Is Vitamin D the Cargo Cult of Sunshine?

Vitamin D is a popular nutritional supplement. There are numerous claims of its health benefits and hundreds of studies show that low serum level vitamin D is linked to all manner of diseases. But, there appears to be a paradox - clinical trials often show that restoring low serum vitamin D with supplementation provides little, if any, benefit.

Whats going on here? 

In this episode we are going to explore if vitamin D supplementation is the cargo cult of sun exposure. I explain what that means, and to do that we are going to look at how a monk was obsessed with peas, bizarre findings from Nicolas Cage movies, the potency of viagra and why Van Halen hated the sight of brown M&Ms.

Welcome to the Syft podcast. A show where we sift through the sea of information in areas such as health, nutrition, medicine and psychology in an attempt to get a better sense of what it all means. Using science and stories I aim to synthesise the information so you are up to date and informed on topics that matter to your health and wellbeing. We will learn from the lessons from the past but also be excited about innovation and therapies on the horizon.