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Vitamin D for the vulnerable

55 replies

PuzzledObserver · 28/11/2020 14:29

At first, I thought this was good news:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55108613

Then I read on, and saw they were offering a dose of 10ug. Better than nothing.... but will not be enough to bring levels up to optimal for protection against respiratory viruses.

I started taking 25ug in late February, based on watching Dr John Campbell on YouTube. In May, I had my blood levels tested - came back around 63 nmol/l, which is slightly below and adequate level. Upped my dose to 100ug and a few months later I tested at 123 nmol/l, in the optimal range.

Granted I am obese (which tends to deplete vit D levels), but I am white and spend plenty of time outdoors - and even on a 25 ug dose my levels were not adequate. 10ug is not going to be enough for these people.

The cost difference for giving a higher dose would be minimal.

OP posts:
alreadytaken · 06/12/2020 11:56

@RememberSelfCompassion If you have a digestive disorder you might have a problem absorbing vitamin D from the gut but be fine with a mouth spray. If you are worried about magnesium and have a bath you can put magnesium salts in the bath and pat dry, you'll absorb it through your skin.

There is not a scientific consensus on how much you need and you are not desperately low. The only peer reviewed study that looked at this showed no benefit to going over 55 nMol/l for covid. You can get side effects from excess vitamin D and with a mouth spray it's more difficult to be precise on dosing.

RememberSelfCompassion · 06/12/2020 11:58

Ive got a spray 3000 with k. Is that too much?

Thanks.

BahHumbygge · 06/12/2020 13:09

Firstly I only have a lay interest in this, I read a lot of abstracts from scientific papers, read blogs and watch Youtube... but content and interviews with the kind of people with relevant PhDs, and filmed lectures from conferences by leading vitamin D researchers etc, ie NOT wellness vlogger Gwyneth Paltrow types. Evidence-based scientific studies and up to date research. With that caveat in mind, what I'm doing is passing on the info from those experts and backing up info with links to that content and research papers.

For you, I'd say make sure you're taking 4,000 iu of vit D per day (till at least the spring equinox). If you want to take a bit more, read up on it first, and calculate how much you need with the calculator on the Grass Roots Health page, or the DMinder app for smart phones. Also talk to your doctor if you have a chronic condition, especially where high calcium is a risk such as kidney disease/stones/arteriosclerosis etc. Also postal vitamin D testing available from NHS Sandwell Trust, Thriva Medichecks etc for around £30.

www.grassrootshealth.net/project/dcalculator/

4000 iu/day is the upper recommended amount from the NHS that is considered fully safe for (almost) everyone. Above 4000, there is a very gradual increased risk of elevated calcium, but that can be mitigated by taking D3 in combination with K2 and magnesium... they form a trinity of co-factors, so that's best practice anyway.

Remember it's not so much how much you take per day which can be toxic, it's the blood serum levels reached which are considered toxic or safe. 75 nmol + is adequate, 100 - 150 is optimum, and above 150 is considered surplus but safe. It's generally unnecessary to go over 150. Over 250 becomes properly toxic.

If you're concerned about taking more than 3000, take that... you're still doing heaps better than most of the population, who only get a micro-speck of vit D from the odd fishfinger or generic multivitamin pill.

As for your diet, start with cutting out sugary drinks, sweetened tea & coffee and soft drinks. Only have a couple of glasses of booze at the weekend (dry wine/spirits... beer is "liquid toast").

Aim to eat real food, ie plants that came out of the ground without factory processing, and the animals that ate unprocessed plants that came out of the ground. ie grass fed meat, fish, eggs, unsweetened dairy products, vegetables, moderate amounts of unprocessed fruit etc. Things like frozen and tinned vegetables and fish are fine if in their intact state... ie not processed further with a dozen additives into hyper-processed gunk. Juices and smoothies are as much a sugar bomb as a huge slab of cake. Fruit needs to be in the context of its natural moist fibre matrix... once you blend it, juice it, dry it etc, then it effectively becomes pure sucrose/fructose. Minimal added sugar, refined flours, margarines and seed oils etc, unless it's an occasional holiday/party/celebration etc. Watch Prof Robert Lustig's talk on youtube "The Bitter Truth" (he's an endocrinology expert) or read his book Fat Chance. David Gillespie's books on sugar are also great "sweet poison" is very scientific on the metabolic effects of sugar on the body, and the follow up one is about how to apply that to give up sugar.

MarinPrime · 06/12/2020 13:54

Ive got a spray 3000 with k. Is that too much?

I was told a rough guide to the maintenance dose is 1000iu per 25 kg body weight.

I'm 50kg so have one spray of the 3000iu daily for 5 days a week (weekends off). I get tested every year and my levels have remained stable at "optimum" for the past 4 years.

If your levels are very low and/or you're overweight you might need more.

You could contact BetterYou and ask their advice. I found them very helpful.

BahHumbygge · 06/12/2020 14:53

Reuters: "High blood sugar tied to COVID-19 risk in nondiabetics"

"High blood sugar may portend a rocky course for COVID-19 patients who seek hospital care, even if they do not have diabetes, according to a new study of 11,000 COVID-19 patients in Spain. None were critically ill when they got to the hospital. But researchers found those who arrived with above-normal blood sugar levels had higher odds of dying there - regardless of whether they were diabetic."

www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-science-idUSKBN28F0WS

Original paper

covid19.elsevierpure.com/en/publications/admission-hyperglycaemia-as-a-predictor-of-mortality-in-patients-

"KEY MESSAGE Admission hyperglycaemia is a stronger and independent risk factor for mortality in COVID-19. Screening for hyperglycaemia, in patients without diabetes, and early treatment of hyperglycaemia should be mandatory in the management of patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Admission hyperglycaemia should not be overlooked in all patients regardless prior history of diabetes."

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