Coronavirus and Vitamin D - Yes, it is helpful to supplement.

[Bettertobehealthy]

As many of you may know, I have attempted to show the benefits of Vitamin D over about 5 years on this thread (General Health ).

Again, I am trying to bring your attention to some remarkable results, from VitD supplementation , as described in this research paper, in the BMJ ( British Medical Journal.) 

www.bmj.com/content/bmj/356/bmj.i6583.full.pdf

This publication may be difficult to follow , so , you may want to watch this video by Dr. John Campbell , who clearly explains what it means, with reference to Covid-19 ( coronavirus) . Essentially ... if you have low levels of vitamin D , then you can markedly improve your chances of improving your immune response to it, in other words: Improve your chance of becoming less ill when infected.

Watch here ....

Dr Campbell is the Dr. that the coronavirus thread refers to here on Mumsnet.        <a class="break-all" href="https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3843290-worried-about-coronavirus-covid19-part-18" target="_blank">www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3843290-worried-about-coronavirus-covid19-part-18</a>

You may also be interested in this series, Dr. Seheult , ( a pulmonologist). This clip is about VitD and coronavirus from 2.50 mins. A more in depth explanation.

               I hope this information is of interest or useful for some. 

Best of Luck, 

BTBH.

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We're just moving this over to the right topic now.

Thanks @Bettertobehealthy I’m religiously using my vitamin D spray and getting the kids to also. It’s good to see there’s some research out there on this.

That's interesting thanks

Thanks!! I will pass this onto my mum who is really concerned about the whole thing

Thankyou for posting and sharing your knowledge. Hope you have supplies because it has been selling out here in Germany along with other meds, Vit C and Zinc. But I believe in the immense powers of high dose Vit D too.

For those that are new to this information.

         Vitamin D , from sunlight on skin  OR    when taken as a supplement , becomes a hormone in the body. The hormone  is used by the body as a means of regulating cell behaviour. In other words it allows your body to respond correctly to challenges , such as viral and bacterial pathogens. 
         Very many of us , are short of it , when compared to humans that lived outside at lower latitudes.  Over millions of years our blood levels were about 120 -140. Now, particularly  in the western world , at high latitudes , sunlight   is weak ,  and for 6 months of the year , we cannot make VitD from that sunlight. at our latitude of  50+ degrees North ( UK ) that is Mid-October to Mid April , during that period we have low levels. There is a minor amount in food., which will give us a reduced level,  IF we eat the right food. Oily fish for example.
                In general our blood levels are  say about 30  - 70  at this time of year.    When we do expose ourselves to sufficient sunlight , our levels do in fact rise to those ancestral levels 120 -140.   They are the human norm.  

     The research I alluded to above , examines the responses of about 11,000 people , and demonstrates that increasing your vitamin D level,   IF you are low,  improves your immunity,   

              I have posted quite a bit here on Mumsnet about VitD, 

Here is one of the threads in which I posted quite a lot of useful information about this subject. It is a long read ... !

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2841497-If-you-are-vitamin-D-deficient-what-have-you-been-prescribed?pg=1

            I hope that is useful to anyone interested. 

BTBH

PS. I urge you to have a look at those clips I posted above.

This is good, but I'm on 8 high strength vitamin d tablets a day already (due to a condition) and now can't get any because people are panic buying

This is good useful info, thank you. I have low vit D as does one DC that’s had recent bloods, in spite of living somewhere generally sunny. I have some in the cupboard so will restart taking them

Hi, timetogetmeback ,

                                           have you tried online ,    ?          OR  have you tried the  NHS ,  a doctor should be able to write a prescription, if you have a condition. 
                                           Don't forget,  sunlight on skin produces vitamin D.         IF you are in the UK,  then from about mid April,    sunlight contains enough UVB to make vit D  in the skin  when the suns' elevation is above 45 degrees. That is around solar noon ,  i.e. around 1pm. An hour each side.of that time . Remember,    Don't burn your skin.   In  May June July Aug Sept ,  sunlight is strong enough between about  11am  and 3 pm . 
              In strong sunlight , any area of skin is saturated with Vitamin D after about 20 mins.   So there is no need to bake for long periods in intense sunlight.   IF you were to sunbathe in strong sunlight ,  then you could make between 10,000 and 20,000  IU   per day,   probably in less than an hour.    Your other alternative , could be a sunbed.   Be careful not to overdo it. No Burning...!  Just a few minutes , two or three times a week.    Make sure the sunbed has UVB in its output.  UVA only sunbeds will not make vitaminD. 
                              Sorry to hear that you are finding it difficult to get supplies.   UVB irradiated mushrooms , are available in some places.  Although you will not know the dose you are getting,  maybe it will say on the packaging ? 

       Good Luck. 

BTBH

Just been told I’m deficient and have to go see my GP!

Also Zinc, some evidence it’s helping fight COVID, so lots of red meat or supplements of that too.

@Bettertobehealthy, thank you. May I ask when you refer to the levels mentioning 120-140 and our blood levels in generally being 30-70 at this time of year is the unit nmol/L?

Thanks @Bettertobehealthy - i will read through the old thread.

Yes, @apricotnuts ,
I am referring to nmol/l. That is the UK, European, units of measurement of Vitamin D in the blood.
The USA measurement is ng/ml.

                   To convert   ng/ml.  to. nmol/l.      simply multiply. By 2.5          So. 10 ng/ml   is the same as. 25nmol/l


     BTBH

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Totally agree OP
We (family) are all supplementing

The mystery as to why these viruses are more prevalent in the winter....vitamin D!

We all take 4000 IU per day. Even the doses of many vitamin d supplements are too low!

This coverage of it is GREAT!

Just got vitamin d easily on Amazon if anyone needs some. I’ve been taking it for a couple of years due to agoraphobia aNd basically zero sun exposure 😔

Hi better, I read your info a few years ago and watched a Holick lecture on YouTube (then bought his book I found it so fascinating, plus I was breastfeeding at the time).

I've got asthma and am bf again now; I've been taking the 3000 sprays, latterly with k2. Recently I saw a few things about co factors here but I find it confusing. Some see to think k2 is ok taken with the d3, others separately. In fact quite strongly that they should be separate. Do you know about it and can you explain more please?

what dosage /type of zinc is recommended?

For those interested. -

This MedCram video clip has a lot of data re: zinc / coronavirus

BTBH

Thanks Bettertobe

Well - FINALLY , a Hospital Trust issues Vitamin D to its BAME, at risk workers.

            Lets hope that is replicated throughout the healthcare sector AND   that it becomes government advice.  Low Vitamin D ,  is a risk factor  and can pre-dispose anyone to more severe reaction to Covid-19 infection.  BAME persons  are statistically more likely to have lower levels of vitamin D than  white skinned individuals ,  as is well known. 
                           According to Gavin Boyle , Chief Executive of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust,  there is evidence, and so they are issuing Vit D to their BAME workers.    As shown on BBC  East Midlands today. 


                         This of course begs the question ,      if you are white ,  and you have a low level of Vitamin D ,  are you at risk of more severe outcomes as well. The answer is , yes,     As I have pointed out above. 

                         Everyone  with an inadequate level of Vitamin D , should increase it , to a healthier level.    A large percentage of UK inhabitants, no matter what ethnicity, are low. 
                   <a class="break-all" href="https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2841497-If-you-are-vitamin-D-deficient-what-have-you-been-prescribed?pg=1" target="_blank"> Here</a> is that link again ,  a long read , but lots of info, about why you need a good level AND  info  about how to get  that level. I posted  quite a bit on that thread , explaining why.  

     Best of Luck 

Bettertobehealthy