Vitamin D Why I'm changing My Mind|Episode 23

Vitamin D After Menopause: Do You Need Supplements?

Can vitamin D supplements improve your bones, mood, and energy—or have we expected too much from the “sunshine vitamin”?

In this episode, Ginny McArthur shares how her hip replacement recovery and existing osteopenia have prompted her to reconsider vitamin D supplementation.

Vitamin D is essential, but its importance in the body doesn’t automatically mean taking extra improves health. Ginny explores the difference between correcting low levels and supplementing when levels are already adequate.

In this episode:
• How vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus
• The difference between osteoporosis and osteomalacia
• Why bone health deserves attention after menopause
• Vitamin D’s connections with the gut and immune system
• Findings from VITAL: disappointing fracture and mood results alongside a promising autoimmune-disease finding
• A client’s experience of improved energy after supplementation
• Why sunshine, daylight and vitamin D have different effects
• New Zealand guidance for outdoor activity and sun protection
• Food sources and when individual advice may be useful

Ginny also draws on Dr Will Bulsiewicz’s discussion of gut–immune connections and Dr Stacy Sims’s emphasis on adequate nutrition for women’s bone and muscle health.

The takeaway: correcting low vitamin D remains important, while routine extra supplementation deserves a closer look.

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RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

NIH: Vitamin D Health Professional Fact Sheet
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

VITAL fracture study
https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2202106

VITAL-DEP mood and depression study
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2768978

VITAL autoimmune-disease study
https://www.bmj.com/content/376/bmj-2021-066452

Health NZ: Getting your daily vitamin D
https://www.healthnz.govt.nz/health-topics/keeping-healthy/eating-well/your-daily-vitamin-d

Osteoporosis New Zealand: Dietary advice and lifestyle factors
https://osteoporosis.org.nz/healthcare-professionals/comprehensive-treatment-strategies-for-osteoporosis/dietary-advice-and-lifestyle-factors/

This episode is general education, not individual medical advice.

Episode Transcript

Where we just have conversations,

Around health and weight loss,

For midlife and mature women.

Who want to age with a bit of badassery.

Since my hip replacement.

I've been thinking a lot about my bones.

And what I can do to look after them as I recover.

Now, I… so I have hip dysplasia, which is what has caused the problem, running marathons, all of that jazz.

With a kind of square pegs in round holes, so I've worn them out.

I also do have osteopenia.

So that, so I've got light bones, not osteoporosis.

But the start of, right? Osteopenia.

So, I've been trying to look after my bones for a lot of years. That was diagnosed in my 50s. I am now 67.

So, since this hip replacement, I have been really.

You know, honing in on my calcium, phosphorus, K2, boron, biotin,

All of those things that we know are great for our bones.

So of course vitamin D comes into that conversation.

Now, with my previous osteopenia,

I have been supplementing with a D3 for a very long time.

I've been taking calciferol one a month, that's 50 international units.

On the first of every month.

And I then top that up with either the clinician's Sunshine Vitamin D, which if you're on.

YouTube, you can see I'm holding up. That has a K2 with it.

Or, for my plant-based people, because

This comes the D3 comes from Lanolin.

So, for my absolutely plant-based people,

Um, I get the Go Healthy, which again is a thousand international units.

And that comes from lichen, so it is completely.

plant-based. So, I've been doing that for a long time. When I first started consulting in the early 2000s,

Vitamin D suddenly became the superhero that was going to cure all our L's, okay?

Not only good for calcium and phosphorus absorption.

But also great for mood, for fatigue.

for autoimmune function, for so much stuff.

And it's like, well, why isn't everybody taking it?

Although we call it a vitamin, it's really more like a hormone.

The way that it acts in the body. It's like a chemical messenger really.

And it influences how particular cells function.

And it comes from.

primarily from sunlight.

So I always say this to my clients.

that human beings evolved on the plains of Africa we were running around naked. We didn't need to get vitamin D from our food, we evolved to get it from sunlight.

So we didn't have to worry about getting it from food.

sources, if you like. So, the UVB light.

Actually reacts with a cholesterol-like substance on our skin.

And is absorbed and converted into D3.

And then the liver and the kidneys do their thing.

And it gets converted into…

Something that can be used throughout the body. In fact, I think one of the reasons.

Scientists got so excited about it was that they found vitamin D receptors in all of the tissues in our body.

Alright? Including the gut.

And we've talked about Dr. B's work before.

And, you know, there is a strong relationship there between our gut microbes and immune function,

And research into vitamin D suggests that it's signaling actually helps maintain that

that gut barrier, that intestinal barrier.

And, you know, therefore.

has an effect on our immune function.

It helps to regulate immune responses, I guess.

So there was a huge trial, it was called the VITAL trial, of 26,000.

Over older adults. I think they were all over 50.

Um, and in the kind of autoimmune branch.

part of this study.

They found that people that were allocated to 2,000 international units of vitamin D daily

had a lower relative risk of developing confirmed autoimmune diseases.

And I have been using it, like, over the years.

I've used it a lot with my clients with things like fibromyalgia,

Polymyalgia,

you know, those autoimmune diseases.

They have reported feeling better, like they're there.

I have reported their energy levels coming up, but.

you know, obviously that is just.

anecdotal.

But I think, you know, those are all reasons for me to keep an open mind.

Because lately there has been a real kickback against vitamin D.

So there's been a real.

kickback eye.

would think about.

Zern van Tolaken new book.

make me well, where he talks about a lot of the scams.

In the wellness industry.

And vitamin D actually does kind of come up as one of those.

And when you look, there are an awful lot of studies like that same study.

that said it reduced the chance of developing an autoimmune disease.

Also said that it didn't help strengthen bones, it didn't help prevent fractures.

It didn't make any difference to mood.

So, you know, there's there's.

same study, but but.

Yeah, I guess just different, a different.

different results out of the same study as to the benefits.

What does this mean for women, like, going through menopause and beyond?

Because I've been using it for mood, for fatigue,

immune function, all of those things, and in fact, recently I had a client who tested.

really quite low, like, she was right down at the kind of 33 nanomoles per liter.

And since she's been taking the monthly.

And topping up with the daily, she reports that her energy levels have come up,

You know, vitamin D is used for muscles as well because.

Calcium is used for nerve transmission and muscle contraction, so it's kind of all related. It's not just our bones.

And I don't know, I've had people feeling much better in the gym.

Using vitamin, vitamin D as a supplement.

As well.

So, I don't know, like declining estrogen accelerates bone loss, obviously.

And that makes looking after our bones particularly important.

And because we know that vitamin D helps us absorb calcium and phosphorus,

You know, an adequate level support, normal bone and muscle function.

Then surely it's not a bad thing.

Another person apart from Dr. B, who…

I follow is obviously the great Dr. Stacey Sims, and she highlights the importance of adequate

Nutrition for performance, you know, including calcium and vitamin D for bone and muscle health.

And that kind of fits with my approach to you guys, but also to my recovery.

You know, through nourishment and progressive rehabilitation and.

attention to any possible deficiencies.

To optimize.

My recovery, but you know menopause doesn't automatically mean that every woman needs extra vitamin D.

Or that a supplement will solve fatigue or low mood, or reduced performance.

I think if you're low, like my client Gail, if your levels are low, then it probably will make a difference, but

Do we all need to be taking it, I guess, is the question.

I don't think we do anymore.

I'm changing my view. I think for a woman,

You know, with low bone density, limited sun exposure.

Or an absorption problem like celiac disease or whatever.

or previously low vitamin D blood test, then it's sensible to discuss vitamin D.

with your doctor, and I think there are cases where a blood test is a good thing to do.

I do one annually. Like, I, you know, it's like my warrant of fitness every year,

I… I check where my vitamin D levels are.

And I've kept supplementing, because they've kind of in the middle of the range.

You know? And I think

The other thing is sunshine, right? Are we confusing low mood?

And fatigue with not getting outside enough.

And the effect of sunshine on our brain and our body.

It's not just about vitamin D. You know, we know, I'm always telling you guys this as well.

that morning light, like, light is so important for our brain,

And our hormones, our circadian rhythms,

Our appetite, our overall wellness. We are supposed to get daylight.

And are we maybe confusing…

Seasonal affective disorder with a low vitamin D when it's actually low sunlight.

I don't know.

I do try and get outside every day. I try and eat my breakfast or my lunch outside, or if it's really cold, at least have a cup of coffee outside.

And I walk outside,

And we know that

Average New Zealander only spends 33 minutes a day outside. I think that's astounding.

And it only goes up by another 7 minutes in the summer.

It's outstanding. I think we all need to get outside more.

Um, the recommendation.

Well, there's different recommendations, actually, for getting outside. You know, it's like a third of the time it takes you to burn, or 10 minutes with your.

your face, your arms.

Um, upper torso, exposed to sunlight.

each day.

I think, you know, for New Zealand,

don't really call it in minutes. I think, um, Health New Zealand.

says, you know, ex… get some outdoor exposure on your face, your arms, and your hands.

Um, in the summer months before 10am and after 4pm.

And in the winter months, so I think they kind of go from May through to end of August.

make it around midday that I kind of think is a recommendation.

You know, our UV index is higher here in New Zealand as well.

But you see, even though we say, oh, we don't get enough vitamin D because when we do go outside, we cover up and we use sunscreens,

But there are a couple of studies that show.

Um, that vitamin D absorption.

It's fine even, even with a sunscreen.

So I don't know, would that be a sunscreen that's doing UVA and UVB?

I don't know, but there are studies that say

get outside, you know, get your 10, 20 minutes or whatever.

If the if the UV is over a 3,

then do use a sunscreen, you're still going to get vitamin D.

I don't know. It is a tricky one. I have been a, you know, a big.

Promoter or supporter of vitamin D supplementation.

For a lot of years, but I have to admit that lately.

I've been asking myself, you know, does it do all the things we're told?

That it does. Like, there was even some research

suggesting a small study.

that it might help with weight loss. And that was because it… because it's involved in every cell, right?

It actually does help with glucose regulation.

Which we know, you know, as we… for women particularly, as we age and we go through.

Menopause, our estrogen and our insulin are quite closely linked, so when that starts to go ory, our blood sugars.

Can get a little bit all over the place, and that doesn't help any with weight loss.

So yeah.

I… I don't know.

And I mean, for those clients, particularly Gail last week, those clients that I've had.

Whose vitamin D was low, and they felt awful, and since supplementing, they feel great.

That is awesome.

But it doesn't mean that it's for everybody. I think…

What about food?

So really, you're only going to get it from oily fish, and

You know, in the UK,

Kids used to get rickets from lack of vitamin D.

So I can remember my grandmother,

Filling me with teaspoons of cod liver oil.

Whenever she could, she saw me, cod liver oil down the hatch, and that was from vitamin D, and that…

You know, that for vitamin D, and that did help prevent rickets.

And in adults, you know, we see…

Osteomalacia, which is

It's not the same as osteoporosis, but it's like a softening, it's a weakening, a softening of the bones.

For people in adults, so it's kind of like rickets, but it's in in adults.

But I think…

I think in the state, so a lot of the studies that are done in the States.

Just about everything seems to be fortified, like bread is fortified,

Cereals are fortified, milk is fortified, yogurts are fortified.

Whereas.

Fortification is less so in New Zealand. I know there's a few dairy products and stuff.

Like calcitrin milk, for instance.

Some of the calcium yogurts and things like that, they're supplemented with vitamin D.

I mean, if you're living somewhere…

where it is supplemented, your levels are likely to be higher, so then if you do a study where you give people vitamin D.

But it was already pretty much okay. Is it going to make a big difference? Probably not.

Whereas if you're looking at a population who's

who you know their vitamin D is routinely low, it might be more interesting.

To start with those people.

# !

I… I do feel a bit conflicted, and I would say…

To my… to my women.

you know, going through or post-menopausally, I would say get your vitamin D checked.

If not every year, then every couple of years.

And if it's on the low side.

then I would definitely.

consider supplementation.

The the upper limit, because it's a fat-soluble vitamin.

So it's not like vitamin B, you know, B vitamins or magnesium or whatever that you just pee out. They're water-soluble.

Because it is fat soluble, it can accumulate in your body, so.

It can become toxic, it can cause toxicity if you have too much of it.

And too much seems to be about 4,000 international units.

Well, I'd be averaging, you know, probably about 2,500 international units.

And that's keeping my vitamin D just kind of where it should be, in the middle.

I like that. And in terms of my osteopenia,

my bone density is pretty much stayed where it is, so I.

I don't know, my mum always said I had light bones, like I'd broken 3 arms and an ankle by the time I was about 12.

Mind you, I was riding horses.

But I was told I had brittle bones when I was little. I had brittle bones.

So, I don't know whether I've always had lighter bones, and whether my osteopenia really is even a thing.

But it's certainly…

I first have my bone density done in my early 50s, I'm now 67, and it hasn't dropped, it's stayed level.

So that's got to be good.

So I think I'm doing something…

Right, but I do think…

I am changing my view a little bit.

What else? I guess, um, mushrooms. Like, if you put mushrooms.

On the windowsill, mushrooms actually absorb vitamin D from the sun like we do.

So, you know, you, you can get some vitamin D from mushrooms, you get some vitamin D from egg yolks.

But otherwise, you don't really get a lot of it.

So I, I think for the time being, I am going to continue with my regime.

When I run out of my daily ones,

I might, for the summer, consider dropping down to just my.

one monthly one.

And then see how I feel, see where I test and how I feel at the end of the summer.

I hope that's useful.

You know, I'm not trawling through the science. I could, you know,

trawl through lots and lots and lots of studies,

None of which are really conclusive.

And thoroughly confuse everybody. But I would just like to say that what is out there is enough for me to think it's not the superhero

that I used to think it was, but if your levels are low, like my client Gail's were, and you top them up,

I do think you're going to feel better.

I hope that was helpful. Have a fantastic week.

Look forward to speaking to you soon.