covid 19 and vitamin D

[headdog47]

I am 73 years old, diabetic, high blood pressure, lost gall bladder from gangrene, anemic and have spots on my liver due to supposedly some unknown infection. I also caught covid 19 this summer. I got it from my son who thought that he had killed me. However, my symptoms were none or very light. I had a mild headache which could have been from watching too much tv while in quarantine and fatigue which could have been from the anemia. I tell you this to emphasize that I am not a paragon of health. The reason I am telling you this is that I believe that the vitamin D that I take made the difference. Three years ago my endocrinologist found that I had low Vit D levels and prescribed a massive dose of Vit D. A few months later she put me on over the counter Vit D. My levels of Vit D went to over 40 where the normal should be above 20. I have looked up studies from different places which suggest that Vit D is very helpful in helping deal with the virus. One study from Indonesia showed that survival from the virus increased dramatically with increased vit. D.

So if you are worried about the virus make sure that your vit D. level is above 40. Maybe we should fortify beer and anything we can like we fortify milk and head to the bars after we get our vit. D levels up. Right now I think that I am immune to the virus for a while at least.

 

[chroix]

You are my new go to for health advice.

 

[headdog47]

You are my new go to for health advice.

Well you can take your chances since I am not a MD. However, the MD's are all over the place as well. I just know this worked for me.

 

[FUMods]

Vita D may help (see research) and won't hurt (in normal dosages/circumstances). Lots of folks take it in the winter due to lack of exposure to sunlight (which is a great source of D).

IIRC Fauci himself stated he was taking 10x the USRDA of D (can't find the source... so don't quote me lol).

Why not?

 

[BlueBallz_rivals30790]

Vitamin D is something you never know unless you get bloodwork. I had no idea, then found my levels were at about 14. They gave me a prescription that jacked it back up to normal levels and I could tell with my energy levels it was making a difference. Now I take two OTC tablets a day at the highest does which keeps it in check. For some reason, I just have low levels of it naturally.

 

[vhcat70]

I am 73 years old, diabetic, high blood pressure, lost gall bladder from gangrene, anemic and have spots on my liver due to supposedly some unknown infection. I also caught covid 19 this summer. I got it from my son who thought that he had killed me. However, my symptoms were none or very light. I had a mild headache which could have been from watching too much tv while in quarantine and fatigue which could have been from the anemia. I tell you this to emphasize that I am not a paragon of health. The reason I am telling you this is that I believe that the vitamin D that I take made the difference. Three years ago my endocrinologist found that I had low Vit D levels and prescribed a massive dose of Vit D. A few months later she put me on over the counter Vit D. My levels of Vit D went to over 40 where the normal should be above 20. I have looked up studies from different places which suggest that Vit D is very helpful in helping deal with the virus. One study from Indonesia showed that survival from the virus increased dramatically with increased vit. D.

So if you are worried about the virus make sure that your vit D. level is above 40. Maybe we should fortify beer and anything we can like we fortify milk and head to the bars after we get our vit. D levels up. Right now I think that I am immune to the virus for a while at least.

My septuagenarian silver mult-vit contains 600 ID. Or is it IUD?

 

[FUMods]

Vitamin D is something you never know unless you get bloodwork.

This is the correct answer.

 

[funKYcat75]

I give the wife a prescription dose of the D. She seems to be doing fine.

 

[rudd1]

-gotta couple of couches, sleep on the love seat.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

A lot of us are going to be working from home, and while it's winter and cold, you should get outside for a walk at least a few times a week. Studies show that this is the best way to increase Vitamin D, along with diet. Taking Vitamin D supplments is better than nothing, but supposedly pales in comparison.

 

[Rebelfreedomeagle]

Got the fam covered.

 

[jameslee32]

Your winter friend.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

A lot of us are going to be working from home, and while it's winter and cold, you should get outside for a walk at least a few times a week. Studies show that this is the best way to increase Vitamin D, along with diet. Taking Vitamin D supplments is better than nothing, but supposedly pales in comparison.

Unless you live in the deep south or southwest, getting outside and taking walks isn't enough in winter.

One, you'll probably be wearing lots of clothing that covers your skin, blocking UV. If you're taking walks in winter while wearing shorts and no shirt, then you're probably taking too much meth.

Two, with the sun so low in the sky, the UV isn't sufficiently strong to lead to your skin creating vit D.

That's why supplements are MORE needed in winter than in summer.

 

[TurnipDaBeet]

D-C-Z

& a REALLY good multivitamine

 

[Rebelfreedomeagle]

I need to find out if this $3,495 hair restoring , well, hair growth supporting cap can crank out some D.

You know you want one.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

I need to find out if this $3,495 hair restoring , well, hair growth supporting cap can crank out some D.

You know you want one.

Those might be the best worst commercials on TV. They're charging thousands for a baseball cap with LED lights inside it. And the doctor is a real doctor who gives his real name. He has no shame whatsoever.

 

[TheBlueCat]

A buddy of mine and his wife had it back in April. She takes Vitamin D pills daily, he doesn't. His symptoms were significantly worse.

 

[KyFaninNC]

You are my new go to for health advice.

Just hope you live as long as he has.
You POS.

 

[stereonut]

Your winter friend.

That is the dosage I take every day, year round.

 

[UK_fanatic_rivals113853]

 

[catlanta33]

Our best weapon against an unknown virus would be our immune system.

Coddle that *****. Feed it drugs, sun, sleep and exercise.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Unless you live in the deep south or southwest, getting outside and taking walks isn't enough in winter.

One, you'll probably be wearing lots of clothing that covers your skin, blocking UV. If you're taking walks in winter while wearing shorts and no shirt, then you're probably taking too much meth.

Two, with the sun so low in the sky, the UV isn't sufficiently strong to lead to your skin creating vit D.

That's why supplements are MORE needed in winter than in summer.

Yeah I kinda forgot about the cold and bundling up. But still, even up in the Adirondacks.. you can still get outside a lot of winter days. I just don't know enough about absorption rates.

Really though, take a supplement if you need to.. but actually eating foods with Vitamin D is way better.

 

[Col. Angus]

OP takes the D and beats the rona.

Noted.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

Yeah I kinda forgot about the cold and bundling up. But still, even up in the Adirondacks.. you can still get outside a lot of winter days. I just don't know enough about absorption rates.

Really though, take a supplement if you need to.. but actually eating foods with Vitamin D is way better.

So which foods should one eat to get 2000IU of vit D per day?

 

[LineSkiCat14]

So which foods should one eat to get 2000IU of vit D per day?

Uh, why 2,000 IU?

You could quite easily get to the 600 IU with some fish, dairy, cereals and mushrooms. Admittedly, not the friendliest list of foods for the picky eater.

But still, the best way to hit your vitamin and mineral marks is naturally. If it's something that's hard to find in food (like turmeric) or if you have a condition that requires additional intake, sure take a supplement.

We did just fine as a species getting our Vitamin D through diet, though. And there's plenty of studies out there that debunk the "must take vitamin X" myths.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

Why 2000IU? Because that's what many people need, at a minimum, to get/keep sufficient levels, especially in the winter in North America.

600 IU is an old recommendation and isn't nearly sufficient for many people. And even then, 600 IU is difficult to hit with diet alone.

Cereals? Dairy? Uhm, the vit D they do have is largely due to supplementation, so how is that any different than taking a vit D supplement?

We did just fine as a species with getting our Vit D through SUNLIGHT, not through diet. But in modern times, with people living farther from the equator than in ancient history AND people spending far less time outdoors (office jobs instead of hunting, gathering, or farming), it's hard to get Vit D through sunlight.

As for studies, please share some that show vit D supplementation isn't needed and that we can easily get enough through diet or through sunlight exposure in the winter.

 

[Col. Angus]

 

[LineSkiCat14]

Why 2000IU? Because that's what many people need, at a minimum, to get/keep sufficient levels, especially in the winter in North America.

600 IU is an old recommendation and isn't nearly sufficient for many people. And even then, 600 IU is difficult to hit with diet alone.

Cereals? Dairy? Uhm, the vit D they do have is largely due to supplementation, so how is that any different than taking a vit D supplement?

We did just fine as a species with getting our Vit D through SUNLIGHT, not through diet. But in modern times, with people living farther from the equator than in ancient history AND people spending far less time outdoors (office jobs instead of hunting, gathering, or farming), it's hard to get Vit D through sunlight.

As for studies, please share some that show vit D supplementation isn't needed and that we can easily get enough through diet or through sunlight exposure in the winter.

News to me. I was always under the impression it was 600 to 1000iu for daily value. And no, 600 isn't that difficult to hit with diet alone, at least for someone who values a good diet. Yeah, if you eat fried foods every day, maybe Vitamin D is hard to come by. Haven't seen anything to insinuate that 600 is some antiquated standard..

People have lived in the US northeast for over 400 years. Other societies have lived in colder temps for over 1,000 year. How did they do it?

It's not so much that Vitamin D, specifically, is a hoax. And I don't necessarily think it is.. it's just that the Vitamin craze STILL remains under scrutiny: is this just sales? Do we really need 2,000IU of such and such? Where are the studies that say x-amount of vitamin-y has done anything? It's a lot of speculation.

https://khn.org/news/how-michael-holick-sold-america-on-vitamin-d-and-profited/

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20190426/is-vitamin-d-hype-wishful-thinking

Hard to find any article about a vitamin these days, without COVID attached to it. But they're there (the ones thet debunk supplemental V-D). I took V-D myself for years, same reason you did. But it just didn't do much for me. Stopped for months and noticed no difference.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

News to me. I was always under the impression it was 600 to 1000iu for daily value. And no, 600 isn't that difficult to hit with diet alone, at least for someone who values a good diet. Yeah, if you eat fried foods every day, maybe Vitamin D is hard to come by. Haven't seen anything to insinuate that 600 is some antiquated standard..

"Good diet?" You haven't shown many foods that have anywhere near the (old) recommended daily amount of vit D. So even people with a "good diet" frequently don't get enough vit D. There's a reason that dairy and cereals are fortified.

Even then, it's frequently not enough to get to 600 IU daily.

People have lived in the US northeast for over 400 years. Other societies have lived in colder temps for over 1,000 year. How did they do it?

They did it by surviving despite likely being mildly to moderately vit D deficient. Lots of people around the world live with vitamin deficiencies. They aren't always obvious, even over decades. This is especially true for vit D.

It's not so much that Vitamin D, specifically, is a hoax. And I don't necessarily think it is.. it's just that the Vitamin craze STILL remains under scrutiny: is this just sales? Do we really need 2,000IU of such and such? Where are the studies that say x-amount of vitamin-y has done anything? It's a lot of speculation.

https://khn.org/news/how-michael-holick-sold-america-on-vitamin-d-and-profited/

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/news/20190426/is-vitamin-d-hype-wishful-thinking

Hard to find any article about a vitamin these days, without COVID attached to it. But they're there (the ones thet debunk supplemental V-D). I took V-D myself for years, same reason you did. But it just didn't do much for me. Stopped for months and noticed no difference.

I agree that there's still a lot not understood about vit D, its function, and how much is needed, and why certain people respond quickly to supplementation (their blood levels increase rapidly when given vit D supplements), while other people can be given the same supplements and their blood levels do NOT respond.

That's all a separate issue from your earlier incorrect claims.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

For what it's worth, I've had my levels tested many times over the years. Even with a very good diet, my levels were always low. On multiple occasions I was prescribed RX levels of Vit D to get my levels up, but they still didn't change much. I started 1000 IU daily and still had low levels. Now I'm doing 2000 IU daily, and my blood levels went from always low to just barely above the minimum recommended levels. But even the recommended blood levels aren't universally agreed upon.

 

[LineSkiCat14]

"Good diet?" You haven't shown many foods that have anywhere near the (old) recommended daily amount of vit D. So even people with a "good diet" frequently don't get enough vit D. There's a reason that dairy and cereals are fortified.

Even then, it's frequently not enough to get to 600 IU daily.



They did it by surviving despite likely being mildly to moderately vit D deficient. Lots of people around the world live with vitamin deficiencies. They aren't always obvious, even over decades. This is especially true for vit D.



I agree that there's still a lot not understood about vit D, its function, and how much is needed, and why certain people respond quickly to supplementation (their blood levels increase rapidly when given vit D supplements), while other people can be given the same supplements and their blood levels do NOT respond.

That's all a separate issue from your earlier incorrect claims.

I mean, a lot of fish is several hundred IU. Salmon hits the 6-700 mark alone (the link below has it at 500). But I will admit, again, it's not the easiest diet to do EVERY day. But society has been fine without Vitamin D supplements.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/9-foods-high-in-vitamin-d

That's cool, you watched an episode of Dr Phil and bought a ton of Dr Phils Vitamin D supplements. Nothing wrong with that. I posted the articles.. there's countless outhers. Taking a lot of these vitamins is no more than "hedging the bet" as I would say.

Not to mention, the risks of taking too much of a vitamin (#2 is very common):

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-side-effects#2.-Elevated-blood-calcium-levels

 

[LineSkiCat14]

For what it's worth, I've had my levels tested many times over the years. Even with a very good diet, my levels were always low. On multiple occasions I was prescribed RX levels of Vit D to get my levels up, but they still didn't change much. I started 1000 IU daily and still had low levels. Now I'm doing 2000 IU daily, and my blood levels went from always low to just barely above the minimum recommended levels. But even the recommended blood levels aren't universally agreed upon.

Well then you're a special case. That's an entirely different story. Some people are V-D deficient .And by the way, I hope it cures what your ailment is.

But to say 2,000IU is the recommended level is false.

 

[Ahnan E. Muss]

My case isn't at all uncommon. It might not be the majority, but it's quite prevalent.

"Some people are vit D deficient?"

The estimated percentage of the population with a vitamin D deficiency varies based on the threshold used to define a deficiency.

Percentage of US population	Definition of insufficiency	Study	Reference
69.5%	25(OH)D less than 30 ng/mL	Chowdury et al. 2014	[70]
77%	25(OH)D less than 30 ng/mL	Ginde et al. 2009	[71]
36%	25(OH)D less than 20 ng/mL	Ginde et al. 2009	[71]
6%	25(OH)D less than 10 ng/mL	Ginde et al. 2009	[71]

Recommendations for 25(OH)D serum levels vary across authorities, and probably vary based on factors like age; calculations for the epidemiology of vitamin D deficiency depend on the recommended level used.[72]

A 2011 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report set the sufficiency level at 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/l), while in the same year The Endocrine Society defined sufficient serum levels at 30 ng/ml and others have set the level as high as 60 ng/ml.[73] As of 2011 most reference labs used the 30 ng/ml standard.[54][73][74]:435

Applying the IOM standard to NHANES data on serum levels, for the period from 1988 to 1994 22% of the US population was deficient, and 36% were deficient for the period between 2001 and 2004; applying the Endocrine Society standard, 55% of the US population was deficient between 1988 and 1994, and 77% were deficient for the period between 2001 and 2004.[73]

In 2011 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention applied the IOM standard to NHANES data on serum levels collected between 2001 and 2006, and determined that 32% of Americans were deficient during that period (8% at risk of deficiency, and 24% at risk of inadequacy).[73][75]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D_deficiency

For more info,
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

 

[Deeeefense]

There is some evidence that Vitamin D, Vitamin C, zinc, and garlic all boast the immune system and may help moderate the symptoms of COVID if you catch it. Also exercise is really important, even if it's just walking, it boosts the immune system.

Glad to hear of your positive outcome

 

[shockdaddy19]

This is one of the things I don’t understand about any of “leader’s” responses to Covid....there’s no talk about personal health. Obese people struggle with it, yet let’s promote a sedentary liifestyle and heavily restrict any activity in which people can actually burn calories. But I also live nextdoor to a pediatric cardiologist who is not only obese himself, but so are his wife and kids. Which is entirely different conversation about the nutritional/dietary education that our doctors don’t get.

Under normal times, I travel extensively for work. Zinc, Vitamin C, D and a multi vitamin daily...i’ve been taking this for years. I don’t get sick. Everyone should be doing this to some degree.

 

[bluthruandthru]

This is one of the things I don’t understand about any of “leader’s” responses to Covid....there’s no talk about personal health. Obese people struggle with it, yet let’s promote a sedentary liifestyle and heavily restrict any activity in which people can actually burn calories. But I also live nextdoor to a pediatric cardiologist who is not only obese himself, but so are his wife and kids. Which is entirely different conversation about the nutritional/dietary education that our doctors don’t get.

Under normal times, I travel extensively for work. Zinc, Vitamin C, D and a multi vitamin daily...i’ve been taking this for years. I don’t get sick. Everyone should be doing this to some degree.

Preventing disease by promoting healthy lifestyle choices? Not on my watch.

Mask up, hide out and wait until we give you the magic pills/injections. Don't try to be a hero and take responsibility for yourself.

 

[Col. Angus]

Got me some D3 today. Thanks a lot, ********.