A couple weeks ago, I partially answered a question from someone asking about my take on commonly recommended supplements. I focused on magnesium first, since there was a lot of evidence to wade through, but I said I’d circle back to the others in future posts. Since then, I’ve gotten several +1s for a deep dive into vitamin D, so that’s what today’s Q&A is going to focus on.
I’d initially planned to look at 4-5 of the most common claims about the popular supplement, but I quickly realized I was going to have to break that up a bit more, between my schedule and the huge number of studies to explore. Vitamin D is well established as a promoter of calcium absorption and musculoskeletal health, and vitamin D deficiency can have harmful impacts on bones and muscles—but there are many other claims about vitamin D that seem potentially overhyped. And even when a link between vitamin D and a given health outcome is well recognized, it can be unclear whether supplementation is the answer for most people.
So this is going to be the first in a series on vitamin D. Today’s piece will look at the supplement’s potential links to a few outcomes in the realm of reproductive health: fertility, pregnancy, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). (This definitely isn’t the most obvious place to start, but it’s what I found myself gravitating toward, for reasons I’ll share below. Also, this isn’t a comprehensive overview of every single reproductive/hormonal condition that may have a link with vitamin D.) In the future, I’ll focus on other areas like immunity, mental health, and diabetes. If there’s something you’re particularly curious about with regard to vitamin D, please let me know by filling out this form or commenting below!
FYI: my answers here are for educational and informational purposes only, aren’t a substitute for medical or mental-health advice, and don’t constitute a provider-patient relationship.
First, a disclosure of sorts: vitamin D is currently one of just two supplements I take.
