Vitamin D and Covid 19 Correlation

[Badger]

As people age, they are less able to manufacture Vitamin D.

Once I asked my doctor - isn't it better to get Vitamin D by spending time out in the sun? He laughed and said that we'd all have to run around outside naked all day to get enough Vitamin D - just like in the "olden" days.

Can this be considered as a Dr recommendation and used as my defense when I get arrested? I hate taking pills of any kind although I do take 3 Vit. D for 6000 IU. The pills are really small.


Cheers!

 

[brett]

Have been taking 2000-3000IU every day for the past eight years.

No idea if it works since I have not been back for a physical. But....I have never had a real cold or the flu (also get the flu shot every year) during that time. If I do feel that I am coming down with something it only lasts for a day.

We are not at home either. Travel frequently, lots of air travel etc.

 

[Koolau]

I was looking at my bottle of 2000 IU I take (two each/day) and saw that the so-called "% Daily Value" for one gel cap is listed as 250%. No idea what that means for most of us. Sounds "bad" to take "too much" but my gut tells me this one must be pretty safe or someone would have figured it out by now. Having said that, I certainly wouldn't be taking mega doses of the stuff without a doc telling me to. Sounds like the D test is the best idea and then use moderation in any case. YMMV

 

[audreyh1]

The daily value is a minimum, and probably too low.

Yes, you want to have your levels tested.

 

[Mark1]

..... Sounds like the D test is the best idea and then use moderation in any case. YMMV

I recently read a book by Paul Offit titled "Overkill". In the book, he has a chapter titled " Vitamin D Supplements Aren't a Cure-All". The author makes a pretty good case that most Vitamin D testing is unnecessary. The copyright is 2020 so obviously it does not address the Vitamin D/COVID correlation.

Just another data point.

 

[garyt]

I have a question, may not be able to compare but is natural (sun) vitamin D as good as a vitamin supplement??

Take it for what it's worth but I read a long time ago that to get enough Vitamin D from the sun you'd literally need to be a nudist. Just getting it on your face and arms isn't enough.

 

[Aerides]

I have a question, may not be able to compare but is natural (sun) vitamin D as good as a vitamin supplement??

Does vitamin D supplement cause anyone else to get an upset stomach? I have tried several different kinds but they all cause stomach upset. I am trying to get Vitamin D from the sun but it is hard in the winter.

No one should assume they are getting remotely enough D from sun. I live in Fla and use sunscreen far less than I should, and have the tanlines to show from gardening and running most of the year. And if I don't take a supplement my D is at the very bottom of the range of healthy, borderline deficient.

I take a basic D, and lately I'm taking 2 at once, not with meals, with no stomach issues.

 

[braumeister]

I have no problem, as my D level is normally somewhere between 45 and 60 when tested, but I do take 5,000 units daily just to be sure. The lowest level I ever tested at was 30, about ten years ago. That's a minimum level, which got my attention and I've been taking the little capsules every day since then.

It's a simple test, so if your doctor doesn't include it when you get your blood work I think it's definitely worth asking for.

You can get it tested yourself through one of the independent sources such as requestatest.com and the cost is probably worth it for many people.

 

[sengsational]

I recently read a book by Paul Offit titled "Overkill". In the book, he has a chapter titled " Vitamin D Supplements Aren't a Cure-All". The author makes a pretty good case that most Vitamin D testing is unnecessary. The copyright is 2020 so obviously it does not address the Vitamin D/COVID correlation.

Just another data point.

I was thinking that would be a good read, but was disappointed in the book. While the author "told the truth" about a lot of ideas that were disproved, he never admitted that in some cases, we just don't know. So when he talks about vitamin D, he sets up the not proven health effects, then knocks them down with later studies. Fair enough. But no acknowledgement of the health effects that didn't fall with more analysis. That's lying by omission?

 

[NoiseBoy]

I have been following the discussions regarding vitamin D as a prophylactic and/or treatment for Covid 19 for months now. I am convinced that the following statements are true:

• Vitamin D plays an essential role in our body's immune response.
• People living above roughly the 35th parallel cannot make vitamin D naturally from November through February.
• Darker skinned peoples struggle to make enough vitamin D naturally in temperate climate zones.
• The current recommended daily doses are not enough, especially during the winter months, to meet our body's minimum needs.
• Vitamin D deficiencies can explain a large part of why the case fatality rates for Covid 19 increase with age and hammer hardest, the elderly living indoors in senior care homes.

While recognizing that there have been only a few, small randomized controlled studies to date that support these statements, the risk to recommending daily vitamin D supplements to the general population is so small, and the costs are really low, that I cannot understand why our health and political leaders have not done so. This video is a month hold, and an hour long, but it provides a full overview of the data to date. I can only hope that some additional RCT studies get published soon that support vitamin D supplementation.

I am taking 1000IU of D3 as part of my daily multi-vitamin and 2000IU in addition to that.

 

[JoeWras]

While recognizing that there have been only a few, small randomized controlled studies to date that support these statements, the risk to recommending daily vitamin D supplements to the general population is so small, and the costs are really low, that I cannot understand why our health and political leaders have not done so.

I don't know either. Here are a few guesses:
- Hoarding. Fear of shortages for those who rely on the therapy?
- Excess use and toxicity. People who decide if 4,000 IU is good, why not 40,000?

So instead, it falls under the talk-to-your-doctor guidance.

 

[bmcgonig]

Fauci apparently takes 6000iu a day.


https://vitamindwiki.com/Dr.+Fauci+takes+6,000+IU+of+Vitamin+D+daily+–+Sept+2020

 

[jdev]

A highly effective,perhaps the most important, supplement to protect from covid, or any virus for that matter, is Zinc. I take pure Zinc in iquid form, 15 mg every day, which is ten drops of the liquid that I buy from Amazon.

 

[Koolau]

A highly effective,perhaps the most important, supplement to protect from covid, or any virus for that matter, is Zinc. I take pure Zinc in iquid form, 15 mg every day, which is ten drops of the liquid that I buy from Amazon.

How do you treat your 3rd degree burns? To liquify pure Zinc, you have to raise its temperature to about 787F.

I assume you mean some solution of zinc - not actually 'pure' metallic zinc - sorry, just messin' with you. BUT, seriously, I take zinc gluconate myself. I also heard that it was good to prevent/treat Covid and the side effect profile is pretty tame, so 'why not?' YMMV

 

[harllee]

I just cannot take Vitamin D supplements --it upsets my stomach terribly. I have tried it with or without food, have tried the lowest dose and I have tried several different kinds, just cannot take it. So I try really hard to get Vitamin D from the sun. When I have had my Vitamin D tested in the past and it was in the OK range. I have the same problem with Calcium supplements--they upset my stomach also and I have spent a small fortune trying different kinds with no luck.

 

[Boho]

I just cannot take Vitamin D supplements --it upsets my stomach terribly. I have tried it with or without food, have tried the lowest dose and I have tried several different kinds, just cannot take it. So I try really hard to get Vitamin D from the sun. When I have had my Vitamin D tested in the past and it was in the OK range. I have the same problem with Calcium supplements--they upset my stomach also and I have spent a small fortune trying different kinds with no luck.

These have just 500 IU of vitamin D each. The bottle says to take two but try taking one with food that contains some fat and with some water, as a test (the D is fat soluble and the C is water soluble). Then maybe you can increase it to two at different meals, but one brings you close to the recommended amount.

Recommended Amount of Vitamin D:

Birth to 12 months 10 mcg (400 IU)
Children 1–13 years 15 mcg (600 IU)
Teens 14–18 years 15 mcg (600 IU)
Adults 19–70 years 15 mcg (600 IU)
Adults 71 years and older 20 mcg (800 IU)
Pregnant and breastfeeding teens and women 15 mcg (600 IU)

 

[harllee]

These have just 500 IU of vitamin D. The bottle says to take two but try taking one with food that contains some fat, as a test. Then maybe you can increase it to two at different meals, but one brings you close to the recommended amount.

Recommended Amount of Vitamin D:

Birth to 12 months 10 mcg (400 IU)
Children 1–13 years 15 mcg (600 IU)
Teens 14–18 years 15 mcg (600 IU)
Adults 19–70 years 15 mcg (600 IU)
Adults 71 years and older 20 mcg (800 IU)
Pregnant and breastfeeding teens and women 15 mcg (600 IU)

Thanks Boho-- but I have tried the 500 IU and is still upset my stomach. Thinking maybe I was allergic to the capsule itself I have broken open the capsule and tried just the liquid--still upsets my stomach. I have talked to my doctor and he said some people just have an intolerance to Vitamin D supplements and I am one of those. When I googled the issue it seems to be a fairly common problem.

 

[Boho]

Thanks Boho-- but I have tried the 500 IU and is still upset my stomach. Thinking maybe I was allergic to the capsule itself I have broken open the capsule and tried just the liquid--still upsets my stomach. I have talked to my doctor and he said some people just have an intolerance to Vitamin D supplements and I am one of those. When I googled the issue it seems to be a fairly common problem.

Well, if you ever need to be tube fed in a hospital, I assume they'll give you vitamin D even with your reaction, since it's necessary for your health. Maybe take half of the 500 IU tablet with every meal? There must be a way you can get it orally.

 

[harllee]

Well, if you ever need to be tube fed in a hospital, I assume they'll give you vitamin D even with your reaction, since it's necessary for your health. Maybe take half of the 500 IU tablet with every meal? There must be a way you can get it orally.

It is not worth getting sick on my stomach. I will just continue to sit out in the sun. I hope I never have to be tube fed!

 

[Boho]

It is not worth getting sick on my stomach. I will just continue to sit out in the sun. I hope I never have to be tube fed!

Salmon. And vitamin D fortified eggs.

 

[harllee]

Salmon. And vitamin D fortified eggs.

Yes, I eat salmon and many other foods high in Vitamin D. But I also try to get sun everyday and living in the south I stay tan pretty much year round (but my dermatologist does not like it)

 

[Jerry1]

It is not worth getting sick on my stomach. I will just continue to sit out in the sun.

I don’t know if it’s even possible, but did you discuss the possibility of injecting vitamin D? I inject B12 once a week. If you’re not actually allergic to vitamin D maybe injection will work by bypassing your GI tract.

 

[harllee]

I don’t know if it’s even possible, but did you discuss the possibility of injecting vitamin D? I inject B12 once a week. If you’re not actually allergic to vitamin D maybe injection will work by bypassing your GI tract.

Good suggestion--if my Vitamin D gets low I will look into it. Right now my Vitamin D levels are normal so my doctor told me not to worry about the supplements. I actually like sitting in the sun.

 

[MissMolly]

Have you tried the Gummy Bear ones? Maybe if mixed with something like this it might help?

 

[Boho]

They also make vitamin d patches.