Vitamin D slide

[Kevin53]

A summary

[DWalker]

Thank you Kevin

This begs the question why hasn’t the government been addressing this before as in other countries? It was known people with darker skins and older people who don’t absorb vitamin D well were / are more likely to die with COVID19.

Vitamin D deficiencies are also common in many other autoimmune conditions .

[DRunnerchick in reply to DWalker]

I think, looking at this slide and adding what I know about the other biochem reactions and contributing factors to the “cytokine storms” that occur, I just wish to add that Vitamin D is not an innocuous agent and as mentioned on the slide, see the link for more detailed information.

For instance, vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that can be stored in the body and become toxic to the point of causing neurological symptoms that rival MS and Parkinson’s. It would be dangerous and unethical to make blanket recommendations for Vitamin D supplementation especially given that obesity (fat in the gut “becomes” its own endocrine/hormone factory 😳) puts one at even higher risk for worse outcomes at any age, and is more likely to carry with it other comorbidities like diabetes/CHD/CAD.

Please, keep a critical eye and ear when you hear or read the “latest” news to come out. The research is ongoing. The virus 🦠 is evolving and there are multiple strains. It is still relatively early in this cycle of ‘Rona. Back in the ‘80s when GRID was first becoming known and was later changed to HIV/AIDS, it was YEARS before research had a breakthrough and they had a head start with other research.

Be patient. Wash your hands. Stay away from sick people. Get your flu shot. Use your noggin!🧠 Don’t expect the government (yours, mine, someone else’s) to protect you. If you’re in the USA 🇺🇸, 🗳 18 days and counting. Hopefully, our respective countries and communities will weather this wave well and greet 2021 with bells 🔔 and it will be a brighter and healthier year coming. Hope I didn’t preach too much. (It’s my public health/research showing ☺️)

D🏃🏽‍♀️

[Spanielmadlady in reply to DRunnerchick]

Excellent Drunnerchick.i was thinking to myself when I read the original post everyone will be out to buy d3 like they did with hydroxchloroquine earlier in the year.

People are so impatient they want a remedy NOW so they can get to back to their self indulgent materialistic lifestyles.well that proper remedy is a long long way off and I'm sure more will pop up in the months ahead.

I hope you are doing ok xx

[Boudica1 in reply to DRunnerchick]

Totally agree with you. People seem to think vit D is one that they can't OD on, yes it's rare but can happen when not monitored properly. There was a sad case here (UK) that came to light of a lady who was put on a loading dose by one hospital department and discharged into the care of the other departments and GPs and somehow no one realised and therefore reduce it to a maintenance dose and monitoring.

I am always very much concerned about those who self medicate because they have seen articles about vit D levels and how safe it is to take with no possibility of problems.

I've been diagnosed with vit D deficiency (very low) put on the prescribed loading dose for 3 months and then the maintenance dose and blood test monitoring every year.

Some of the people who are taking OTC d3 are taking a much higher levels than the loading dose and think they are doing the right thing and refuse to listen to anyone who is prescribed and monitored that they can be putting themselves at risk.

♥️

[Kevin53 in reply to Boudica1]

I agree. Everyone needs to check if they require. If it’s required could prove useful. Best wishes Kevin

[nanleighh in reply to Boudica1]

About 80% of people in the US have very low D levels. Even those of us in very sunny climates. I’ve been on 5000 iu per day for about 20 years. And my level is just now normal after changing to a vitamin D suspended in olive oil. So most people here should be supplemented. I wish you all good health.

[DWalker in reply to DRunnerchick]

Thank you DRunnerchick

Re my original comments, coincidentally Matt Hancock stated on 15 Oct that the government will now be advising the public to take Vit D supplements to boost their potential resilience to COVID19 in the light of considerable increasing evidence .

Taking Vit D supplements to bring up to optimal blood levels required naturally is not comparable to self medicating with pharmaceuticals.

Vit D3 has been fighting viruses and other microbes for 500 million years, medicine is not going to better it - See Professor Peter Cobbold ( 2 October 2020: bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m37... Of course caution should be taken as with any supplementation and there are risks with high doses of Vit D but these are rare.

I would strongly advocate seeking GP advice wherever possible and if the response is not to test for Vit D levels in the blood and just self supplement, seek advice from pharmacists especially re Vit D supplementation levels , interactions ( esp with calcium ) , current health status ( including obesity ) and effectiveness of different types of Vit D supplements. Unfortunately GP’s are these days less likely to agree to check blood levels following supplementation (although this can of course be done privately ).

It is also advisable to have levels of other micronutrients checked if possible.

And of course follow government guidelines re hand washing, wearing face masks, social distancing etc etc.

NB Pharmaceutical companies stand to lose out considerably if the public improve their health and particularly their immune status by considered supplementation .

They are also more likely to fund research on the more profitable pharmaceuticals and vaccines

( NBThe chief scientific officer to the Government advising on vaccines holds £600000 worth of shares in GSK who have been contracted by the Government to make UK ‘s Coronavirus vaccines .)

[Kevin53 in reply to DWalker]

And the chief medical officer “As a researcher, Professor Whitty was awarded $40million (£31mn) by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for malaria research.”

[DRunnerchick in reply to DWalker]

DWalker,

Thank you for your response. In reviewing the the latest recommendation from your government by Matt Hancock (I don’t have a dog in this fight so I tread lightly, only from a scientific POV), his only connection to medicine is he’s married to an osteopath. He’s waffled on the issue no less than 4 times and only when pressured from a slew of MP and a study from Spain (1 study) that shows 50,000iu IV (not oral supplementation) “could” help fight SARS-CoV-2, did he make the recommendation, hoping it would reduce costs ultimately to the NHS.

I am not in disagreement with Vit D fighting what ails you for millennia. Our bodies are equipped to make it with sunlight 🌞but we no longer go outside (lupies excluded) as a society, in our busy lives. We have become sedentary and overweight/obese. We slather on sunscreen, which makes sure we never get any vit D , when just 15 mins a day would give the average person all they need and not raise their rate for skin cancer. Those who are mothers, think back to your babies who had a touch of jaundice. Treatment is to put them is sunlight (bili lights in the hospital just cost more and are in a controlled environment).

The BMJ link by Prof. Peter Cobbold, is an editorial letter, first off, not a research study. He may be right is his premise, but once again it is based on clinical setting filled by access to follow up care. Do you all have that now? Is that what Hancock is proposing or is he practicing medicine without a license and we’ll find out later he has stock in a supplement company (sorry, basing it off our politics...can’t say about yours but I did read that’s he’s had a few tussles so...)

So, back so what I said about using a critical eye/ear. I have a 1:million disease plus comorbidities. I am a scientist first and have to be careful about everything and not jump on the first party float that comes through. MY government is only out there to save there bum and has waffled so many times, I think 🤔 maybe up to infinity.

The reality is, the science of this virus is new, evolving and some of it is slipshod case studies that have confounding factors, and if you don’t have a keen eye, you will miss the problems.

I, Personally, take 5000iu VitD3 3x/week that is prescribed by my GP and monitored accordingly. That is what it takes for me to maintain levels in the ~35 ng/ml range. It was a matter of experimentation. I was low at 19 and took it everyday for 3 months and it came up to normal range. I live in the PNW get a lot of 🌧. I’ve been on this regimen for 2 years. (I also take COQ10, Vitamins B2, B12, magnesium, calcium and zinc- all prescribed by GP & Neuro). My journey has taken 5 years to find the right diagnosis, deficiencies, and I’m still in process. It is a patience game.

Unfortunately, with the current pandemic, we have news cycle 24/7 latching onto sound bites of one thing that has yet to be verified by a second or third study with the standard number of patient controls. And then you have healthcare systems buckling under the strain, not just financially, but the rate of burn out amongst staff is at an all time high. Economic costs are incalculable, as are the mental health costs on every one touched by the roller coaster of events.

We must be patient and do what we know to do now! What your hands. Wear a mask when out. Use good judgment always. Do not grow weary in well doing🌼 The reward comes at the end of battle if you don’t give up.

D🏃🏽‍♀️

[nanleighh]

I know the ranges. I’ve been a nurse for 40 years and I’ve never seen a level in the risky range, almost everyone supplements here because a large majority of people here are deficient despite vitamin D added to many food and dairy products. Have a nice day.

[Kevin53 in reply to nanleighh]

Many thanks

[Kevin53]

Everyone should discuss this with their clinician. Far too many have insufficient and it’s important that these people are aware that there is a solution. Best wishes Kevin

[nanleighh]

I was the triage nurse and relayed all the levels to the patients. We tested all patients at their yearly exam. I would say about 85% of them took supplements from 2000 to 5000 IU’s a day. Here they relay all the blood test to patients. We have access to go right into the laboratory and get them. Also there’s a portal at the doctors office where you can get your labs and your doctors notes. Take care.