Evidence to suggest vitamin D can prevent viral respiratory infections and lessen the severity if you do contract it

[Roostersmum2]

Just sharing this here for anybody who wasn't aware of the benefits of vitamin D in regards to respiratory infections. He knows what he's talking about

In summary, if you're not already - take vitamin D

We're taking 4000iu vitamin D daily w/ 1000iu vitamin C

If you have had a blood test that shows up vitamin D deficiency, does anyone know how it is described on their blood test? Does it say Vitamin D levels or it called something else (like Iron levels are called Serrum ferritin)?

like Iron levels are called Serrum ferritin)?

Those are different things.

Vit D is just Vit D. It's easy to see.

Thanks! I just checked my blood test and they didn’t test for it then!

Tbh it should be promoted more widely, (by government ads, like clunk click with every trip) that we all need to take or make vitamin D. I only know because a friend found out after a year of pain that she was very vitamin D deficient, and she suggested I might be. GP only tested me because I asked, they never suggested it..

I agree, it should be promoted, not hidden away so people won't buy it.

@RandomlyChosenName

Vitamin D is just vitamin D and it is an add on test.
You can get it done privately at www.vitamindtest.org.uk/

You actually want a level of 75nmol/l not 50. Some areas do 50 but mine does 75 and my GP practice have accepted private blood test results.

(GP practices often refuse to do it due to the cost even if you have been found severely deficient in the past. There is a lot of politics over what tests they are allowed to order for each patient and ultimately the lab can refuse to do them for NHS patients even if a GP orders them. )

Ok, so here's a summary of a pre-published research paper from Imperial College, London and University of Birmingham

www.dropbox.com/s/ka7h4fbi7xdz9s9/Covid-19 and Vitamin D Information.pdf?dl=0

They have sent out a summary above with a poster calling for hospitals to urgently analyse serum D3 levels from covid 19 patients. Their paper is a meta analysis, which means that it collates masses of data from previous studies involving 1000s of cases.
Summary:

1. Winter Vitamin D deficiency is common in northern latitudes above 20 degrees and (Apr - Sep) in southern latitudes 20 degrees below the equator.
2. Coronaviruses and influenza viruses in the past have displayed very strong seasonality with winter appearances Severe Covid-19 outbreaks have happened above 20 degree winter latitudes whereas outbreaks in the southern summer hemisphere have been mild and case fatalities relatively low. Case fatalities show a striking relationship to latitude.
3. The most severe outbreak in the north has been Italy where it is noted vitamin D deficiency is one of the highest in Europe.
4. Japan is an outlier in the north, with only a very mild outbreak and has the lowest incidence of Vitamin D deficiency thanks to its high fish-content diet
5. Research suggests covid 19 can lead to a cytokine storm (where the patient's lungs fill with fluid).
6. Research shows that Vitamin D acts to limit the cytokine storm and limit lung inflammation.

There's a shed load of extra evidence which I've not had time to summarise.

I thought this was an interesting video by Dr Berg.

And this one on excessive vitamin D.

Hospitals will (or should) have been requested to test blood serum levels of vitamin D3 from covid 19 patients. People with darker skin are more prone to vitamin D3 deficiency. Especially in colder, darker climates and in winter. Vitamin D3 has been shown to limit cytokine storms and protect the pulmonary system - it is a vital link in the immune response.

Public Health England delayed a response to the disproportionate BAME deaths. Probably because they waiting for the analysis results.

Magnesium makes vitamin d bioavailable.
There's a circular relationship in that more magnesium gets metabolised with increased ( adequate) vitamin d, leading to magnesium deficiency and supplementing magnesium improves uptake of vit d.

It may be that people who get plenty of sun and are still d deficient, need to check they're getting enough magnesium rich foods in their diet.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28471760/

I posted this on another thread about Vitamin D and taking vitamins
Some people ( like me) find that they can’t digest Vitamin Tablets then so have to take a Vitamin type spray . In fact a lot of people can’t but don’t realise this so they can be taking them and the tablets are not actually working .

I had bariatric surgery several years ago and while it worked because I lost a lot of weight I became very deficient in vitamin B12 and Iron and was suffering from PA
This meant I was incredibly tired and in constant chronic pain and always getting headaches colds and sore throats something I never really suffered from before . I used to get a sore or irritating throat and mild cold it seemed every other month.
My friend who had gallstone surgery suffered the same symptoms anyone I think from memory who’s had any type of stomach surgery Is likely to not be able to digest tablet type vitamins

I take 2 types of vitamin D spray a B12 spray and liquid iron spray
I also take vitaminC and k2 tablets and Galfur liquid iron 3 times a week
I also self inject B12 every month
Since I have been doing this I maybe get one cold / sore throat a year and I feel loads better with lots more energy
I’m always out in the sunshine at every opportunity even though I have quite dark skin

Video on vitamin d and the upper respiratory tract. Talks about dosage levels that are safe.

Video detailing three ways in which vitamin d can work to reduce ARDS due to coronavirus (and other upper respiratory tract infections).

There has been a lot of new evidence over the last couple of weeks that suggests Vitamin D levels affect susceptability to COVID

Like pp, I'd be concerned about people self-dosing with huge amounts of Vitamin D

• the body regulates Vit D produced via sunshine

However, too many people are Vit-D deficient because they have been warned against any sun exposure, or are indoor blossoms
Also many people rarely eat oily fish

A daily spoonful of flavoured fish oil is an alternative to tablets

• I'm adding this what with COVID, being 63 and coming out of a long winter I'm outside for a couple of hours per day and I eat salmon or mackerel 3 times per week

I think I put somewhere else on MN I try to go outside when the sun is out without suncream for 20 minutes from April to Oct in the UK for vit D and have only seen my GP once in 15 years and only caught 2 colds in the last 2 years. I also eat a lot of oily fish eg a tin of sardines tonight, 2 salmon fillets yesterday.I am not saying that is why I am so healthy but I think it helps.

It’d be really interesting to find out how redheads are experiencing this crisis. They actually make their own vitamin d and need far less sunlight to make sufficient amount. If we think that vitamin d is one of the key factors that make bame group more affected, could redheads be the opposite ? Obviously far more important to do the research into the high risks but I’d be interested to know if there is any evidence about redheads (I’m not one!)

I did the vitamin d test mentioned above after reading something about it on here. My results were severely deficient and GP put me straight on a loading dose. I cannot even start to explain what the difference is like. Truly, I felt at first as though I was just great but very slowly my appetite went and I feel better than I did before the dosage but not great. I wonder about the comments on magnesium as that does make a difference to me so will start taking them as supplements and have just done another vit d test to see where my levels are now.

I don't know why they are not testing more but I feel I have wasted a lot of time feeling exhausted when that seems to have been a contributing factor.

Also, eat a lot of oily fish but I always feel better when I take cod liver oil (legacy from childhood perhaps because my biologist niece is horrified at the contents of it)

It seems strange to me that Italy has highest levels of vit d deficiency - I thought the med diet was supposed to be great?

yes, it is hard to be sure what is right when we are mostly all in the dark above covid 19. On red heads I am white and covered in freckles and apparently was born with red hair although it soon went brown so perhaps I don't need my daily vit D at all but I like it - I go out there with not much on and do my yoga stretches in the sun or drop off to sleep for a short nap (of course I might be back on here in 5 years with skin cancer although I never burn myself).....

That will be why my subscribe and save on amazon vit d spray has gone up from £9 to £14 a bottle then!!!!

Vitamin D activates T cells

Covid 19 attacks T cells

Place marking 💙

I suffer from low vitamin D levels because I do not absorb it from my food. Addressing this has been life changing for me.

A couple of interesting facts I don’t think have been mentioned. Firstly, you can only get vitamin D from the sun when the sun is at an angle of 45 degrees or more to the horizon, hence why in the UK you can only get it from the sun for around four months of the year.

Secondly, you lose your stored vitamin D at a rate of around 10% per day, so it doesn’t take long to become depleted.

Just to point out, making your own vitamin D isn’t a superpower unique to redheads, just the paler your skin, the faster you can make it.

Also, it’s virtually impossible to get enough vitamin D from food, unless you’re eating a seriously ancestral meat based diet... like kilos of salmon, caribou liver, seal blubber etc per week. Probably not many Inuit on MN So take a good supplement and top up with some summer ☀️