Dr. Tim Spector: Why these supplements don't work with Dr. Federica Amati

Vitamin D is the world’s favorite supplement. Governments around the world recommend people take the supplement for at least six months out of the year. But do we really need these pills? Do they even work? And could they actually be harming us?

In this episode, two ZOE scientists - Professor Tim Spector and Dr Federica Amati reveal the truth about vitamin D.

Tim is scientific co-founder of ZOE and professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London. Federica is head nutritionist at ZOE and author of the Sunday Times bestseller ‘Every Body Should Know This’.

*Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system

Timecodes:
00:00 The sunshine vitamin
01:50 Quickfire questions
04:50 What is vitamin D?
08:02 Is sunlight the best source of vitamin D?
10:35 Does vitamin D keep my bones strong?
16:40 Vitamin D levels: a marker of good health?
21:00 What counts as normal levels of vitamin D?
25:56 Vitamin D supplement controversy
30:05 Do calcium supplements help bones?
33:19 Can I take too much vitamin D?
41:18 The health conditions vitamin D could prevent
45:10 Tim’s sunscreen controversy
50:18 Vitamin D and immunity

Books by our ZOE Scientists:

Mentioned in today’s episode:

Other episodes of ZOE Science & Nutrition:

[sarahgo]

I’m 81 years old and I had a sacral fracture when I was in a car crash. On my six week checkup, the surgeon was amazed at how well I had healed. I take 5, 000 iu of vitamin D daily as well as vitamin K2 and will continue to do so! 😁

[CitizenSlide]

In the interests of balance, for anyone new to this topic, I was diagnosed by a leading endocrinologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital with Vitamin D deficiency - the 25OH test measured me at 8 nmol/l compared to the expected normal of > 50 nmol/l - even though I walk and cycle thousands of miles every year, eat a healthy diet, and are trim and fit (BMI of 20.0). I’m mixed race and live in the UK. I presented with many symptoms including muscle fatigue and body aches.

I was put on a high dose of Vit D3 initially (40, 000 IUs per week), stayed on this for a few months and have since supplemented with around 5, 000-10, 000 IUs per week. Most of us don’t have the luxury of being able to measure our VitD levels, so maintaining a preventative level of supplementation seems sensible. My symptoms have not returned.

Key message from this podcast is that everyone is different, so educate yourself, try and get yourself professionally tested and if you have any of the key symptoms then take a modest supplement, otherwise do nothing.

[mediawired]

I respectfully disagree with their position. There are hundreds of research papers that demonstrate the benefits of Vitamin D supplementation. For these supplements to be effective and yield evidence-based results, the dosage must be appropriately tailored to each individual. This is likely the reason they believe it isn't effective.

[markparker]

Is this the same VITAL trial that chose people where the majority already had Vitamin D levels at 30ng/mL, gave those 2000IU a day, but all participants (including the placebo group) were allowed to keep taking 800IU a day (if they were already), and then didn't find much difference between the two groups? Yes, it was a stellar trial, almost like it was designed to show no benefits. A few other points, whilst common in the US, dairy is rarely fortified with D in the UK. Mushrooms have to have Sun exposure to create any D, so check the label. The best food, oily fish, typically has about 500IU per portion, so just enough to prevent rickets. Other foods have significantly less. Vegetarians/Vegans will have great difficulty getting any meaningful amounts of D from their diets. Vitamin D takes weeks to be metabolised into a useful form where immune health is concerned (basically, you will not see an immediate benefit) and then much longer to be stored as a reservoir in fatty tissue where it can be drawn upon when we lose the higher Sun. It then has a half life of about 60 days. In the UK, the Sun is too low in the sky for about half the year to provide any significant D through UVB, so 3x60 day periods. I'm sure you can do the maths and work out what that means for your levels by Christmas and beyond. You can get 10, 000 to 20, 000 IU for about 20 minutes full Sun exposure during midday in the Summer, and yet there is fear-mongering here about taking a few thousand IUs in a supplement everyday? Too much paracetamol is toxic, too much Vitamin D is toxic, and guess what, too much water is toxic. If you really are worried about toxicity, get a blood test before supplementing, then re-test 3 months later. Different people do metabolise D at different rates, and there are many factors that influence this, so don't assume that if you friend is taking X amount of vitamin D, and their levels are 30ng/mL after 3 months, yours would be the same. There is so much really important information missing from this podcast about D, it's quite demoralising.

[fionadennis]

The same could be said about people wasting money on Tim Spector's "Daily 30" mixed seed supplement which works out at a staggering £120 per kg, when people can easily purchase a selection of mixed seeds themselves for a fraction of the cost! We all know that eating more plants is good for us and therefore we don't need to waste loads of money on Tim's seed supplements and books to do this!! He is simply raking in 💷💷💷 from very clever marketing.
You can actually buy a year's worth of vitamin D for about £5, which isn't really breaking the bank for most people.

[JAlex]

Michael Mosley did a podcast on why vitamin D was one of the only supplements he recommended. How is anyone supposed to make an informed decision on this?

[rowandowland]

Over an hour of discussion and no mention of K2... seriously? Zoe please lift your game.

[clarenewman]

Rather disillusioned by this podcast that might well put me off Zoe in the long run. So much more info about the beneficial effects of Vit D on the immune system out there with research to back it up especially with reference to flu, chest infections (apologies no link) and really, are we still banging on only about its effects on bones? That's so well known and documented and has been for many decades. Move on. Stick to the microbiome studies, Tim.

[chrislink]

I was severely deplete of vitamin D and had lots of bad symptoms. Taking vitamin d has definitely helped me, first thing I’ve ever taken that I actually felt a difference. I’ll stick with it and can’t be bothered watching all of this video, too much conflicting info.

[newdawnfades]

I’m a nurse. Our own doctors recommend we take vit d supplements cos we do long shifts indoors and don’t get sun

[ajclark]

What about the severity of COVID infection in elderly people being worse in those with low level Vit D?

[farrahlipsham]

I find this show can get guests who haven't spent a lifetime in certain studies going against a lot of research from people who have spent decades specifically in that certain subject.

[petes]

I have never watched a more misleading discussion from Tim Spectre since Zoe was started. He sits there as brown as a berry and says people don't need Vit d supplements in a country that very rarely has sunshine. That sounds hypocritical for those that cant afford multiple foreign holidays eavh year.

[AUser-rj]

so it prevents MS and helps in inflammatory diseases like Chron's and cancer but only people in these sub groups should take it? Surely there is a continuum of benefit and therefore makes sense to supplement it if only as a potential preventative measure - agree that it is very complex but not convinced at all by the arguments here.

[MarkB-od]

For goodness sake, why does this have to take over an hour? Please can we have a few simple takeaways!

[reaux]

Surprised they didn’t talk about Vitamin D with K2 and effects. Very popular combination.

[po]

My only gripe with Zoe is they quote scientific studies but fail to include them in the references or link followers to these studies. They also don't give enough information for followers to find these studies themselves. Give us details so we can read plz

I get it that this is a podcast rather than a scientific essay or lab report but for those that are studying science or have already become a scientist it would be really valuable informstion, and it could also mean we coukd critique some of whats said on Zoe. Win win for everyone because we all learn, and Zoe is held to account for any possible shody experiments

[SarahAshelford-ou]

I find Jonathan’s faux ignorance quite tiring.

[gillianmontegrande]

There didn't seem to be much chat about darker skinned people living further north. Also what happens when we have a poor summer, with little sunshine, relative to a better year?

[johnsaunders]

I simply do not trust them because the imperative to sell Zoe seems to be paramount. In addition, a deficiency in vitamin D is measurable. Plus Vitamin D has been shown to reduce the dangerous effects of COVID.