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Comment by owens99 | Hacker News Reader

Simple goal for 2018: take Vitamin D supplement every day

If you are supplementing with Vitamin D you should also look into Vitamin K2. K2 helps D to absorb calcium into your bones (where you want it) and helps Vitamin A remove calcium from your veins (where you don't want it).

An interesting read: "Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox" - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062320041

I eat quite a lot of hard cheese, high in Vit.K2 and Vit.D, apparently; though it has a reputation for being an unhealthy luxury item. Seems the other Vit.K2 rich foods, like Salami, have similarly unhealthy images.

Natto, https://chriskresser.com/vitamin-k2-the-missing-nutrient/, apparently is a good source that I'd never heard of before AFAIR.

I've set this goal for myself several times, particularly important because I've been diagnosed with osteopenia at a young age (38). This has not translated into fractures, so I haven't managed to figure out how to turn this into a daily regimen (taking increased vitamin D) which would, one would think, help.

Any ideas about how to turn this into a daily habit? Put vitamins by the front door? Set an alarm on the phone? Supplements in the smoothie blend?

Make it part of your routine. Put them in bathroom medicine cabinet and take right before brushing your teeth at night. Or if you do regular breakfast, take with breakfast.

Tie it to an activity you already do daily.

While vitamin D can help with sleep overall, I've read that vitamin D can temporarily interfere with melatonin production immediately after ingesting. So you shouldn't take it at night, too close to bedtime.

Of course, I've also read many people take it at night with no negative effects – and that, as a hormone, it absorbs more efficiently overnight in a sleeping state.

So, this is probably one of things that affects people differently, but it's just something to be cognizant of. If you take it a night and feel restless, try switching to the morning.

I also have a close friend who gets severely constipated with most vitamin D. It took her a lot of trial and error to find a brand that did not constipate her, which I cannot remember right now.

Gwern has done some self-experimentation and found Vitamin D to negatively affect sleep https://www.gwern.net/zeo/Vitamin-D

I was told don't drink coffee for an hour afterwards as it reduces the effect.

In young males like you this condition is quite rare unless you are an astronaut, isn't it? (edit: assuming you are male, sorry if mistaken)

Vitamin D deficiency is common at higher latitudes (Bay Area is at the border) and as you get older. It can cause fatigue and aches. It is diagnosed through a simple blood screening.

Indeed, I am male, and this is very rare among males (or females) of my age.

I was able to develop the habit of taking supplements by attaching them to a craving and replacing an existing behavior. When I feel hungry or eager for a snack in the early afternoon or late morning, I know that means it’s time for a small glass of V8 and supplements. It’s worked well attaching it to a craving like that as I am not actively trying to remember to take the supplement, I am just triggering it off of something that happens every day anyway.

Tape the bottle to your toothpaste.

>Any ideas about how to turn this into a daily habit?

Pill box, either at breakfast or the office, or similar. It's worked well for me for the last two years, with a mixture of vit D, vit C, omega oils and the like.

Look into vitamin K2 for calcium regulation as well.

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