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

[LWJ70]

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?

[SleepyTiger39]

The NHS recommmends everyone take Vit D between Oct-Mar because they are not likely to get enough from sunlight.

It is not known as the sunshine vitamin for no reason.

There is an oral spray with K2 that is quite good.

There is some evidence it can help prevent respiratory infection.

I have lung issues and have taken it for years on and off. I rarely get ill although I do also limit exposure.

During CV I have also been taking high strength vit C. To what effect I do not know.

Echinacea is also good for the lung health.

[Delatron]

I agree this is a message that needs to be out there and that not everybody knows this fact.
Think of it as a quick win. Versus obesity, high blood pressure etc

I found the Better You Spray to be effective at getting levels up and they’re about £7 on Amazon. No need to pop out.

A care home could go round spraying this daily under the tongues of the residents. It could make a difference.

The reason why we don’t hear much about this though is no money to be made by any company from this...

If I was in government I’d definitely be getting this advice out there.

[OhCrumbsWhereNow]

I doubt they have the supplies - DD was on Vit D for years on prescription and there were endless problems getting hold of it at times, and we rarely got the same brand twice in a row.

[pocketem]

I found the Better You Spray to be effective at getting levels up

You have literally no idea how effective it is at getting your Vitamin D levels up, unless you've had blood samples taken after administration.

Would seem silly to pay £7 for a nasal spray when Vitamin D is absorbed orally just fine and tablets are just a few pennies

[DianaT1969]

@Nomorepoliticsplease - Yes, the government has lots to spend its money on right now. But this is preventative.
It costs nothing to get the word out for people to buy it themselves, or for care homes to add it to their treatment regimes. A strong reminder at the daily press briefing would be picked up and amplified by the press for free. Considering the recent studies that the OP has kindly linked to, I don't understand why this isn't happening already.
It just isn't true to say that everyone already knows that Vitamin D (with K2 and calcium) will significantly bolster their immune system and help their outcome with Covid-19. It simply isn't true.

[OmartheGoose]

I've supplemented my kids with Better You sprays for the last few winters (We are in Scotland so take from October to March.) I did test them all (better you also do a test though I think you can also go straight to the lab) at the end of one winter. They were all optimal. In fact, their levels were in line with their body weight (so oldest who was on same dose had a lower level in her blood...but still optimal). Obviously this isn't a double blind trial(!) but I wouldn't have expected them to be optimal without supplementing as we get very little sun in the winter and what we get is low, weak light.

I am very careful with dosage as I am aware you can go too high. In fact, I think Better You recommend too high a dose. They said for me 3000 iu a day - I think that is far too high. I'm under 9 stone.

[Balmytissues]

On the strength of this thread, I've just ordered D3/K2 supplement. Can't hurt I suppose.

[UYScuti]

We should definitely all focus on boosting our overall health

[ChicChicChicChiclana]

And yet Spain, Italy and Iran with their much sunnier climates have still been terribly badly hit.

[DianaT1969]

Whilst I agree, I fear that the message to 'boost overall health' is too vague for some. It is this particular vitamin which studies show have a positive impact on the outcome from Covid-19. I really hope policymakers start to push it as a preventative measure to reduce deaths.

[DianaT1969]

@Chicchic - if you click on the research study links you will see explanations about countries with sunny climates badly hit by the virus. It's mainly what you'd guess - covered clothing in the Middle East combined with more melatonin in the skin. Elderly people staying indoors during warm weather and not exposing their skin or taking supplements. The research is worth reading.

[LWJ70]

ChicChicChicChiclana
And yet Spain, Italy and Iran with their much sunnier climates have still been terribly badly hit.

Sorry, but this is a misconception. The Mediterranean countries are not all year round sunny countries. Elderly people, particularly in the northern areas tend to stay indoors during the winter and early spring months. I have lived in Madrid for many years and have seen the way pensioners close the shutters of their homes for many months. Spaniards will sunbathe, but only on the beaches and in the municipal swimming pools when they open in May/June.

Sorry to be boring, but look at this data from Spain:
www.nature.com/articles/ejcn2010265

Conclusions:One-third (33.9%) of the Spanish population may be at risk for Vitamin D deficiency.

You can multiply that, especially at the end of a long cold winter and in an elderly demographic.

Another country which could create confusion regarding its latitude is Ecuador, which is suffering from the pandemic quite badly. It turns out that this country, despite having ample sunlight, has high levels of vitamin D deficiency - up to 70% of the population:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5576417/

Sorry to be even more boring but Iran suffers from terrible vitamin D deficiency cultural/religious and geographic reasons:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30296903

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the Iranian community is very high

[Delatron]

@pocketem I did have levels tested before and after 🙄. Otherwise I wouldn’t have said it.

Tests have shown absorption levels are better with sprays.

Anyway. Buy the spray buy the cheaper vitamin pills but no need to be so testy on a thread that’s trying to help.

The spray was recommended to me by a trained dietician. But obviously you know better. Are you medically trained?

I’ve actually been part of a medical study measuring vitamin D levels with regards to breast cancer outcome so have extensively researched this area extensively as has my oncologist. But as you were.

[UYScuti]

If vitamin d turns out to be a significant factor then forcing people to stay indoors will have caused more problems than it solved?

[Delatron]

It’s not boring @LWJ70 it’s very helpful and interesting unlike other posters have been on here.

There is a very knowledgeable poster on Mumsnet who has done lots of research in this area. I will try and find her user name and tag her.

[Tonyaster]

If vitamin d turns out to be a significant factor then forcing people to stay indoors will have caused more problems than it solved?

Absolutely.

[AlmostThereKeepMoving]

You can buy it online quite cheaply, why should the Gov give them out for free as part of an already overstretched health system?

[LWJ70]

DianaT1969

It costs nothing to get the word out for people to buy it themselves, or for care homes to add it to their treatment regimes. A strong reminder at the daily press briefing would be picked up and amplified by the press for free.

I am 100% in agreement with you.

The reason that I have written the original post is firstly because I have read the linked articles and I was surprised to know that higher levels of Vit D gives you more of a fighting chance against coronavirus. Secondly, I currently live in a large city in SE Asia. Here we have ALL YEAR ROUND SUNSHINE.

I can assure you that there are many more infections here in SE Asia but a much lower number of deaths compared to Europe (in winter) and N Americal (in winter). Why is this? We have had millions of Chinese tourists visit our country during the last 3 months. Is it because there two strains of the virus: S-type or L-type. Or is it because my local community are used to walking in a sunny street every day of the year, building up high levels of Vit D?

Thirdly, I had the misfortune to become infected with covid 19 three weeks ago and I experienced all the horrible symptoms. Believe me, it is one hell of a virus. Luckily I have been taking vitamin D supplements over the last year because I have changed my diet. I have no idea if these factors, combined with my daily dose of sunshine have given me the immune boost, even though I'm in my 50s.

[hamstersarse]

@LWJ70

That is not boring at all, in fact it has puzzled me for a while that if Vit D plays a role then why has Spain has been so badly impacted.

[BlessYourCottonSocks]

Well I'm feeling uplifted now because I already take Vit D and Vit C daily. (as well as several other things) Started as part of my New Year's resolution to sort my health out and I feel much better. Glad to hear it's some help against Covid-19 too! (Although I hope not to need it)

[Tonyaster]

I take 2000 vit d a day and still got what I presume was covid 19. I did manage without treatment though.

[Delatron]

I don’t think it stops you getting it but it helps to maybe stop it progressing in to a serious respiratory illness like pneumonia.

This is what understand from the research anyway.

[LWJ70]

Another scientific article published yesterday (so not yet peer reviewed):

www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-21211/v1

Discussion: Vitamin D levels are severely low in the aging population especially in Spain, Italy and Switzerland. This is also the most vulnerable group of population for COVID-19.

Conclusions: We believe, that we can advise Vitamin D supplementation to protect against SARS-CoV2 infection.

[LWJ70]

The articles are being written and published by many, many scientists - and and their recommendations are becoming clearer and clearer.

Here's one published a few days ago by the School of Biological and Health Sciences, College of Sciences & Health, Technological University Dublin.

imj.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Optimisation-of-Vitamin-D-Status-for-Enhanced-Immuno-protection-Against-Covid-19.pdf

Conclusions and Recommendations:Vitamin D deficiency is common and may contribute to increased risk of respiratory infection including Covid-19. We recommend that all older adults, hospital inpatients, nursing home residents and other vulnerable groups (e.g. those with diabetes mellitus or compromised immune function, those with darker skin, vegetarians and vegans, those who are overweight or obese, smokers and healthcare workers) be urgently supplemented with 20-50µg/d of vitamin D to enhance their resistance to Covid-19, and that this advice be quickly extended to the general adult population.

One of the studies from which they derived their conclusions from was a study of 21,000 subjects by Baltimore researchers.

The subjects with vitamin D deficiency had a 64% increased risk of community-acquired viral pneumonia.

This study was carried out in September 2019.

[DianaT1969]

@UYScuti - we aren't all being forced to stay indoors. We're allowed out for exercise and people can spend time on their balcony or in gardens. I appreciate that those being shielded for 12 weeks may not have a balcony or garden, so it will be hard for them. But supplements and Vitamin D rich foods would solve that issue.