Vitamin D

Here's a nice new study from Russia. Only the translated abstract is available to me. Basically it's a randomized controlled trial of a tailored multi-ingredient supplement for prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women. There are about 100 women in each of three arms of the trial: 125 getting the supplement, 111 getting only a calcium supplement, and 96 getting nothing. The supplement, called vitrum osteomag - some sort of proprietary formulation I'm sure - contains "600 mg calcium (1500 mg calcium carbonate), 200 IU of cholecalcepherol, 40 mg of magnesium, zinc (7.5 mg), copper (1 mg), manganese (1.8 mg) and boron (250 mcg)." Women taking this stuff did quite well, with an increase in bone mineral density of 1.5% after 12 months. That's really remarkable, in my opinion. Bisphosphonate drugs like Fosamax increase bone mineral density on the same order, a few percentage points. And this supplement probably isn't likely to rip apart your esophagus like Fosamax can. What we're probably looking at is the restoring of subclinical deficiencies of at least some these nutrients. Certainly it's a fact that most people are vitamin D deficient anyway.

Now I'm not saying people shouldn't take, or should stop taking Fosamax. Despite its documented toxicities, it's usually worth it to take it, when one considers the toxicity of death by hip fracture, which probably scores pretty high when one thinks of toxicity in general.

Merck, the manufacturer of Fosamax, in fact has perceived at least some of this reality, and has started including vitamin D along with some preparations of the drug.

More power to them. [Clap clap clap.]

shelf life of vitamin D

In my opinion, once you open a bottle of vitamin D, you probably only have about a week or two of useful shelf-life.

When it is synthesized in a lab, vitamin D as a powder is unstable, and oxidizes rapidly, even in cool, dry air. Manufacturers package vitamin D in an inert gas, like nitrogen, without oxygen for storage and transport. When you open the bottle, oxygen gets in and can begin the decay process of the vitamin D into inactive metabolites. This is a known phenomenon, and that's one line of evidence.

Another is multiple anecdotal stories I have heard indicating that people get a benefit after they take the first one or two doses of prescription-strength vitamin D, and then the benefit wears off. For example, if they notice a reduction in body-wide pain or muscle aches, the effect is greatest during the first few weeks. Of if they notice an increase in wintertime energy, again, the effect dissipates after a few weeks. And I have noticed this myself.

Certainly there are other explanations for these reports. There may be a brief energy surge or reduction in pain from a rapid correction of a low vitamin D level, and then after the quick change the baseline metabolic processes take over again. But this is thought provoking. And the trend is such that in my opinion, it is likely that there is some decay of the vitamin.

There are a few potential answers to this problem. One is to buy a new bottle of vitamin D every few weeks. An over the counter bottle, if you find the right store and manufacturer, can cost you about $4.00, and this is a low price every few weeks for the potential benefit that the supplement can give you. Another option might be to devise some sort of inert-gas storage system, such as used to preserve wines. I haven't tried this yet.