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With the added bonus that while Vitamin D is a proxy for general health, supplementing it does nothing. It's the perfect science ignorance bonfire.

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Except it does seem to help: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2017/02/study-confirm...

I see this idea posted a lot. Do you have any sources to back this up?

There have been a lot of studies done on vitamin D supplements, and there is essentially no significant evidence that supplementation is useful for anything. The sole exception is rickets, which is caused by vitamin D deficiency.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D#Use_of_supplements

There is also considerable debate over the comparative efficiency & effects of natural synthesis via sunlight vs ingesting supplements, compounded by the difficulty of accounting for things like exercising outdoors vs being sedentary indoors.

Annecdotal: I live in a fairly northern country, and I've heard quite a lot of people say their mood is more normal over winter if they supplement with Vitamin D.

I don't have any strong opinion one way or another on the efficacy of vitamin D. But people who say they feel better after taking it may themselves be experiencing a placebo effect. Placebo effects are real, and they can improve both mood and health. The mind is an amazing thing.

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