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Covid

Should the Government be handing out free doses of Vitamin D NOW?

365 replies

LWJ70 · 28/03/2020 02:56

I have recently discovered (from reading very new scientific abstracts) that low Vit D levels leave us more prone to respiratory tract viruses. Most people only associate it with a healthy skeleton. After a long, cold winter, millions of us could be slightly deficient. Our most vulnerable section of society is unable to make use of the sunlight, which is beneficial.Could this explain the greatly differing pathways of coronavirus throughout the globe? Read these abstracts:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30675873
clinmedjournals.org/article...ases-and-epidemiology-jide-3-030.php?jid=jide

Difficult to decipher the abstract's stats without looking at the full paper. It is a summary from 25 previous studies with a grand total of 11,321 participants. It is published by US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health with a big participation from the Centre for Primary Care and Public Health, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London.

One thing is clear though:

''Vitamin D supplementation was safe, and it protected against ARIs overall. Very deficient individuals ................... experienced the benefit.

(ARI = acute respiratory infections)

I am amazed why this info is not being published in the wider public domain. Instead we have celebrity workouts, toilet rolls and memes.

Elderly people in sunny climates are probably not aware that they have afforded themselves a greater fighting chance to survive coronavirus.

There are 5.4 million people in the UK above the age of 75 years. The majority of them are locked in their houses (or they would prefer to be). If they leave their houses to buy vitamin supplements from a pharmacist, they could be exposed to the coronavirus. This is not far-fetched- a coronavirus can survive nine days or more on plastic/metal surfaces. Many parts of the UK are at a perfect temperature now for viral stability. If two thirds of infected people are asymptomatic, the infection is already everywhere.

My point is, why doesn't the NHS select the most vulnerable and make a mass delivery of Vit D or a broad spectrum of supplements?

OP posts:
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Hearhoovesthinkzebras · 28/03/2020 03:12

I thought this was well known? We started taking D3 about two months ago after a spate of articles popped up.

Who knows, it might not have any effect but we will.all be deficient anyway so it will do us good one way or another

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Geepipe · 28/03/2020 03:23

I didnt know that! I think i will buy vitamin d next time im allowed out for me and dp although it may be too late. (Dp is very ill with corona symptoms). But i agree vitamin d is lacking in so many people we should have a government funded program that gives free vitamin d to certain parts of society. Although i did once read people with darker skin need higher doses of vitamin d so thats a consideration too.

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Hearhoovesthinkzebras · 28/03/2020 03:24

It's D3 particularly that you need

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SoapIsYourFriend · 28/03/2020 03:31

Interesting, thanks OP.

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LWJ70 · 28/03/2020 03:33
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earsup · 28/03/2020 04:00

Valium might be more fun. Could do with a lift !!

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Monty27 · 28/03/2020 04:08

OP I have been thinking the same thing. My hair has gone all weird because I've not been out of the house for so long. No daylight. I've had a vitamin d deficiency before. It's already a problem. This is going to make it worse. Totally and utterly funded by Boris directly from that back pocket of his. Buying it would be a luxury to me that I can't afford. Like a new lipstick. Keep safe Flowers

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MirrorGold · 28/03/2020 04:12

Yes! Vitamin D is so important for your immune system and many other things.
I did my dissertation on this.

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LWJ70 · 28/03/2020 04:29

MirrorGold - how could we get this info out to elderly people in order to give them a better fighting chance?

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lexiepuppy · 28/03/2020 06:27

This is exactly what I was saying to my daughter after watching a Dr Berg Youtube video where he was addressing how to boost our immune systems to beat Covid 19.

He recommends Vit C and Zinc also.

Maybe the hospitals should be hooking people upto intensive Vitamin drips so their bodies can have a fighting chance against the virus.

I will probably get slammed into the ground by MN people..... but it is just my thoughts!

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lexiepuppy · 28/03/2020 06:29

The government could send out quality vitamins through the door, flat packed to boost the immune system for everybody.

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CrunchyCarrot · 28/03/2020 06:43

The trouble is that doctors think we are 'fine' with Vitamin D levels that are 'in range' but aren't optimal. I take Vit D3 all year round as I am hypothyroid (and therefore more prone to D deficiency) and my levels are always falling if I don't supplement.

Do remember though, that Vit D can be toxic if you get too much, which is why it's a good idea to have your level tested so you know where you stand. I do finger prick Vit D tests a couple of times a year to check my levels. www.vitamindtest.org.uk/

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Bluntness100 · 28/03/2020 06:54

For anyone taking vitamin d3, I do as I’m fifty one and broke my ankle a couple of years ago, and wanted to ensure bone health, my gp told me to take it with vitamin k12. It helps it absorb into the bones better.

I know it’s not specifically for respiratory help, but worth noting.

Also you can buy vitamins on amazon and have them delivered, you don’t need to go out.

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BahHumbygge · 28/03/2020 07:10

Vitamin D3 needs to be taken in conjunction with K2 in order not to cause vascular disease. The K2 helps shepherd the calcium in the system into the bones and teeth to keep them strong, and away from the soft tissues and arteries where it can calcify. Most people are also deficient in K2, especially vegetarians, vegans and processed food eaters. It’s found in traditional animal foods, like grassfed butter, cheese (esp Gouda), liver pâté, organ meats etc. Also found in an obscure Japanese bean curd called natto that most Japanese people even can’t stand. The body can’t easily convert K1 in leafy plants to K2, so a dietary source (or supplement) is recommended. It’s possible to get joint D3/K2 supplements, so that would be the best course of action. The amount of D3 in multi vitamins is tiny and far from sufficient, and afaik most mainstream multivits don’t have K2.

I definitely agree though, as long as they cover the K2 issue, that the government could solve so many of the nation’s health problems, not least respiratory diseases, by a simple cheap D3 prescription (and save multi-billions £££).

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Bluntness100 · 28/03/2020 07:26

Sorry k2, not 12, just looked at my bottle!

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candle18 · 28/03/2020 07:30

I read that people with Coronavirus in New York hospitals were being given high doses of vitamin C, wonder if that’s worth taking as well. I’ll like to get something for my mum and dad to take as they are nearly 80.

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Thethingswedoforlove · 28/03/2020 07:36

How many mg of each d3 and k2 wd people recommend are taken each day?

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Nameofchanges · 28/03/2020 07:37

The NHS already recommends that everyone should take a vitamin d supplement.

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moolady1977 · 28/03/2020 07:39

I have a vitamin d3 deficiency which left me really poorly I had a six week course of d3 and now can't get to speak to anyone I bought some over the counter and will keep taking them as I don't want to be that ill again

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BahHumbygge · 28/03/2020 07:40

I think the Chinese were giving a combo of VitaminC, another vitamin and a common drug intravenously, that was showing promising results... though it doesn’t necessarily follow that supplementing vitamin C is an effective treatment/prevention protocol for covid19, although a moderate supplement is probably fine. High dose vitamin c to fight infections has largely been debunked. Best to get it from fresh (frozen also good) fruit and vegetables, which also contain protective phyto compounds which support health.

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FourTeaFallOut · 28/03/2020 07:48

Aren't we at that point in the year when people with pale skin and without medical issues can convert sunlight in to vitamin d? How does that compare with a supplement in terms of how long it takes to build up vit d reserves?

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SimonJT · 28/03/2020 07:51

It has been advised to take vit D in the UK for years, if people can’t be bothered why should the government have to do it for them?

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clairedunphy · 28/03/2020 07:54

I didn't know about the K2, we've been taking a D3 spray for a while now but I'll change it to a combined one, thanks!

Does anyone know the safe D3 dose for children? The spray I've found with K2 says not suitable for children, so should they just have the junior D3 and no K2?

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BahHumbygge · 28/03/2020 08:02

I don’t take k2 as a supplement, I eat a slice of gouda cheese a day, eat liver regularly and cook with butter, so I get it through my diet. At the moment I’m taking 125 mcg of vitamin D a day, which is high, but I slacked off taking it earlier in the winter and with a pandemic on the horizon I wanted to build up my levels. The Better You spray for under the tongue is good and contains 75 mcg. You could maybe drop down to 25 mcg in summer if you’re getting lunchtime sun. You can only make vitamin D when your shadow is shorter than yourself (rough guide)... so that means natural vit D is only available about April to Sept in the south of the UK. Expose as much skin as possible, and only go out for half the time it takes you to begin to start going pink without sunscreen.

Amazon and some of the specialist online vitamin stores will have joint D3/K2 supplements.

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esmerelda1988 · 28/03/2020 08:02

Well you can't fucking buy it anywhere at the moment as I discovered when I went to buy another bottle - taking it as I'm pregnant. You can however buy these on eBay at double the price they are in the shops. No words.

Should the Government be handing out free doses of Vitamin D NOW?
Should the Government be handing out free doses of Vitamin D NOW?
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