Recently I was reading this December, 2021 study discussing the anti inflammatory potential of Vitamin D in people with psoriasis, but I couldn't help but notice the parallels with elevated inflammatory markers in PD.
In PD, these are some of the inflammatory mediators that are at elevated levels compared to healthy controls in multiple studies. :
IL-1b
IL-2
IL-4
IL-6
IL-8
IL-17
TNF-a
IFN-y
high sensitivity-C Reactive Protein (hs-CRP)
Homocysteine -
Homocysteine is at elevated levels in PwP and is further elevated by the use of Levodopa, a main standard of care in PwPs. Vitamin B-12, B-6 and Folate are vitamins that help to breakdown homocysteine into useable products by the body, however vitamin B-12 is lower in PwP compared to healthy controls. Elevated homocysteine increases your risk for stroke, dementia, heart disease and peripheral neuropathy. In the study above, vitamin D is shown to significantly increase vitamin B-12 levels which should help reduce homocysteine. It is clear that lowering these inflammatory mediators and the associated oxidative stress that comes with that inflammation is important in trying to fight disease progression.
In the study above and other studies, Vitamin D was shown to significantly lower the following inflammatory mediators which closely mirrors the list above for inflammatory markers that are elevated in PD:
IL-1b
IL-6
IL-8
IL-17
TNF-a
IFN-y
high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP)
Homocysteine
The above study and other studies further showed that vitamin D also up regulated IL-5 and IL-10 which are both considered anti inflammatory and are both at reduced levels in PwP.
It is established that PwP have significantly lower levels of vitamin D than healthy controls :
>>> ' Parkinson’s disease patients have a significantly lower vitamin D level compared to healthy controls, and such vitamin D deficiency significantly affects both motor and cognitive functions. ' <<<
It is important to remember that inflammation leads to elevated oxidative stress levels and inflammation and oxidative stress are driving forces in disease progression and neuron death and degeneration in PD.
Given this very direct information, it may be time to rethink the importance that vitamin D plays in disease progression in PD and many other diseases. Adding this information to information I recently posted about Near Infrared (NIR) radiation from the sun and they seem like an effective duo in fighting the elevated inflammation and oxidatative stress that drive PD progression. One is free and the other is very inexpensive and both have excellent safety profiles and are completely natural to the body which is loaded with receptors for both.
Almost all PwP would be happy to have their disease progression stop or significantly slow, but if it did, would you even know it in the near term or mid term?
Art
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"Homocysteine is at elevated levels in PwP and is further elevated by the use of Levodopa...." And can be lowered by Vitamin D. So a double-blinded study using PwP as subjects, and having them stop all drugs and take Vit D for six months? Or add Vit D to your daily stack. Be sure to include some oil or fat because Vit D cannot absorbed without a lipid carrier.
Vitamin D is adjunctive treatment with the intent to improve quality of life and potentially negatively impact disease progression, not a substitute for PD meds. Newer studies are more specifically showing what vitamin D is actually doing that can lessen oxidative stress and inflammation, two main driving forces in PD and other diseases.
"Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it does not dissolve in water and is absorbed best in your bloodstream when paired with high-fat foods. For this reason, it's recommended to take vitamin D supplements with a meal to enhance absorption."
Agree with the recommendation for vitamin D - it has many benefits.
There appears be conflicting information regarding the role of IL-4 in inflammation. The Wikipedia entry says it is pro-inflammatory however, there are studies showing the contrary, such this one:
" This study has primarily addressed the effects of continuous administration of exogenous IL-4, a Th2 cytokine, on collagen-induced arthritis in terms of time of onset, clinical symptoms, and histologic changes compared with those in untreated controls. The contributions of Th1 and Th2 cell responses were studied by examining anti-CII IgG subclasses, serum IgE levels, and cytokine production by synovial membrane and lymph node cell cultures. Continuous exposure to IL-4 for 28 days significantly delayed the onset of arthritis from 19 to 37 days and suppressed clinical symptoms."
Also worth noting that IL-10 is strongly anti-inflammatory:
" Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is one of the most important anti-inflammatory cytokines to limit inflammatory Th cells and immunopathology and to maintain tissue homeostasis."
The effect of cinnamon on inflammation is also of interest. Image showing the activity of cinnamon, per: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl... Can cinnamon spice down autoimmune diseases?
Cinnamon reduces IL-2, IL-17, IL-22 and IFN-y and increases IL-4, IL-10 and IL-13. It improved Parkinson's in a good animal model and in my personal case. See:
Thanks Art! I'm taking 5000 IU of D3 3 times a week. I wonder how much I could take without testing my D3? I'm guessing I am already taking as much as I should without testing.
my husband with Parkinsons was taking 5000 D3 and then his blood test for D level came out at 97 so the doctor said decrease it so probably need to monitor the levels
He is continuing to take 5000 IUs most days but 2000 IU in between. Maybe the doctor was worried that if he was at 100 there could be some kind of toxic situation?
Are we talking ng/mL or nmol/L here? A bit too easy to confuse the two without units and range. My GP just laughed when I got to 150 nmol/L and said no-one around here gets that high, but she wasn't concerned about it. I usually aim for 125 nmol. But 100 ng would be 250 nmol which I've considered as the absolute top advisable. Testing is cheap and easy to do, so best to test, dose, re-test.
Agree it is essential to name the units. Because there is overlap between the numerical ranges of the different units of measurement it is not clear from just a number which units are be being used.
The effect of supplementation on plasma levels of vitamin D are highly variable from one individual to another so it is important to measure this.
Excessive levels of vitamin D are adverse so it does matter.
According to Dr. Mischley and our FP, one has to have the specific test before one starts taking it. My husband needed, according to the test, 10,000 IU. He had a test again, his Vitamin D level was great, and Dr. Mischley asked him to lower it to 6,000-8,000IU.
I find this interesting: "After twelve weeks of intervention period, there were statistically significant increases in vitamin D and B12 serum levels in comparison to the levels that had been measured at the beginning of the study".
So 12 weeks of 5000 iu a day of D3 significantly increased B12.
Yes, and PwP are low on B-12 and high on Homocysteine. B-12 breaks down homocysteine. Homocysteine significantly raises the risk of stroke, heart disease, dementia and peripheral neuropathy. B-12 is made in the gut, that is a healthy gut, but the perturbed gut of PwP, maybe not so much. B-12 is useful to the body and the microbiome. B-12 is frequently supplemented in PwP and imo, it should be!
So, if I may put on my high school graduate scientist hat: If you take D3 and B12 goes up, then more B12 must be being created in the gut due to D3 supplementation. Maybe.
It is possible to be low in B12, especially at cellular level, but still be low in homocysteine, if (like me - not a PwP) you have SNPs affecting function (such as MTR which can result in increased enzyme activity - so lower levels of homocysteine but at the cost of rapid use of methyl B12). And although we don't want high homocysteine, neither do we want low B12. So testing isn't always easy or conclusive but really needs to be done as thoroughly as possible before supplementing, because once you've started you make it much harder, if not impossible, to be certain that you don't have an underlying B12D or particularly PA.
Thank you Art for this information. It really encouraged me that maybe we are making a difference with his disease since he is doing so well from all the help you and others have been and continue to be.
We have been taking 5000iu D3 for a long time. For a month or more last fall-ish we took 5000iu D3 4 days/week and 10,000iu 3 days/week. Then I kind of got a little scared of giving him too much so we have gone back to 5000 ui's of D3 daily. Unfortunately I did not document.
January 2021 my HwP's D3 level was 58.4 and November 2021 D3 level was up to 73.5. But as I said we've been taking the 5000iu D3 for a long time. I have no idea why his D3 is so good. He did start riding his bike and walking daily this past July till the weather got too cold. Even though he was not riding/walking at the optimum time of day maybe it was enough sunlight to bump up his D3 level, I have no idea.
In January 2021 my HwP's Homocysteine was 17.0 and November 2021 Homocysteine level was 11.9. In January 2021 he had started taking Homocysteine Factors by Pure Encapsulations. So I guess that is helping too.
Anyway, your article really encouraged me and I wanted to thank you for the information and your time!!! I'm still tweaking things and reading.... It is an unending disease.
Thank you and have a fabulous day and blessings ~ Gail
Is your husband slender or was he losing weight ? Both can give a very good response to lesser amounts of vitamin D.
The second homocysteine reading was good and in range and the second vitamin D test was very good also and it coincided with the better homocysteine test. It just isn't known if that is because of the anti-homocysteine supplement, vitamin D or both. Either way it seems worthwhile to maintain that regimen in the longer term.
Well, I think he's doing great. If you met him out and about and didn't know he has PD you wouldn't even suspect anything is wrong. However, he and I both know that he isn't quite right. But yet there are times when I say to myself "He seems so normal. Does he really have PD?"
His two main symptoms are still anxiety and left foot tremor. The majority of the time the anxiety comes on when our routine gets out of whack or (as we discovered) he's watching football, or maybe an event of some kind that we're going to or... but not always! However, we can get the anxiety calmed down if I kind of tickle/stroke that foot for a bit. That brings him a lot of relief.
The tremor is kind of off and on, not too bad.
I thought I'd mention that I made another adjustment with the DopaBoost. I started him on a single dose of two pills as directed on the jar. I increased it to three pills at your suggestion. All went well for quite a while then his tremor really kicked in again. The dose we have him on that seems to be working is ½ capsule in three separate doses. I take the caps apart and weigh out the contents and put half the amount in the capsule and give him the other ½ in applesauce with his Ceylon Cinnamon and part of his mannitol dose.
All in all, he's doing great and I have you and this forum to thank!!!
He take 3 c/l a day 25/100. We have just switched things around so now he takes 1 ½ c/l early morning when he gets up around 6 a.m. and 1 ½ mid morning ½ way between breakfast and lunch & 1 DopaBoost pill mid afternoon 1/2 way between lunch & dinner. He takes all his “dopamine” pills with vitamin c. He is not on any other prescriptions.
I was taking Dopa plus b4 I started on c/l. On the label it says don't use if you are taking Parkinson's medication. It's by pure Encapsulation. Please Google the product and see if the ingredients are similar and if you think it would be ok to take it has a small amount of dopamine in it.I appreciate your input. Is your husband on c/l also?Thanks for your help
>>> ' Homocysteine in PD appears to be associated with cognitive performance and structural damage in the cerebral cortex. These findings not only reinforce the presence and importance of cortical degeneration in PD, but also suggest that homocysteine plays a role among the multiple pathological processes thought to be involved in its development. '<<<
This seems like a good reason to keep homocysteine low and in range, preferably toward the lower end of the range . Some things that have shown the ability to do that are vitamin D, vitamin B-12, Vitamin B-6 , melatonin and folate.
This is an interesting study showing the interplay of vitamin D and the B vitamin group in restoring some balance to the gut microbiome and improved sleep :
This is a quote of the results obtained from this combination :
>>> ' Three months of vitamin D plus B100 resulted in improved sleep, reduced pain and unexpected resolution of bowel symptoms. These results suggest that the combination of vitamin D plus B100 creates an intestinal environment that favors the return of the four specific species, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria that make up the normal human microbiome. ' <<<
Also ~ he sleeps like a baby and has no gut issues!! But then we eat fermented foods and drink kombucha ~ homemade which isn't as good as store bought!!!
Thank you very much for this very useful and encouraging information. I was wondering- is there a B100 tablet available that you would recommend? My husband is currently taking Vitamin D and gets a shot of B12 monthly, but does not take any other B vitamins. We started trying the high dose thiamine, but he had negative side effects when we raised the dose to 200mg, so we stopped that for now. I appreciate any advice you may have.
Regarding the B1 dose that your husband was taking, the effective dose range that has been reported on this forum is 25 mg per day up to 4,000 mg per day.
Regarding a B-100 brand to recommend, no recommendation.
Thank you! Having trouble gettimg my HWP D level up, even though we live in sunny FL and he gets some sun each day. Supplmenting with D3 in am with light breakfast, I think not enough fat in breakfast, don't really want to take it with dinner as I have read late in the day could interfere with sleep as it is the sunshine vitamin. I believe it is interconnected not just with the B12 uptake but also with melatonin. A little avocado at lunch should be enough fat.
Yes, some people simply require significantly more vitamin D in order to move their 25 OH d level up. That sun exposure he is getting will definitely help with increasing his melatonin level.
25 OH d level is what they commonly test for when testing vitamin D levels. The reference range for 25 OH d is 30 ~ 100 ng/ml in the US. Below 30 ng/ml is generally considered insufficient while below 20 ng/ml is considered deficient. Aiming for 65 ng/ml is generally considered a healthful level, but some research suggests that going above 100 ng/ml may be useful if you are actually trying to treat specific health issues, but that should only be attempted with regular 25 OH d testing by your doctor and also so your doctor can monitor for potential hypercalcemia as a potential toxicity when vitamin D3 testing gets too high and this can often be worked around by limiting calcium intake. There are other vitamin d tests, but 25 OH d testing is the norm when testing vitamin d from supplementing or native level.
Oh yes that makes sense. When I take my mom to the doctor I have them check that. Her vitamin D level was low but it has come up some. Doesn't go outside as much so I try to get her out there as much as I can along with some supplementation. Thanks for your response
I take 100,000 iu of D3 as part of the Coimbra Protocol. I drink 3 liters of water (at least), do strength training exercises 3-4 times a week ( keep calcium in bones) severely limit calcium intake and get blood tests every 3-4 months (safety and adjust D3 doses by testing parathyroid levels) I believe my form of PD is autoimmune because of my family history. I haven’t progressed in 3 years and credit it to this. Everyone with PD should take 10,000 iu a day of D3.
It would have been interesting in that study if they had also had another group who dosed at 10,000 iu of vitamin D to see how the two doses compared overall with the tested parameters.
The revolution in the Parkinson's world is vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, medicinal mushrooms, probiotics, medicinal plants, etc.
Vitamin D at a dose of 10,000 IU daily has been recommended for use by at least 5 neurologists/neuroscientists: Hiller, Perlmutter, Coimbra, Fullard and Duda.
I only just read the abstract and will have to read the full study tomorrow, but yes it looks interesting. Thank you for posting that study.
I am always impressed with what the sun offers humans , animals and plants in terms of health. Vitamin D and melatonin from one source and our bodies are loaded with receptors for both! To me that is very impressive and important and all we have to do is go outside and get it daily or at least very frequently. The health benefits of both continues to grow with new studies. These two gifts from the sun offer so much potential health benefit, but both decline with age as we spend more time indoors as we age. With that age related decline of d and melatonin, comes the onslaught of age related diseases like PD, cancer, dementia, stroke and cardiovascular disease to name only a few. It seems almost too simple to be true, but there are sufficient studies now that can be pieced together to show us this truth.
Both vitamin D and melatonin are highly relevant in PD and other age related disease. I am of the opinion that these two are a major reason that are bodies are able to hold PD in check for what some suggest as a decade or two until these two decline to levels that are no longer able to hold back the disease and progression of the disease takes hold as there is no longer enough of either to hold PD in check. It is often mentioned that PD is present for a decade or two before symptoms become apparent. What is it that holds PD in check for so long. Vitamin D and melatonin certainly seem like two potential candidates.
Dr. Seheult is now suggesting going out in the sun as a way to help deal with Covid-19. Melatonin is highly effective against Covid-19 and you can supplement it or get it from the sun.
I think most of what I know on the subject is already written on this forum which can be seen by viewing my profile page.
In a nutshell, I have not seen another molecule that appears to work against PD from a multitude of methods of action and pathways while having an excellent safety profile even at high dosing. It also offers many health protective effects, but these protective effects decline with the age related decline of melatonin in humans. Toward the end of the steepest decline of melatonin production around age 50, age related diseases seem to increase in terms of quantity and severity.
Melatonin is produced in the brain, gut, skin, eyes and every cell in the body at the mitochondria level and in areas of the body that have not been discovered yet. The fact that melatonin is naturally produced in every cell in the body and melatonin receptors are naturally found throughout the body and to me these are major clues as to the importance of melatonin in helping to maintain human health until its natural production level declines to a low enough level where there is simply no longer enough melatonin available to help maintain our health at optimal levels and this is when age related diseases such as PD start to become diagnosed and tend to accelerate at a quicker pace with the lower levels of melatonin in the body. In PD, it has been shown that both melatonin levels and melatonin receptor numbers decline in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta. I consider this another important clue as to the importance of melatonin in PD. In PD, melatonin is even lower.
PD is often said to exist for a decade or two before diagnosis and I believe (unproven by studies yet) that melatonin is a major contributing factor for helping to keep PD in check during this lengthy period of time until melatonin production finally declines to a level where it no longer can keep age related diseases like PD in check.
Current studies show benefit from melatonin for PD up to 50 mg/day. A higher dose study such as 250 mg/day as used in two studies for people with diabetes, would be helpful to show whether a higher dose will be more helpful than the 50 mg studies in PwP. It would also be helpful to try different methods of delivery and timing. For those who do not tolerate oral melatonin, getting melatonin from the sun is a safe and effective way to increase melatonin level without side effects. I have recently written about this aspect of getting melatonin from the sun.
One study showed that getting early morning and late afternoon sun exposure more than doubled morning melatonin levels in study subjects. The problem with getting melatonin from the sun is that as we age, we spend less and less time in the sun and more time indoors and this is counterproductive to trying to maintain healthy levels of melatonin.
Another consideration is that the sun also increases vitamin D levels which also have anti inflammatory and antioxidative effects. I believe vitamin D and melatonin have synergy together and PwP are generally low on both counts.
Art, I am not debating how excellent and important and helpful melatonin can be at an appropriate dose. Appropriate is relative of course. But
My point of concern is with HIGH DOSE melatonin.
Melatonin increases GABA. That is well established.
Does high dose melatonin increase GABA to the point of either GABA converting to glutamate or the body seeking balance and creating more glutamate in response?
Why is it that even if taken at an appropriate time, too much melatonin can cause insomnia? GABA calms. Glutamate excites. When melatonin causes insomnia is it because glutamate has increased?
I take high dose melatonin and have experienced insomnia if I exceed a certain dosage. Sleep hygiene is not the issue.
Are you certain that high dose melatonin does not cause down stream increased glutamate?
Melatonin increases GABA, screen shot of quick google search
Melatonin, when obtained through natural means, which I have written about on this forum, does not cause side effects such as insomnia, vivid dreams and next day tiredness. Those natural means also come with other potential health benefits.
If what you are saying about glutamate were correct, children around the age of 10 years would be having high glutamate issues and they normally don't.
You have written about high dose melatonin a LOT and assured us a LOT that it is extremely safe at high doses. When I ask a question about high dose melatonin and you respond with “through natural means” that is concerning.
High dose melatonin is not “through natural means.”
Do you have evidence, studies, trials anything that show that the HIGH DOSE melatonin you have spoken so much of does not cause an increase in glutamate?
Art, I am scared for myself and all others who have been encouraged to take high dose melatonin.
I need to know.
I take high dose melatonin.
I really really want to be wrong!
Why then does it cause insomnia if you take too much?
Did you listen to the video I posted where at 14 minutes she mentions about not over compensating with Gaba to reduce glutamate?
Start at about 13 minutes 45 seconds.
She explicitly says that too much GABA causes increased glutamate
You take things I have said out of context. I have answered your question twice and explained that naturally produced melatonin in the body does not cause side effects. I mention this point and have posted it individually on this forum for people who do not tolerate melatonin orally. You ignore that post so you don't understand other points I make. You choose to ignore my answers, so now I will ignore you.
I am not telling anybody what to do and that includes you, but I am reporting what science shows about melatonin and its health benefits in people. You do with that information what you want. I have been straightforward about the fact that I am currently taking 120+ mg of melatonin/day because I believe in the science of melatonin so far. I have taken 106+ mg of melatonin for well over a year straight now and have taken high dose melatonin for over a decade.
If you have fears about taking melatonin at any dose, then don't take it until the studies you are waiting for to allay your fears come along. Can't get any safer and simpler than that and then you will not be fearful of melatonin as you seem to be. Sometimes if you believe that a supplement or medication will harm you, it will.
If you don’t know, you don’t know. Since you have posted so many times about high dose melatonin and use it yourself, I thought you might know if it contributes to excess glutamate and therefore increases glutamate Excitotoxicity. And, I thought that if you don’t know, that it might peak your curiosity given how detrimental glutamate Excitotoxicity is. I ask about high dose melatonin and you respond about naturally occurring melatonin which is the opposite.
Since your response is not answering the question I will assume then that you do not know. But since you take HDM yourself, you might want to look in to it because if the melatonin at high doses causes glutamate Excitotoxicity, it is contributing greatly to neurodegeneration.
Generally speaking you are absolutely correct. But I am asking a very specific question and responding to a question with a tangent question is steering away from the original question. So, his question is not relevant to my question.
But you don’t get to dictate what other people ask or how they respond. This is a public forum and if you want to control the conversation you should communicate via private message. You have digressed and derailed plenty of threads. And Art is more than capable of responding to more than one reply.
All information provided here must be taken with the caveat FWIW. Despite there being some very intelligent, knowledgeable people, they are not doctors or research scientists (other than sharoncryn) and depending on their advice to make a difference in your condition is something you choose; they are not prescribing for you although sometimes it feels that way. You cannot blame them for your choices.
Blame? No blaming here. Just asking a question directed towards someone who has written extensively about the subject of high dose melatonin. How does high dose melatonin effect glutamate?
Well, let me answer your question: Yes, Melatonin is not for everyone. Based on personal experience and observing my husband, it causes him tiredness and confusion the morning after, even at 1mg. Although I respect Art and his extensive research on Melatonin, it might not be effective for every PwP. No more Melatonin for my husband. My two cents.
I’m hoping he will answer my question since finding an answer to it is difficult. Responding with a tangent question that is easily answered online is irrelevant to my initial question. Although you don’t want me to respond, the answer to your question is yes.
Some vitamin D supplements aren’t affected by what you eat. For example, one animal study found that oil-based and microsomal vitamin D supplements — vitamin D encapsulated in fatty acid spheres — can be taken without food (18Trusted Source, 19Trusted Source).
It’s important to note that vitamin D activation depends on having adequate levels of magnesium. Therefore, to maintain healthy vitamin D levels, make sure you’re also getting enough magnesium (20).
Forgive my ignorance. Is there an easy way for an ordinary PwP like me to keep a regular eye on Homocysteine levels if I start on any of these Vitamins?
Homocysteine levels can be checked, along with many other things, through a blood test. Here is one company which provides such a test, but there are several options, including home tests.
Art I a so thankful for all your posts. It must take a lot of your time to give us such detail and informative posts. I'm curious can you share a little more about yourself?
Not that I am aware of. I think that discussing PD regularly makes me acutely aware of the fact that anyone can get it anywhere and anytime. One of the people I know with PD was not diagnosed until his late 70s and another in his mid 70s so I realize that the potential is always there and increases with age.
To my way of thinking, if I did have PD, the high dose melatonin and other supplements I take are likely to significantly delay its appearance and potential progression. Thank you for asking, Julie!
We use Vit. D3/K2 all the time as I prefer high doses. I don't like the emulsified Vit. D - it's hard to get an accurate count of drops. During the winter I like to use 10,000 - each drop is equivalent to 1,000.
I had been taking 5000iu a day of D3, had some blood work done which stated low levels in the results. Started taking 5000iu 2X a day and blood work results stated levels were in acceptable range. Have been at this regimen for 2 months.
Yes, it definitely takes some people a lot of vitamin d to significantly move their 25 OH d levels well up into the reference range of 30 to 100 ng/ml.
I am curious to know your weight and body mass index. A higher body weight and BMI seems to require higher vitamin D dosing to move your 25 OH d level up significantly.
Thank you for this information, Art. I am a little confused because my blood work shows normal vitamin D levels and the test for I think it’s B12 is OK. Over the years, I’ve been told I have maybe a little bit of inflammation, but C-reactive is OK.
Back then I didn’t know enough about information to really ask about it. Plus, my doctor didn’t really seem that concerned about it so perhaps it was a minimal issue. And I’m sorry that you’re getting my medical history here LOL. Is the thinking that the tests aren’t measuring properly? Or the conventional test isn’t the correct one?
But I’d still like to try taking maybe more vitamin D . I think I take around 1000 -2000. Do you — or any of you otherwise folks —have any thoughts ?
I am a little bit confused about what levels of D are toxic. And I suppose that might depend on current levels. I was skimming the symptoms of low D and it sounded like symptoms that bother me, but heck who knows about that.
And the vitamin B 100 is some thing one would take separately? Not part of a multi? Or on top of a multi.? I can actually look this part up, but I have to use The methylated form of folate. And I just can’t remember if that’s the same thing as B 100. And actually I can easily look that up so ignore that part everybody. Thanks so much to anyone who just read this novel!
I think the issue, Godiv, is that newer studies on the potential health benefits of vitamin D are changing and delving even deeper than before, in that they are looking more specifically at what vitamin D is actually doing in the body when supplemented at the proper dose that will bring your 25 OH d level well up into the reference range. Keeping in mind that the acceptable range for 25 OH d is 30~100 ng /ml, that is a wide range and doctors are generally happy if you are 30 ng/ml or slightly above 30, but what the study that I originally linked to implied is that more could possibly have more healthful effects. I was talking to my doctor this week and he told me that aiming for 60 to 70 ng/ml may be more optimal than just aiming to get to 30 ng/ml. I like my doctors because they try to stay up to date with studies. Some doctors consider it fine at 30 or just above, but newer studies, which many doctors do not have time to read, are showing benefit of possibly increasing dosing levels to push your 25 OH d level higher into the reference range.
In this new study (February, 2022) it is shown that people who get Covid-19 and are in a high risk group, such as being 60 years old or older, were at higher risk for mortality if their vitamin D level was very low:
>>> ' We found that in COVID-19 infection, when old age as risk factor (60 years of age or older) was pooled with risk factors (cancer, diabetes and/or COPD), the VD levels were significantly lower in the patient group, in which the patients did not survive. ' <<<
In the above study, being vitamin D sufficient showed potential to help you survive Covid-19 if you had the risk factor of age plus another risk factor at play. In the study I linked to in the original post to this thread, vitamin D showed that it can lower multiple inflammatory mediators associated with many diseases including PD. Vitamin D has health value if we choose to utilize it as part of our health regimen.
Part of the consideration is what risks does having your 25 OH d level in the upper half of the reference range pose to us and the answer for the great majority of people is none. I liked my doctor's advice this week and he offered to contact my primary and ask him to test my 25 OH d level to see where I am at now to get an idea of how much more vitamin D I need to take to get to that 60 ~ 70 ng/ml area. My thinking is that the risk of being in that range is just about nil, while studies suggest that there may be health benefits to be had at that range such as reduced inflammatory mediators including homocysteine reduction.
Btw, if you are anywhere in that 30 ~100 ng /ml reference range, that is considered normal. Some people simply require higher doses than others to get there. You need to ask your doctor what your 25 OH d level was on your test to see where your current supplement got you to. Vitamin D toxicity is usually related to hypercalcemia which generally occurs at significantly higher 25 OH d levels above the reference range.
Regarding B-100, yes, it is a separate type of vitamin B multi and it may not be right for you because of your specific methyl folate requirement as most B-100s usually have folic acid. There may be one out there that has that type of methyl folate, but I have not seen it.
Thank you so much for all the information. After I sent you the message, I did happen to think about the fact that often the doctors accept lower ranges, like you said. Some of us may need more definitely. So that’s wonderful information and I’m actually going to see the doctor soon. She is holistically oriented and will enjoy digging into this.OK thank you about the B vitamin.
I do also appreciate your kind of explaining things more. I think I’m getting overloaded and ye olde brain is just shutting off.
There’s so much to know and learn and, usually besides people like you who are kind enough to help, all that burden is on the patient. And this patient has a bit too much whirling around in there. Thank you again!
Yes, I agree, it can be a bit overwhelming, but it may be helpful to concentrate on one thing at a time and vitamin D seems like a great place to start by working with your doctor to get well into the reference range and you could look at this as a lifetime investment in your future health! Once you have your 25 OH d level where you want it and know the dose to maintain that level, that part of the puzzle is done and you can then consider other things that show potential to improve your quality of life and health.
Restless leg syndrome (RLS) has been discussed on this forum every now and again. According to this vitamin D/RLS review link below, it may be one more reason to consider adding vitamin D to your regimen if you suffer from RLS :
' To our knowledge this is the first review, to our knowledge, dedicated solely to evaluating the relationship between RLS and vitamin D that also presents a case for the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of RLS and a rationale for a possible add-on treatment. The merit of this review is not only to report on the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in RLS and RLS response to vitamin D supplementation, but to further characterize populations at risk for RLS within vitamin D deficiency and to predict vitamin D response among different phenotypes of RLS. '
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