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Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

medrxiv.org

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Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#81

Post by mkolodny »

kryogen1c wrote: post #38

this doesnt pass the correlation vs causation smell test for me. i suspect VID correlates well with COVID comorbidities, like a sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, and weight problems. the opposite is also probably true, that people with good vit D levels correlate with healthier lifestyles and fewer comorbidities.

Same here. Old people are less likely to get enough sunlight [0]. And old people are more likely to have severe COVID-19 symptoms.

Similar story with ibuprofen and COVID-19 [1]. Researchers found a link between the two. But older people are also more likely to take ibuprofen.

[0] https://health.clevelandclinic.org/some-sunlight-may-benefit... [1] https://www.wired.com/story/the-ibuprofen-debate-reveals-the...

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#83

Post by _ph_ »

mcsb4 wrote: post #33

Anecdotelly, in Europe the countries worst hit by the virus have the most strict confinement: Italy, Spain and France. Makes you wonder if there is a correlation to Vitamin D insufficiency due to lack of sun light.

The confinement came after the virus hit them badly, not the other way around. So the confinement certainly didn't cause the virus outbreak.

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#84

Post by mgummelt »

gridlockd wrote: post #79
matsemann wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is it taken in the rest of the world? In Norway, it's traditionally done by drinking cod liver oil daily during the winter months. At least that's what I do.

Cod liver oil, as well as the low-dose supplements, can prevent severe deficiency. No food source has enough Vitamin D to get to a healthy level however. If you cannot get sun, get a daily 4000 IU supplement.

Harvard Medical says that dosage is potentially unsafe: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/taking-too-mu...

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#85

Post by James_Henry »

enitihas wrote: post #73
mikedilger wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read Michael Holick's book (can't find it at the moment) he was the guy who discovered the circulating form of vitamin D.. IIRC you get vitamin D from the sun in rather large quantities. Just 15 minutes per day with only your face and hands exposed with the sun up at 45 degrees or more will be enough. I'm sure my data is not accurate, but it's in the ballpark. He has tables that depend on how dark your skin is and…

Does one need exposure to direct sunlight, or sunlight coming via glass windows works?

Glass windows block the part of the UV spectrum that is needed to make Vit D.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/08/well/live/does-sunlight-t...

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#86

Post by chippy »

danenania wrote: post #28
mindcrime wrote: post #8

Interesting thing... Vitamin D is one of those things that, when vitamins come up on HN, you will often hear the refrain that "it's the one vitamin that large numbers of people are actually deficient in and ought to supplement." I've heard that many times over the years and I have taken a Vitamin D supplement on and off (more off than on) over the years. When this COVID-19 thing first hit, I had a physical scheduled…

Does anyone know of a rule of thumb for how much time spent in direct sunlight is equivalent to a Vitamin D supplement? Is an hour per day (on average) sufficient?

https://fastrt.nilu.no/VitD-ez_quartMEDandMED_v2.html depends on latitude, cloud clover etc

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#87

Post by jonny_eh »

mcsb4 wrote: post #33

Anecdotelly, in Europe the countries worst hit by the virus have the most strict confinement: Italy, Spain and France. Makes you wonder if there is a correlation to Vitamin D insufficiency due to lack of sun light.

Italy was hit hard before they locked down.

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#89

Post by [deleted] »

hollander wrote: post #59
ashtonkem wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also, the absorption of it orally appears to be kind of finicky.

Vitamin D intake via supplements (vitamin pills) results in vitamin D storage in fat in you body. The storage decays over time, and it appears that intake via supplements decays twice as fast as intake via sun exposure.

[deleted]

Re: Vitamin D Insufficiency is Prevalent in Severe Covid-19

#90

Post by chrononaut »

hollander wrote: post #74
davidw wrote: post #66

So what's the ideal amount of sun exposure to produce enough for a white guy at 45 north? Is there anywhere reputable that calculates this kind of thing?

You can read up on it in the book by Dr Holick. He recommends 4000IU daily, but if you're afraid that's too much, go with 2000IU/day. I take 4000IU daily since several years. Get a test before you start, so you have a base value. Test again after a month or two maybe three, and see what the change is. With sun exposure, the book recommends the following. Go sit in the sun on a sunny day, until you get a mild rose bur…

> Get a test before you start, so you have a base value. Test again after a month or two maybe three, and see what the change is.

This is sound advice, but isn't there a chicken and egg problem right now? We're in a significant part of the pandemic, which I would imagine (assumption) that "routine" tests such as that may not be easy to come by. While at the same time there is notable evidence that VDI is prevalent in severe cases. By the time you get an answer to know the base line, it seems like it would be largely too late to make a possible difference in the short term?

Is there a "safe" amount you could increase it without knowing your base line?

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