Vitamin D is NOT snake oil
Here is a non-interactive image of an excellent interactive info-graphic showing how well various supplements helps with diseases
From the web site: "This image is a “balloon race”. The higher a bubble, the greater the evidence for its effectiveness.
But the supplements are only effective for the conditions listed inside the bubble.
You might also see multiple bubbles for certain supplements. These is because some supplements affect a range of conditions, but the evidence quality varies from condition to condition. For example, there’s strong evidence that Green Tea is good for cholesterol levels. But evidence for its anti-cancer effects is conflicting. In these cases, we give a supp another bubble."
"I’m a bit of a health nut. Keeping fit. Streamlining my diet. I plan to live to the age of 150 in fact. But I get frustrated by constant, conflicting reports and studies about health supplements."
"We only considered large, human, randomized placebo-controlled trials in our data scrape – wherever possible"
The website allows you to alter it for disease categories and type of supplement. You can also see and download the Google Doc spreadsheet which automatically generates this info-graphic.
Originally snake oil, from sea snakes, had high levels of Omega-3, and perhaps Vitamin D
Land snakes have neither
Update Nov 2010 Infographic just for Vitamin D
Snake Oil version 2 May 2011
Updated again Benefits of supplements (vitamin D is not snake oil) - Aug 2013
Jan 2010
April 2014 version
See also Vitamin D Life
Proof that Vitamin D Works 92 diseases as of Aug 2022