In 2015, it doesn't need to be said for anyone over the age of 40, but for young people still newer to Miracle Vegetable and Scare Journalism claims that get pumped out in diet books, mainstream media articles and television medicine on a regular basis, here it goes: don't latch onto supplement fads.

It's certain that low levels of vitamin D can be bad - and since you won't get it from food, and the sun is also now bad, that may mean some supplements. But a new study links cardiovascular deaths to high Vitamin D levels also, which would mean that being told to take them constantly is wrong. The authors examined vitamin D levels and deaths from heart issues in 161,428 women and 86,146 men. Out of those 247,574 people, 16,645 people died in the seven-year period and health was instead associated with a 'sweet spot' for vitamin D. 

It's an observational study so it doesn't mean that vitamin D is causal but it is a cautionary note that overdoing supplements remains a bad idea.

Most people who make money promoting miracle cures will not read that far, nor will they want you to, so for culture in the latter half of 2015 it means a whole raft of books and articles linking high vitamin D to cancer and autism - or low vitamin D to those things. Whatever sells.

Citation: Durup D, Jørgensen HL, Christensen J, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Halkjær J, Lind B, Heegaard AM, Schwarz P., 'A reverse J-shaped association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and cardiovascular disease mortality - the CopD-study', J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Feb 24:jc20144551 DOI: 10.1210/jc.2014-4551

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