New Study on Vitamin D and COVID

[daylatedollarshort]

Interestingly, vitamin D has been found to help prevent as well as treat sunburn -

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170706125020.htm

 

[Mmm Rrr]

And post menopause it's pretty low.

The year I was diagnosed, I had such a tan I expected my doctor to admonish me for not using enough sunscreen... instead she told me to start taking a supplement!

 

[Aerides]

(I tested low and questioned it since I am outside for more than an hour every day with exposed arms, face and legs. )

ditto, and I've been this way for a couple years, still in peri.

 

[Mr. Tightwad]

Our ability to absorb vit. D through sunshine is reduced as we age, according to my doctor. And post menopause it's pretty low. (I tested low and questioned it since I am outside for more than an hour every day with exposed arms, face and legs. ) On the other hand - when the study came out saying breast fed babies might have vit. d deficiencies (formula has vit d added). I asked the pediatrician... she laughed and said that was only an issue for babies born in cold climates in the winter.... she'd NEVER seen it as an issue in San Diego. She said babies have no problem getting vit D from sunshine *if* they go outside without being completely bundled.

I take my supplements since I'm menopausal.

You have to be outside between 9am and 3pm to get the UVB rays. Otherwise vitamin D can't be produced. If your morning walk is what you are referring to that is too early to increase your D levels.

 

[Sunset]

This thread is a much-needed reminder that I need to go ahead and order some supplemental D3. I'm one of those types that doesn't get nearly enough sunshine (I burn pretty easily and want to avoid the inevitable skin damage that comes from UV exposure), so it wouldn't surprise me at all if my serum D3 levels were on the very low end. Thinking I'll take 5,000 IU every other day, along with 100µg of K2.

You might be planning to take too much which is harmful.

I was deficient last year, so doc told me to take some. This is while I was taking the daily vitamin.

I still take a daily vitamin which has 500 IU of D3, plus I take a separate D3 of 2,000 UI.
So daily I take 2,500 UI in total, and I moved from deficient to within the normal range.
I do also once in a while go for a 20 minute walk and don't wear sunscreen, but do wear a hat. I think I get most of my vitamin D from the pills.

 

[rodi]

You have to be outside between 9am and 3pm to get the UVB rays. Otherwise vitamin D can't be produced. If your morning walk is what you are referring to that is too early to increase your D levels.

Wasn't counting the morning walk - usually marine layer would block the sun. In the winter the sun isn't even up when I get there.

 

[Blueskies123]

You hit the nail on the head. It's inexpensive and free with the sunshine. No wonder the media doesn't mention it much. Who is going to pay to advertise 'Free Vitamin D'.

I see several posts about getting free vitamin D from sunshine. I live in South Florida and my vitamin D was very low even though I thought I was getting enough sunshine and my diet was very good. If you are in you 50s or 60s you could have very low vitamin D levels even if you get sunshine.
By the way, sunshine can cause skin cancer, especially for blond or red heads.

 

[jimbee]

If you are in you 50s or 60s you could have very low vitamin D levels even if you get sunshine.

Yep.

 

[audreyh1]

I see several posts about getting free vitamin D from sunshine. I live in South Florida and my vitamin D was very low even though I thought I was getting enough sunshine and my diet was very good. If you are in you 50s or 60s you could have very low vitamin D levels even if you get sunshine.
By the way, sunshine can cause skin cancer, especially for blond or red heads.

Yep - vitamin deficiencies are common as you age. Vitamin B12 is another one.

 

[RAE]

You might be planning to take too much which is harmful.

I was deficient last year, so doc told me to take some. This is while I was taking the daily vitamin.

I still take a daily vitamin which has 500 IU of D3, plus I take a separate D3 of 2,000 UI.
So daily I take 2,500 UI in total, and I moved from deficient to within the normal range.
I do also once in a while go for a 20 minute walk and don't wear sunscreen, but do wear a hat. I think I get most of my vitamin D from the pills.

There is no evidence I am aware of that taking a daily 5,000 IU Vitamin D supplement is harmful. The human body actually is capable of producing 10,000 IU in just 30 minutes of full sun exposure, so it's a pretty safe bet that taking 5,000 IU is not going to hurt you. But the best course of action is to get your blood tested for Vit. D to see where you stand.......then adjust your daily supplement dosage until you get to the level you want to be at. Some people can get to the level they want to be at with a lower daily dosage, but some will need to take a higher daily dosage.

 

[braumeister]

I try to get some sunshine every day during the middle of the day, and I confess I do it largely for this reason. I also take a supplement (they're such tiny pills that it's easy to throw one in with the multivitamin).

My levels have fluctuated between 50 and 70 for the last few years so I think I'm doing well in this regard.

Unfortunately, like some others here, I basically lived at the beach every summer during my first 20 years, so I got way, way too much sun back then. I'm paying for it now with annual dermatologist visits and thin, easily bruised skin on my forearms. So I have to limit my sun exposure but Vitamin D supplements are cheap, easily available, and seem like a no-brainer especially for us older folk.

 

[Aerides]

I think the important thing is, one can't be all "welp I get a lot of sun I'm good!" because, yeah... it just doesn't always correlate.

Get your blood work done, find out, and adjust if needed.

 

[jollystomper]

This is what my annual physical report says regarding Vitamin D levels:

Vitamin D deficiency has been defined by the Institute of Medicine and an Endocrine Society practice guideline as a level of serum 25-OH vitamin D less than 20 ng/mL (1,2). The Endocrine Society went on to further define vitamin D insufficiency as a level between 21 and 29 ng/mL (2).

1. IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2010. Dietary reference intakes for calcium and D. Washington DC: The National Academies Press.

2. Holick MF, Binkley NC, Bischoff-Ferrari HA, et al. Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: an Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. JCEM. 2011 Jul; 96(7):1911-30.

I am not Vitamin D deficient, but without supplements tend towards the 30-40 range. My doctor said taking a supplement (1,000 IU/day) would be fine.

In addition, medical studies have shown that people with darker skin have a reduced ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight, and thus Vitamin D levels that could be considered deficient, though some other signs of vitamin D deficiencies such as rates of fracture and osteoporosis are not seen. I have not seen the COVID vitamin D studies to see if this attribute of the patients studied was considered.

 

[Sunset]

There is no evidence I am aware of that taking a daily 5,000 IU Vitamin D supplement is harmful. The human body actually is capable of producing 10,000 IU in just 30 minutes of full sun exposure, so it's a pretty safe bet that taking 5,000 IU is not going to hurt you. But the best course of action is to get your blood tested for Vit. D to see where you stand.......then adjust your daily supplement dosage until you get to the level you want to be at. Some people can get to the level they want to be at with a lower daily dosage, but some will need to take a higher daily dosage.

Getting the blood tested is a great thing to do, especially as everyone is different.

This website says
"According to the Institute of Medicine, 4000 IU is the safe upper level of daily vitamin D intake. However, doses up to 10,000 IU have not been shown to cause toxicity in healthy individuals "

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-vitamin-d-is-too-much#section4

It also says, the problem is vitamin D builds up in the fat, and is not easily expelled, so a person can build up toxicity over time, which has damaging effects like "severe cases may eventually cause kidney failure and calcification of the arteries"

 

[RAE]

This website says
"According to the Institute of Medicine, 4000 IU is the safe upper level of daily vitamin D intake. However, doses up to 10,000 IU have not been shown to cause toxicity in healthy individuals "

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-vitamin-d-is-too-much#section4

It also says, the problem is vitamin D builds up in the fat, and is not easily expelled, so a person can build up toxicity over time, which has damaging effects like "severe cases may eventually cause kidney failure and calcification of the arteries"

Right, I am aware that extremely high doses of Vit. D can lead to toxicity. But the same website you quoted also says this:

" Intake in the range of 40,000–100,000 IU/day (10-25 times the recommended upper limit) has been linked with toxicity in humans."

My point was that 5,000 IU of Vitamin D is nowhere near the amount you would need to take daily to cause Vit. D toxicity. You'd have to take at least 8X that amount.

 

[Katsmeow]

I have been low for several years and took supplements, then when we were moving I slacked of on it and about 2 years ago I was at 12! I started doing the 5000 IU every day and when I tested a year later it was 57 so it seems to help me. Will get tested again in a few months, most likely.

 

[BigNick]

Unless fighting off a virus deplets your store of Vitamin D.

I don't think that's how Vitamin D works. Your body doesn't throw molecules of it at the virus like a supply of ammo, until it runs out. In fact it seems that nobody has a clear mechanism for why higher Vitamin D would be better for general health, other than that not absorbing enough calcium is not a good thing. https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/the-truth-about-vitamin-d-why-you-need-vitamin-d

 

[Sunset]

I have been low for several years and took supplements, then when we were moving I slacked of on it and about 2 years ago I was at 12! I started doing the 5000 IU every day and when I tested a year later it was 57 so it seems to help me. Will get tested again in a few months, most likely.

I'm curious when you get tested what the level will be and if you are still taking 5000 IU every day.
I'm wondering if it plateaus, or will show another 40 point increase.

Due to this discussion, and the AARP magazine which has an article on D3, I've decided to increase my daily dosage to 3,000 IU. To see if that raises my now normal range number a bit higher.

 

[audreyh1]

I think when it plateaus you have found your maintenance dose. It does plateau at some point, but you don’t want it to be too high.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I don't think that's how Vitamin D works. Your body doesn't throw molecules of it at the virus like a supply of ammo, until it runs out. In fact it seems that nobody has a clear mechanism for why higher Vitamin D would be better for general health, other than that not absorbing enough calcium is not a good thing. https://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/features/the-truth-about-vitamin-d-why-you-need-vitamin-d

What is a vitamin?

From dictionary.com: any of a group of organic compounds which are essential for normal growth and nutrition and are required in small quantities in the diet because they cannot be synthesized by the body.

So technically, vitamin D ins not exactly a vitamin. We can meet most of our vitamin D requirement if we get adequate sunlight. The rest of it needs to come from the diet. Being inside all the time, northern latitude and especially in winter, plus darker skin increased the risk of deficiency. And kidney disease can prevent the kidneys from converting vitamin D to its active form. But it is widely known that vitamin D is important for bone health, and good immune system functioning. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with increased vulnerability to infections as well as increased incidence of autoimmune disease, through actions on many of the white blood cells involved in immunity.

From the National Library of Medicine:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3738984/

I am always surprised when people say we don't know much about something, when there is a lot more that is known than that particular person knows. Whenever someone says "no one knows" that triggers me to refresh my own knowledge on a subject. There is still much to learn about the mechanism of action of vitamin D on these cells.

Personally I wonder if we should take a variable dose depending our outdoor exposure and time of year.

 

[timo2]

Getting the blood tested is a great thing to do, especially as everyone is different.

This website says
"According to the Institute of Medicine, 4000 IU is the safe upper level of daily vitamin D intake. However, doses up to 10,000 IU have not been shown to cause toxicity in healthy individuals "

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-vitamin-d-is-too-much#section4

It also says, the problem is vitamin D builds up in the fat, and is not easily expelled, so a person can build up toxicity over time, which has damaging effects like "severe cases may eventually cause kidney failure and calcification of the arteries"

That why, when DW's PCP told her to take a vitamin D supplement, we put her at 3000 IU per day (incl the multivitamins). Because obviously food and the sun are other sources of Vitamin D and we didn't want her to go over the 4000 IU mark.

 

[braumeister]

There can also be interactions with other drugs, so something else to be aware of.

For example:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-d/art-20363792

 

[Katsmeow]

I'm curious when you get tested what the level will be and if you are still taking 5000 IU every day.
I'm wondering if it plateaus, or will show another 40 point increase.

Due to this discussion, and the AARP magazine which has an article on D3, I've decided to increase my daily dosage to 3,000 IU. To see if that raises my now normal range number a bit higher.

Yes, I am interested also. In the past I had taken 2500 IU (prior doctors) and that raised to the 20s but never really to normal range. The 5000 IU seems to have done that. I suspect that I will have plateaued in a normal range but we'll see.

 

[timo2]

After pondering the various reading materials here, it seems the vitamin D issue with COVID is primarily when a person has a vitamin D deficiency. Much of the super mega vitamin D dosing of COVID patients was to recover from that deficiency, if I read it correctly. So to me that means that keeping one's levels up to snuff is more important than taking preventative mega doses of vitamin D. And that keeping under the 4000 IU limit will get the job done for most people?

 

[sengsational]

^ This. It's the case with a whole lot of the studies. The population that shows improvement are the ones that were low in the first place. The ones that were healthy in the first place because of healthy living and healthy eating then lock on to the "proof" of it's effectiveness and supplement with it, but ignore that they would not logically get the same benefit as the study participants that started at a low baseline.

I'm not saying "don't take vitamin D", I'm saying that the magnitude of the benefit you get, personally, depends a whole lot on your starting point. Well off, health conscious people have many needles already pointing to the upper part of the scale, so any intervention doesn't do as much as someone who has a lot of needles pointing at the lower end of the scale