I've reconsidered and decided to finish this conversation because I got started with it and don't like leaving things that I start unfinished - even though it will be of no benefit to me nor perhaps anyone else - I'm going to go directly to the question completion purposes:
Suppose you were out on the sun, and you reach homeostasis in the vitamin D level in your body, it just doesn't go up anymore after some time. And suppose that when you measure your vitamin D level in the body, you discover it's 2x lower than what is considered normal levels by the doctors, or the gurus, or whoever. Would you take a supplement now to bring it up to those "normal" levels, even though your body is perfectly happy with the levels you measured?
If I go out in the sun here in Texas and I'm not sick - I wouldn't get a test done at all. I'd stay away from doctors and all pills.
If I lived up north, didn't go outside much, didn't feel all so great and was suffering from diseases associated with d deficiency - then I would take vitamin D WITH other minerals (especially magnesium) and fat for proper absorption, increasing the dosages until I did feel better, and then if I started to not feel good again I would back down.
But first - I'd go more causal - I'd dump all those foods they are talking about in the article completely and eat raw paleo. I'd eat seaweeds, good whole salts supplement with clay or minerals before even thinking about vitamin d supplementation.
Once you have cancer, osteoporosis, bad allergies and other chronic diseases - maybe from a diet that throws off your hormones, your mineral/nutrient absorption etc. does it matter which came first the deficiency or the disease? Do what you can to help yourself! There are countless studies showing that supplementation helps people to feel better with no studies showing that supplementation does harm over the long-run. Just the ideas in the article to discourage industry from putting vitamin d into ever fake food in the supermarket in order to say it prevents disease - which we all here already know is down-right stupid. Just supplementing with vitamin d and thinking it will fix anything no matter what kind of crap you put in your body, how you live or how far gone you are already - that kind of thinking is for people who don't question or think for themselves.
Again - this article has little to do with a raw paleo approach. It's about putting vitamin d into processed foods.
The question is not relevant to raw paleo dieters. If you eat well, feel great and are getting out in the sun - the whole issue is not pertinent.
If you can't get out in the sun - a little bit of extra vitamin d supplementation ON TOP OF an excellent raw paleo diet might be preventative, but if you are sick and not getting results from your improved diet from a problem associated with vitamin d deficiency - some supplementation in place of the sun (that you would be better off getting) is probably better than nothing while living an unnatural lifestyle. It would be like instead of running down a deer for your exercise you go to the gym. Instead of going out in the sun you are taking supplements. It's a paleo compromise.
That's why I talked about minerals - because so far the problems that we have incurred with vitamin d have been because of magnesium deficiency from the vitamin d using up the magnesium - which is not spoken of in the article at all - but which is really important to take into consideration. We have read and experienced that you can take outrageously high doses of vitamin d and be fine - IF - you have enough magnesium. The ill-effects I've come to believe (from high vitamin d supplementation) are from other deficiencies. I have come to wonder if vitamin d deficiency is not the real problem for people like us with good diets - but that the real problem is mineral deficiency because of the magnesium and other mineral deficiency which has become the norm with our land.
I would not dismiss vitamin d because of this article if you do not go out in the sun and/or if you are not feeling well even though you are eating well - no matter what doctor, researcher or joe schmo out there says.
Brian and I are incredibly grateful to Cherimoya suggesting we try some vitamin d supplementation to help with Brian's allergies. He rarely gets out into the sun and he was really suffering. It's a good compromise until I do get him out in the sun.
And Cheri - I'm haunting C-list every day with all my toes and fingers crossed.
And Alp - if you are reading - I'm just touchy these days about spending too much time on the computer without benefit to me or others let alone if people criticize what I write - especially without reading it fully - which is fine if they don't read it without complaining about it... but I'd rather not write at all than have to defend - which just wastes more time. I was really hoping to get away with just mentioning the importance of minerals and how much better it was to get into the real sun and not get into a debate over an article that is not pertinent to us. I'm trying real hard to just get involved in important and useful things and not get involved in things for no good reason. I guess sometimes though - it just takes so many words to be understood which hard on me at this point. Hope you understand. No hard feelings?
Ok - now that feels more complete. I sure do hope it ends up being useful to someone.
