Hello Robin - I have added another voice to the Vitamin D chorus. This piece of mine may add one or two papers to the mix that your readers have not seen yet;
Regarding Vitamin D: I have taken it daily for years. My regimen is 5000 IU daily, which nets me a circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D of 90+ ng/mL. My wife and I recently contracted C19 on a trip. I bounced back pretty quickly. Our adult children all caught it from us and they, along with my wife, are taking longer to shake the coughing. They are not as diligent about vitamins. I also took HCQ during my bout. It is said to be more effective than IVR on the later variants. I can safely say the vitamin usage coupled with my overall health (BMI-normal weight, daily fitness routine) have made me healthier overall. So my advice is to take your vitamin-d and get in shape. It was, for all intents and purposes, a strange cold.
Hi John, You wrote "500 IU", which is only 0.0125 mg of vitamin D3 a day. I can't imagine this would get anyone's levels to 90+ ng/mL, but 0.125 mg 5000 IU would. If what you wrote was a typo, you can edit the comment.
Your report adds to numerous direct reports of good general health and little or no trouble - or even sign of - COVID-19 among people, including those in their 70s and 80s, who supplement sufficient vitamin D3 to (most likely, the responses vary from one person to the next) attain circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D above 50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L.
Robin I seldom hear that high doses of vitamin D3 should be accompanied by vitamin K2. My understanding is it allows for storage of VD3 in bones rather than tissue. Do you know anything about this?
Hi Dan, vitamin D3 cholecalciferol is not stored in bones - and neither are 25-hydroxyvitamin D calcifediol or the very low level of hormonal (long distance signaling via the bloodstream) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D calcitriol. To understand the roles of these three compounds, please read the first sections of: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/ .
It is widely believed that vitamin K2 reduces the tendency for high levels of circulating (in the bloodstream) 25-hydroxyvitamin D to remove calcium from bone (and so the calcium compounds which give it strength). I have not yet developed a proper understanding of the various forms of vitamin K2 and of all the relevant research to be able to write something useful about this.
Vitamin K2 is found in some ordinary foods. I recall that (presumably, very) high levels can be toxic. I guess what people are doing with vitamin K2 supplements is probably OK and may be beneficial, but I can't write anything reliable about this without a lot more work.
It is clear, from reading of the Coimbra protocol: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/06-adv/#01-higher that vitamin D3 intakes well beyond what would normally be produced by UV-B skin exposure are beneficial - life-saving - for many people with auto-immune inflammatory disorders. This protocol involves strenuously avoiding calcium supplements and high calcium foods, since the high (sometimes well above 150 ng/mL 375 nmol/L 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels tend to raise the level of calcium in the bloodstream. This level needs to be very tightly controlled, and excess levels (I recall even 10 or 20% above what is optimal) leads to calcificication of arteries and heart valves, and to heart disease and possible death in the long term.
The Coimbra protocol also involves a few other vitamins. However, I think it does not normally involve K2, or other typically deficient nutrients which I think it should, such as magnesium, boron and omega 3 fatty acids.
I recall that calcium supplements are regarded by some researchers as over-rated in their importance for bone health - and this is in the generally highly 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficient population, in the judgement of researchers who know little or nothing about vitamin D and the immune system.
I will write something more definitive when I can, but it could be years, since I need to concentrate on paying work. For now, my guess - as an electronic technician / computer programador, not a doctor or professional researcher - is that on good vitamin D3 intakes (such as the 1.25 mg a week = 7123 IU/day I take - 70 kg bodyweight) which are likely to raise 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels into the 70 to 90 ng/mL range, there is no need to supplement calcium. Furthermore, I suspect that supplementing calcium and perhaps ingesting a lot of calcium from food *might* raise blood calcium levels significantly above the optimum. I guess that if we eat enough vegetables and fruit, our vitamin K2 intake is good enough for our needs - but I have no research basis in such people to be sure of this.
Boron is easy to supplement every day (it washes through) and is a badly neglected nutrient: https://aminotheory.com/cv19/#08-boron which is important for the immune system, bone strength, gum and tooth health and for preventing (and even breaking up existing) kidney stones. I take about 9 mg a day. Normally we only get about 1 mg a day. No-one knows how it works in the body.
I also supplement potassium but I don't know of a way of doing this safely, which I would suggest to others, since I don't know of any doctor who recommends what I do. https://aminotheory.com/cv19/kna/ . Slow release potassium tablets are probably a good idea but it would take dozens a day to attain the 1.8 to 2.4 grams I day I supplement. By generally avoiding the saltiest foods and by probably doubling my potassium intake, I guess that my potassium to sodium (really salt, since the chloride is important too) ratio is vastly improved over the disastrously low ratio which most people have, and which directly drives hypertension and the risk of stroke, as well as distorting the balance of potassium inside cells and sodium outside, which is a crucial part of every cell's operating conditions.
I supplement magnesium - using a chelate or similar - currently 200 mg a day, but perhaps I should double this. The citrate is a laxative and the oxide is not bioavailable. I am yet to read this article by Patrick Chambers, with whom I collaborate, but it is well researched and I recommend it: https://www.oalib.com/paper/6781033 .
I take a separate 25 mg zinc (as chelate) tablet every day, and a substantial multivitamin: https://cenovis.com.au/cenovis-daily-womens-multi/ . I also take 4 mini fish oil capsules a day, each equivalent to an ordinary 1 gram capsule.
This is based on my best understanding of the research I am familiar with. It will take years, but I will write substantially on all these matters once I have been able to research them properly.
Yes! Definitely a typo, since corrected. I recently dropped from 10,000 IU in winter months. I think 90+ ng/mL is probably a little gratuitous :-) I get lots of sun in the summer as I am a naturist, so the sun shines literally everywhere :-)
Hello Robin - I have added another voice to the Vitamin D chorus. This piece of mine may add one or two papers to the mix that your readers have not seen yet;
https://lettingdataspeak.substack.com/p/the-evidence-for-targeting-50-ngml
Regarding Vitamin D: I have taken it daily for years. My regimen is 5000 IU daily, which nets me a circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D of 90+ ng/mL. My wife and I recently contracted C19 on a trip. I bounced back pretty quickly. Our adult children all caught it from us and they, along with my wife, are taking longer to shake the coughing. They are not as diligent about vitamins. I also took HCQ during my bout. It is said to be more effective than IVR on the later variants. I can safely say the vitamin usage coupled with my overall health (BMI-normal weight, daily fitness routine) have made me healthier overall. So my advice is to take your vitamin-d and get in shape. It was, for all intents and purposes, a strange cold.
Hi John, You wrote "500 IU", which is only 0.0125 mg of vitamin D3 a day. I can't imagine this would get anyone's levels to 90+ ng/mL, but 0.125 mg 5000 IU would. If what you wrote was a typo, you can edit the comment.
Your report adds to numerous direct reports of good general health and little or no trouble - or even sign of - COVID-19 among people, including those in their 70s and 80s, who supplement sufficient vitamin D3 to (most likely, the responses vary from one person to the next) attain circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D above 50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L.
Robin I seldom hear that high doses of vitamin D3 should be accompanied by vitamin K2. My understanding is it allows for storage of VD3 in bones rather than tissue. Do you know anything about this?
Hi Dan, vitamin D3 cholecalciferol is not stored in bones - and neither are 25-hydroxyvitamin D calcifediol or the very low level of hormonal (long distance signaling via the bloodstream) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D calcitriol. To understand the roles of these three compounds, please read the first sections of: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/ .
It is widely believed that vitamin K2 reduces the tendency for high levels of circulating (in the bloodstream) 25-hydroxyvitamin D to remove calcium from bone (and so the calcium compounds which give it strength). I have not yet developed a proper understanding of the various forms of vitamin K2 and of all the relevant research to be able to write something useful about this.
Vitamin K2 is found in some ordinary foods. I recall that (presumably, very) high levels can be toxic. I guess what people are doing with vitamin K2 supplements is probably OK and may be beneficial, but I can't write anything reliable about this without a lot more work.
It is clear, from reading of the Coimbra protocol: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/06-adv/#01-higher that vitamin D3 intakes well beyond what would normally be produced by UV-B skin exposure are beneficial - life-saving - for many people with auto-immune inflammatory disorders. This protocol involves strenuously avoiding calcium supplements and high calcium foods, since the high (sometimes well above 150 ng/mL 375 nmol/L 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels tend to raise the level of calcium in the bloodstream. This level needs to be very tightly controlled, and excess levels (I recall even 10 or 20% above what is optimal) leads to calcificication of arteries and heart valves, and to heart disease and possible death in the long term.
The Coimbra protocol also involves a few other vitamins. However, I think it does not normally involve K2, or other typically deficient nutrients which I think it should, such as magnesium, boron and omega 3 fatty acids.
I recall that calcium supplements are regarded by some researchers as over-rated in their importance for bone health - and this is in the generally highly 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficient population, in the judgement of researchers who know little or nothing about vitamin D and the immune system.
I will write something more definitive when I can, but it could be years, since I need to concentrate on paying work. For now, my guess - as an electronic technician / computer programador, not a doctor or professional researcher - is that on good vitamin D3 intakes (such as the 1.25 mg a week = 7123 IU/day I take - 70 kg bodyweight) which are likely to raise 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels into the 70 to 90 ng/mL range, there is no need to supplement calcium. Furthermore, I suspect that supplementing calcium and perhaps ingesting a lot of calcium from food *might* raise blood calcium levels significantly above the optimum. I guess that if we eat enough vegetables and fruit, our vitamin K2 intake is good enough for our needs - but I have no research basis in such people to be sure of this.
Boron is easy to supplement every day (it washes through) and is a badly neglected nutrient: https://aminotheory.com/cv19/#08-boron which is important for the immune system, bone strength, gum and tooth health and for preventing (and even breaking up existing) kidney stones. I take about 9 mg a day. Normally we only get about 1 mg a day. No-one knows how it works in the body.
I also supplement potassium but I don't know of a way of doing this safely, which I would suggest to others, since I don't know of any doctor who recommends what I do. https://aminotheory.com/cv19/kna/ . Slow release potassium tablets are probably a good idea but it would take dozens a day to attain the 1.8 to 2.4 grams I day I supplement. By generally avoiding the saltiest foods and by probably doubling my potassium intake, I guess that my potassium to sodium (really salt, since the chloride is important too) ratio is vastly improved over the disastrously low ratio which most people have, and which directly drives hypertension and the risk of stroke, as well as distorting the balance of potassium inside cells and sodium outside, which is a crucial part of every cell's operating conditions.
I supplement magnesium - using a chelate or similar - currently 200 mg a day, but perhaps I should double this. The citrate is a laxative and the oxide is not bioavailable. I am yet to read this article by Patrick Chambers, with whom I collaborate, but it is well researched and I recommend it: https://www.oalib.com/paper/6781033 .
I take a separate 25 mg zinc (as chelate) tablet every day, and a substantial multivitamin: https://cenovis.com.au/cenovis-daily-womens-multi/ . I also take 4 mini fish oil capsules a day, each equivalent to an ordinary 1 gram capsule.
This is based on my best understanding of the research I am familiar with. It will take years, but I will write substantially on all these matters once I have been able to research them properly.
He probably gets a lot of sun.
Yes! Definitely a typo, since corrected. I recently dropped from 10,000 IU in winter months. I think 90+ ng/mL is probably a little gratuitous :-) I get lots of sun in the summer as I am a naturist, so the sun shines literally everywhere :-)