively fewer solid facts. Meanwhile, researchers continue flooding the zone with […]
November 30, 2020 — Free vitamin D supplements will be sent to over two million clinically vulnerable people in the UK this winter. Over 80% of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 are vitamin D deficient compared with the general population. In a small study, a high dose of vitamin D appeared to reduce the severity of COVID-19. While some scientists […]
November 16, 2020 — The term of art for this is an expression of concern. It sounds very restrained, but it is quite serious. Four papers about the effects of Vitamin D in the Journal of Nutrition recently earned this dubious distinction. Add that to a paper in PLOS ONE that is getting the same sort of scrutiny. In […]
October 30, 2020 — One of the biggest surprises in this COVID-19 pandemic has been intense interest in vitamin D. Earlier this month, readers swarmed around an item we wrote about it. Now, a month later, the interest persists. Some people seem to be looking for magic for COVID from vitamin D. Others are finding issues. We advise sensible […]
October 6, 2020 — We are reading a ferocious wave of scholarly debate about Vitamin D. Though it’s over a century old, scientists still find plenty of room for debate. Especially now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, vitamin D is a hot topic. And yet, despite all this debate, the bottom line seems relatively straightforward. If your […]
June 28, 2020 — The pandemic has been tough on many businesses, but it’s been a boon to others. Dietary supplement sales, for example, are feeding quite nicely on our fears. At the top of the list is vitamin D, getting a boost from speculation that deficiencies could make a person more vulnerable to the coronavirus. However, the bottom […]
January 4, 2016 — It’s been hard to miss a steady stream of headlines for years now about vitamin D in obesity and bariatric surgery. “Vitamin D deficiency is the cause of common obesity” is one such headline, found in the journal, Medical Hypotheses. So what is all the fuss about vitamin D? To start, it’s reasonably clear that vitamin D deficiency […]
