Vitamin D and Covid-19

[1crb1]

Fauci takes 6000IU if that’s anything to go by

 

[iamsludge]

I only ask as some were mentioning 3-4000U earlier in the thread. I've got 3000U and hopefully I won't have overdosed before I get inoculated.

I’ve been taking 3,000IU daily for the past 2 years and no issues. So since long before Covid reared it’s head.

The capsule I take has 3000IU Vitamin D3 and 100 IU of Vitamin K2.
As has been mentioned, VitD can cause increased blood calcium, and this is what the K2 addresses (keeps calcium where it should be : in the bones).

My elderly mother (aged over 80) also takes it but she takes it every other day.

They do give it in hospitals in doses of 60,000IU. VitaminD is converted by the body into Calcifediol but that process takes 7 days, so some ICU go straight to giving Calcifediol.

 

[goingoingong]

I’ve been taking 3,000IU daily for the past 2 years and no issues. So since long before Covid reared it’s head.

The capsule I take has 3000IU Vitamin D3 and 100 IU of Vitamin K2.
As has been mentioned, VitD can cause increased blood calcium, and this is what the K2 addresses (keeps calcium where it should be : in the bones).

My elderly mother (aged over 80) also takes it but she takes it every other day.

They do give it in hospitals in doses of 60,000IU. VitaminD is converted by the body into Calcifediol but that process takes 7 days, so some ICU go straight to giving Calcifediol.

Although that is for severe deficiency, and isn't given everyday....
Contrast with Vit D levels generated naturally via exposure to the sun.

It should be mentioned here that sunbathing can produce vitamin D doses equivalent to an oral vitamin D intake of up to 20,000 IU/day and in healthy subjects who spent prolonged periods in a sunny environment, measured 25(OH) D concentrations rarely exceed 250 nmol/L, suggesting that this level may be considered a safe upper limit for serum 25(OH)D levels.
Vitamin D Deficiency

Main outcome measures:
Sun exposure times to produce either serum vitamin D concentrations equivalent to an oral intake of 200–600 IU/day or erythema for people aged 19–50 years with fair skin (Fitzpatrick type II skin) exposing 15% of the body.
Results:
In January, across Australia, 2–14 minutes of sun three to four times per week at 12:00 is sufficient to ensure recommended vitamin D production in fair‐skinned people with 15% of the body exposed. However, erythema can occur in as little as 8 minutes. By contrast, at 10:00 and 15:00, there is a greater difference between exposure time to produce erythema and that to produce recommended vitamin D levels, thereby reducing the risk of sunburn from overexposure.
Estimates of beneficial and harmful sun exposure times during the year for major Australian population centres

 

[goingoingong]

I only ask as some were mentioning 3-4000U earlier in the thread. I've got 3000U and hopefully I won't have overdosed before I get inoculated.

If you're back of the Q for vaccine bear in mind that come May through to September that 3000iu plus even quite short sun exposure times would be enough to possibly push your daily Vit D intake higher than you think (if not using sunscreen). See my post above.

So just like putting summer duvets on beds, perhaps best switch to summer Vit D pills....
A rule of thumb to remind you When using duvet
13.5 tog = 3,000iu
4.5 tog = none or 400iu.

Think once, think twice.
Think what duvet am I using? before popping the pill

 

[realfrankturner]

I've taken one tablet of 2000iu for last two years.

 

[Miss Mandy]

Last year it was recommended to me to take vitamin C and D tablets, but how do you know that what you're buying is what the label says? It used to be that they weren't regulated, but has that changed now?

 

[realfrankturner]

I would take just a multi vitamin if you need vitamin C, be better wouldn't it? As can get other benefits too if you are unknowingly low on something else.

 

[IronGiant]

Last year it was recommended to me to take vitamin C and D tablets, but how do you know that what you're buying is what the label says? It used to be that they weren't regulated, but has that changed now?

I bought mine from a High Street Pharmacy in the hope that they use a reputable supplier.

 

[realfrankturner]

I use dodgy Amazon sellers, never know wtf you get from there

Amazon product

 

[Miss Mandy]

I would take just a multi vitamin if you need vitamin C, be better wouldn't it? As can get other benefits too if you are unknowingly low on something else.

Yeah, possibly. The vit C was recommended as it's supposed to be good for preventing common colds. I work in a school so usually get a couple of colds a year.

I bought mine from a High Street Pharmacy in the hope that they use a reputable supplier.

Trying to avoid going into shops if I can at the moment, but may give them a ring and see what they sell.

 

[richp007]

Trying to avoid going into shops if I can at the moment, but may give them a ring and see what they sell.

Don't Hollands & Barrett take orders online and deliver? I expect they'd be a very good place to source some Vitamin D.

 

[Miss Mandy]

Don't Hollands & Barrett take orders online and deliver? I expect they'd be a very good place to source some Vitamin D.

Good shout, I didn't think of H&B so I'll check the website.

 

[realfrankturner]

H&B have the penny sale on right now too.

 

[1crb1]

Don't Hollands & Barrett take orders online and deliver? I expect they'd be a very good place to source some Vitamin D.

H&B deliver and do the better you range of vitamins that are sprays. They do Vit D with K2 (but only 1000IU of Vit D)
And Vit D in 1000, 3000 and 4000 IU I spray form.
The sprays are great as they enter you system quickly and are better for people with sensitive stomachs.
They also do Multi vitamin sprays

 

[IronGiant]

1000,3000

That's rather a high dose

 

[Scaletail]

Im quite confused as to what the best dosage of vit D is. There seems to be a lot of differing opinions. I worry about side effects of too much. Primarily kidney issues. But I take it anyway.
Incidentally, I never buy anything edible from Amazon.There may be counterfeit goods on sale there. The company is too big to effectively regulate third party sellers. Risking an iffy electrical item is one thing, ingesting a fake is another. I imagine most items are legit, but some may not be. I once purchased some beer. Out of interest, I researched the supplier. They had no idea why Amazon were listing them as the supplier.
When I pointed this out to Amazon, they withdrew the supplier. info
Amazon had no idea who the genuine supplier was!?

 

[jamieu]

According to a new paper in the BMJ it's now looking like those early studies were probably over egging the benefits, at least for people with European ancestry.

No evidence that vitamin D is able to prevent or affect the severity of COVID-19 in individuals with European ancestry: a Mendelian randomisation study of open data | BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health

On the other hand there doesn't seem to be major issues with taken a sensible dose of Vitamin D either and I expect we've all been stuck indoor this year more than usual.

 

[tapzilla2k]

I take a vitamin D tablet every other day, I'm a bit wary of taking too much. I'm not getting much exposure to daylight so It's probably of some benefit.

 

[iamsludge]

According to a new paper in the BMJ it's now looking like those early studies were probably over egging the benefits, at least for people with European ancestry.
.

I would say your analysis is wrong. The paper states that they didn’t find evidence that VitD can prevent or affect the severity of Covid-19.

Firstly, nobody anywhere is saying it can prevent covid-19.

Secondly, many studies are indicating correlation between low VitD and Covid-19 severity . Correlation, not causation.

It is known that VitD had major benefits for our immune systems and is effectively non-toxic for the vast majority of people so it’s a bit of a no-brainer to try and put yourself in the category of people shown over and over to be less likely to have severe covid symptoms.

The NHS guideline is that 4,000 IU daily is safe. Many, including doctors and big pharma are obviously against any kind of supplements as they don’t make them any money.

Note “Over 200 Scientists & Doctors Call For Increased Vitamin D Use To Combat COVID-19”:

#VitaminDforAll: Over 200 Scientists and Doctors Call For Vitamin D To Combat COVID19

Over 200 Scientists and Doctors Call For Increased Vitamin D Use To Combat COVID-19

vitamindforall.org

You can see what each doctor/scientist believes is a good daily dose and what they themselves take personally.

 

[SteveAWOL]

 

[acatweasel]

Interesting that two studies have no shown no correlation between circulation Vit D levels and COVID resistance, despite being habitual users. More research on other correlations required methinks.

 

[iamsludge]

Interesting that two studies have no shown no correlation between circulation Vit D levels and COVID resistance, despite being habitual users. More research on other correlations required methinks.

“Our findings suggest that habitual use of vitamin D supplements is related to a lower risk of COVID-19 infection”.

Personally I suspect that many people habitually take a very small dose in a multi-vitamin, and that likely has little or less effect. Those taking a significant dose, enough to raise them out of the “low vitamin d” bracket, probably reap the benefit.

Basically there is a big difference between me taking 3000 IU a day compared to my father in law who gets 300 IU in his daily multi-vitamin.

 

[acatweasel]

“Our findings suggest that habitual use of vitamin D supplements is related to a lower risk of COVID-19 infection”.

Personally I suspect that many people habitually take a very small dose in a multi-vitamin, and that likely has little or less effect. Those taking a significant dose, enough to raise them out of the “low vitamin d” bracket, probably reap the benefit.

Basically there is a big difference between me taking 3000 IU a day compared to my father in law who gets 300 IU in his daily multi-vitamin.

Full quote from the conclusions:

“Our findings suggest that habitual use of vitamin D supplements is related to a lower risk of COVID-19 infection, although we cannot rule out the possibility that the inverse association is due to residual confounding or selection bias”.

This one from the discussion text:
“The association between the use of vitamin D supplements and the risk of COVID-19 infection did not vary according to the different levels of circulating or genetically predicted vitamin D.”

Without explanation of the mechanism, it’s the “correlation is not causation” argument.

The suggestion that “extra” vitamins help has usually been found to be incorrect. If you are getting what you need, often your body stores the rest for hard times. In this case in your fatty tissues.

I‘m not suggesting for one minute that Vit D doesn’t have an important role in immunity. We know it does, so make sure you have it covered, particularly in these days of not getting any sunshine. Just don‘t overdo it.

 

[1crb1]

Remember, Zinc and K2 is equally important.

 

[iamsludge]

Good post. However there’s really not much chance of overdoing it.
Some doctors and professors take 6,00 or 7,000 IU daily.

The danger of toxicity with VitaminD is calcium build-up, and that is why larger doses are usually combined with K2.

Also VitaminD is a bit different to other vitamins, in that it isn’t a vitamin at all, it’s a hormone, so I would not draw parallels to other “vitamins”.