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Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

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191–200 of 269 posts

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, I'm the wife. High dose Vitamin D can cause elevated calcium levels (meaning over 10.0 mg/dl for adults over 40, it can be a little higher for younger adults). I usually don't see that occur with doses at 2-3 K IU daily. You can also check your Vitamin D 25-OH levels (the level that will be done if you just get a standard "Vitamin D level") and these should be in a reasonable range. What constitutes reasonable ma…

Would you still consider 5,000 IU of Vitamin D per day safe as far as these calcium issues go? I had a doctor tell me to take that dose for at least a few months a few years ago after low levels in my bloodwork during the winter. But I've never known if I should lower the dose to take on a continuing basis or adjust during the summer when I get a little more sun (but I still work in an office/at home so spend a lot o…

I do see people get high calcium levels after being on this dose for years. But not always. You may be able to handle that dose. If you are getting "routine" labs done, then there is likely a calcium level in there. If your calcium is normal (under 10.0 mg/dl for adults over 40, younger adults can be a little higher), then your Vitamin D dose is ok... but I would still recommend coming down a bit on that dose. It is a high dose, and Vit D builds up in your body, since it is a fat soluble vitamin.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#192
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind elaborating on what you mean by "wacky" levels? I can't tell from your comment if that means high or low. Asking as a Vitamin D supplement user who uses 2-3k IU a day

Hi, I'm the wife. High dose Vitamin D can cause elevated calcium levels (meaning over 10.0 mg/dl for adults over 40, it can be a little higher for younger adults). I usually don't see that occur with doses at 2-3 K IU daily. You can also check your Vitamin D 25-OH levels (the level that will be done if you just get a standard "Vitamin D level") and these should be in a reasonable range. What constitutes reasonable ma…

Hi; is there anything documented about the following effect of taking high-ish doses of Vitamin D3 for a while: a tooth/jaw sensitivity appears, like you can "feel your teeth"? In the past I have used that as as signal to back off on the Vitamin D. What is the mechanism?

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#193
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you mind elaborating on what you mean by "wacky" levels? I can't tell from your comment if that means high or low. Asking as a Vitamin D supplement user who uses 2-3k IU a day

Hi, I'm the wife. High dose Vitamin D can cause elevated calcium levels (meaning over 10.0 mg/dl for adults over 40, it can be a little higher for younger adults). I usually don't see that occur with doses at 2-3 K IU daily. You can also check your Vitamin D 25-OH levels (the level that will be done if you just get a standard "Vitamin D level") and these should be in a reasonable range. What constitutes reasonable ma…

Hi, I had a thyroidectomy and was told I lost at least one parathyroid in the process. Now my hands and feet are likely to fall asleep and I have low calcium levels (relative to lab standards). Would high vitamin D + calcium citrate be good for me? And should I see a specialist or am I okay just seeing a normal endo once a year?

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#194
post #102
post #89

I've mentioned this before, but my wife is a parathyroid surgeon (parathyroids are the glands that regulate the calcium in your neck) and would beg you to PLEASE monitor your calcium levels if you are supplementing with Vitamin D. She often sees patients on high doses of Vitamin D from well intentioned doctors, but with out of whack calcium levels because of it, and the patients can be very sick without understanding…

Right now, I'd rather have a calcium problem than a Covid-19 problem. Also, some of the studies being thrown around in this discussion have mentioned that safe levels of Vitamin D are much higher than a lot of medical professionals actually think. > there is virtually no risk of toxicity in supplementing up to 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily https://sci-hub.se/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/art...

I'm also hesitant to take medical advice from a new account on an internet forum who is disputing medical research. Definitely not saying anything fishy is up, just that we should keep things in perspective.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#195

Would it be reasonable to hypothesize that, through lack of sun exposure and ensuing vitamin D deficiencies, lockdowns kill more people than they save? (that is, the increase in mortality would more than overcome the decrease in cases) We cannot know for sure of course, but is it unreasonable to even consider?

My state started locking down early, but at no time were people not allowed to go outside. Closing bars seems unlikely to contribute to vitamin D deficiency, for example.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, I'm the wife. High dose Vitamin D can cause elevated calcium levels (meaning over 10.0 mg/dl for adults over 40, it can be a little higher for younger adults). I usually don't see that occur with doses at 2-3 K IU daily. You can also check your Vitamin D 25-OH levels (the level that will be done if you just get a standard "Vitamin D level") and these should be in a reasonable range. What constitutes reasonable ma…

What are the ill effects of elevated blood-calcium levels? Is there a way to avoid the bad effects of high dose Vitamin D supplements? Thanks!

There's a range of symptoms, but with me it caused (or at least contributed to) a calcium oxalate kidney stone. Not fun.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#197

This article is (badly) written by un-qualified authors (two software developers). This would be enough to raise at least a few red flags on the conclusions drawn here. Has it even been peer reviewed? From a first look, there no way this work would have been published by any reputable journal. If there is any truth in what the authors claim, the best they could do is to work with field experts and/or submit their fin…

> This article is (badly) written by un-qualified authors (two software developers)

Indeed the first sentence talks about "corona deaths." No qualified medical professional would write that in a paper.

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If taking Vitamin D do you recommend Magnesium and K2 as well, as I understand it these need to be in balance?

I don't know if K supplementation helps with calcium levels, but you don't need magnesium supplementation as long you have half-decent diet. There is plenty of magnesium in foods.

It's true that there's magnesium in everything, but the definition of half decent diet becomes rather strange in the light of a recommended intake for adults.

Men are recommended a bit over 400 mg magnesium per day.

Black beans are quite rich in magnesium, but you still need to eat more than 3.5 cups of it to get the recommended daily amount of magnesium, or 5 cups of cooked brown rice, spinach? That's 2.5 cups of boiled spinach.

Generally, if you eat between 5-10 cups of solid food each day, you are fine no matter what you eat. But that's a lot of food unless you have a very physically active, job.

It used to be mostly true, when most people had physically demanding jobs, it's not true any more.

https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfession...

"National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 2013-2016 found that 48% of Americans of all ages ingest less magnesium from food and beverages than their respective EARs; "

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#199
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Technically true, but you should still eat vitamin D supplements. It's very cheap and safe, so worst case it has less effect than you hope. You can overdose, but you have to really crazy with the dosage. Also 1: Vitamin D supplements do cure rickets. Also 2: All of us who eat supplements should show up in the stats as high in vitamin D, so the data does partially cover that case.

What brand/strength of VitaminD supplements do you all take?

I take 5000 IU D3 a day, in a pill that combines 180 mcg of K2. K2 is important for calcium transport. My most recent tested level was 38 ng/ml. I'd like it to be above 40. I also make sure to get a lot of sun, because I think the measured benefits of D3 blood levels might be partly a proxy for sun exposure. A good resource for managing your serum D3 is https://www.grassrootshealth.net

Re: Vitamin D deficiency and Covid-19 mortality [pdf]

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the LD50 for vitamin D?

You experience issues with hypercalcemia long before the ld50 becomes an issue if you plan on supplementing too much

I'm thinking of a single megadose scenario.
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