Supplement This!
Michael Fenster, MD
CEO BridgMed.health; Prof of Culinary Medicine, University of Montana; TEDx Speaker; Author; Host/Presenter PBS television show House Calls with Chef Dr. Mike
It bears repeating: You can’t supplement your way to good health. New research published in the journal Pediatric Obesity showed that vitamin D supplementation does not benefit obese teens. In fact, it may potentially make things worse. Previous studies have suggested a link between vitamin D deficiency and problems such as insulin resistance and heart disease. A finding that has led some doctors to prescribe high-dose vitamin D supplementation to try to slow or reverse such obesity-associated health problems.
However, the latest data suggests that such a strategy does not improve the heart health or reduce the diabetes risk, at last in s obese teens. Additionally, supplements may be linked to increased levels of cholesterol and fat-storing triglycerides, according to Dr. Seema Kumar, a pediatric endocrinologist at the Mayo Clinic Children’s Center in Rochester, Minnesota and a lead author of the study.
“After three months of having vitamin D boosted into the normal range with supplements, these teenagers showed no changes in body weight, body mass index, waistline, blood pressure or blood flow,” Kumar added.
Diets rich in naturally occurring sources of vitamin D such as fish and seafood, and certain mushrooms are associated with superior health outcomes. Don’t waste your time with artificial supplementation; eat some real, delicious food and enjoy some self-indulgent mastication!